Nate Diaz and his legal team are going on the offensive against the Miami Herald. Per ESPN's Ariel Helwani, the MMA icon has already started to explore legal action after the publication falsely accused him of assaulting police officers in Miami and committing domestic violence. The Herald has since pulled the story and issued a correction.
Initially, the Herald reported that Diaz was hospitalized after he attacked officers at a Miami police station. The Herald also reported that he was arrested after a violent domestic altercation.
Once the news started to circulate, Diaz’s representative, Zach Rosenfield, released a statement denouncing the reports. Rosenfield said that Diaz was in Miami for the Super Bowl, but returned his home in Stockton, California after the big game.
"This story is absolutely not accurate. Nate has been home from the Super Bowl for over a week This is not him. This is story is completely wrong," Rosenfield said, per Helwani. "Nate has been in Stockton since the Tuesday after the Super Bowl and at no point did he have any interactions with Miami law enforcement. Zero issues whatsoever. And he has never been attached to anything close to domestic violence in his life."
Shortly after the Miami Herald pulled the story, it issued an apology to Diaz. "In an initial version of this story, the Miami Herald incorrectly reported that mixed martial arts superstar Nate Diaz had been arrested in a domestic-violence case. The Herald apologizes for the error," it tweeted.
The actual suspect that was arrested by police was 31-year-old MMA fighter and Miami native, Michael Albert Nates. Nates reportedly started to attack the officers after he was released from handcuffs at the station.
"It took quite a few officers to hold him down," Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina told the publication.
