Retired UFC fighter Tim Kennedy issued an apology after admitting that he lied a couple of particular army accolade he by no means truly obtained throughout his years of service.
A preferred YouTube channel hosted by retired Inexperienced Beret Nathan Cornacchia posted a video the place Kennedy claimed in an interview from 2017 that he received a Bronze Star with Valor after describing a state of affairs the place he took down a “dangerous man” throughout a battle in considered one of his excursions of obligation. Previously, Kennedy said that he by no means publicly claimed that he received a Bronze Star with Valor, which is a really particular army award handed out for “participation in acts of heroism involving battle with an armed enemy.”
After Cornacchia posted the video, that includes the interview with Kennedy claiming he was given the Bronze Star with Valor and telling a narrative about what led to the award, the 45-year-old veteran issued a prolonged apology about misrepresenting himself and the awards he claimed throughout his army service.
“I need to take full and unequivocal duty for a critical mistake,” Kennedy wrote on Instagram. “Through the years, I made public statements and gave interviews through which I unintentionally misstated elements of my army service. Most notably, I implied immediately or not directly that I had been awarded the Bronze Star with Valor. That’s not true, and there’s no excuse for it. I by no means obtained that honor, and I deeply remorse ever suggesting in any other case. That form of recognition is sacred. It represents extraordinary braveness beneath hearth acts that threat or price lives. To those that actually earned it, and to their households and brothers-in-arms, I provide my honest and direct apology. What I mentioned disrespected your service, and I take full possession of that.
“I used to be younger once I stepped into the general public eye, and whereas I wasn’t ready for the scrutiny or stress that got here with it, that doesn’t absolve me. I ought to have identified higher. Integrity will not be situational, and I didn’t uphold the requirements I claimed to characterize. To the army and veteran group, particularly those that’ve served in fight or misplaced folks they love. I’m deeply sorry. I do know I’ve let a lot of you down. You had each proper to anticipate extra from me, and I didn’t stay as much as that.”
Kennedy, who fought within the UFC 5 instances after spending most of his profession competing in organizations like Strikeforce and the IFL, promised to carry himself a better customary shifting ahead.
“This apology will not be the top, it’s the start,” Kennedy wrote. “I’m dedicated to rebuilding belief by way of sincere reflection, seen accountability, and ongoing service to the group I misrepresented myself to. I’ll now not discuss my service in a manner that elevates me past what I truly did.
“Any longer, my phrases will likely be guided by fact, humility, and respect. I perceive that phrases alone don’t heal disappointment or restore belief. Solely time and motion will. Thanks to those that have held me accountable. I’ll do my finest to honor that accountability from this level ahead.”
The apology nonetheless didn’t land with different members of the army group together with one other ex-Inexperienced Beret named Alex Theodosis, who blasted Kennedy for the best way he worded his apology.
“Tim, your whole public persona and the lies that you simply’ve informed are something however ‘unintentional,’” Theodosis wrote on Instagram. “None of what you’ve crafted was accidentally. The net of lies you’ve spun since 2007 have all been intentional and with the aim of fame and cash. While you have been requested level clean about having a BSM-V, that will have been the right time to clear the file. As an alternative, you very deliberately lied about not solely having the award however continued the lie with a made up story to strengthen your lie.
“This ChatGPT crafted non-apology is a transparent lower case of ‘I’m not sorry I did it, I’m sorry that I acquired caught.’ Barely glazing over considered one of your many lies and promising to ‘do higher’ doesn’t even scratch the floor of what the veteran group and the [Special Forces] Regiment deserve from you.”
