Nick Diaz Sues the NSAC, Says He Would Fight Carlos Condit Immediately

[No More Sorrow]

pr 27, 2012 - Last night Nick Diaz became the first mixed martial arts fighter in history to sue the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Now, on a scale of 1-to-10, my guess is that sentence wasn't nearly as surprising as it probably should've been. One of Bill Simmons' most popular sportswriting memes is the ‘Tyson Zone,' which signifies an athlete whose behavior becomes so outrageous, an individual would believe any story about the athlete, regardless of how odd it may seem. Well, if Diaz hadn't reached the Tyson Zone before yesterday, he certainly has now. (Say I told you Diaz went out, bought a monkey, got it high just 'cause, then gave it away to a homeless man. You'd believe me, ergo, Tyson Zone.)


Besides its audaciousness, this lawsuit is fascinating for three reasons:


1.) Diaz may actually have a very real, very legitimate case here. Under Nevada law, the commission is required to "determine the outcome through proceedings related to the order of a summary suspension within 45 days of the date of the suspension." Despite protests from Deputy Attorney General Chris Eccles that Diaz would not be heard until his medical marijuana card was produced, the lawsuit maintains that "Diaz and his lawyers made repeated attempts to reach the NSAC to obtain a formal hearing to finally adjudicate the NSAC's complaint without any response from Executive Director of the NSAC Keith Kizer." If that is indeed true, Diaz's case immediately becomes a very sharp thorn in the side of the NSAC.


2.) The precedent this could set has the potential to be resounding. While Diaz's case is an extremely centralized one, a victory would go a long way to shattering any remaining sense of invincibility that exists behind the commission. Diaz fought the law and Diaz won. That message cannot be overstated.


3.) On the same day his brother says Diaz just isn't that interested in fighting right now, Nick states in a sworn affidavit that he "would be prepared to compete against Mr. Condit or against any other opponent deemed suitable immediately." Now, even if the idea of Diaz referring to Carlos as Mr. Condit is laughable, the significance behind his words is clear. Diaz is still angry at how UFC 143 went down. He's far from retired. And he wants revenge.


When it comes down to it, as someone who personally loves watching the violence Diaz brings with him to the cage, isn't that really the most important part of all this?

Honestly, everything should just be dropped. This is not nearly as big a deal as Overeem's case and I'd like a Condit-Diaz rematch. Plus Diaz is one of my favorites in the welterweight division.

 

[Edgeomatic]

Well it's about time.

 

[Troy]

Still can't see him winning this lawsuit. I did find it humorous that he has gone from not caring about fighting and not wanting to fight anymore to suddenly being ready to fight tomorrow.

 

[Deezy]

Seeing as this whole thing is about marijuana, the whole damn thing should be dropped.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Seeing as this whole thing is about marijuana, the whole damn thing should be dropped.

Agree with this, If this was Overeem suing the Athletic Commission I'd be like wtf. But anyways, here's what the Commission had to say about Diaz's lawsuit.

Last Tuesday, UFC welterweight Nick Diaz filed a lawsuit against the Nevada state athletic commission, claiming that the state regulation agency violated his right to due process by declining to grant him a hearing on the status of his fighter's license within 45 days of his suspension.

According to the state of Nevada's office of the attorney general, the legal move is misguided. That is because Diaz's legal team, headed by Ross C. Goodman, cited a "summary suspension" of Diaz's license in his court filing. According to Nevada's state codes, a summary suspension can be ordered if an agency finds that "public health, safety or welfare imperatively require emergency action."


But in a written response from Nevada attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto to Goodman and forwarded to MMA Fighting, the state of Nevada asserts that Diaz's legal team misunderstood the suspension.


"No Notice of Summary Suspension was ever served on your client," Masto wrote. "In this matter, Mr. Diaz was properly served with a 'Notice of Hearing on Temporary Suspension' and he failed to appear at the hearing. The Commission temporarily suspended Mr. Diaz’s license at the hearing. Neither Mr. Diaz nor you objected in any manner to the temporary suspension."


The letter effectively indicates that because Diaz was not given a "summary suspension," his case does not fall under Nevada code NRS 233B.127, which requires a hearing within 45 days. A separate code, NRS 467.117, indicates that the commission can " continue the suspension until it makes a final determination of any disciplinary action to be taken against the licensee or holder of the permit."


The letter also indicates that the NSAC delay in scheduling Diaz's hearing was partially his fault, caused while waiting for him to produce his medical marijuana card.


"I've waited for more than a month for the card," Masto wrote.