Back in September, the Evening Times reported that, despite their crimes, three men – including one called Iain Kidd – were “handed community-based disposals at Glasgow Sheriff Court… to focus on their rehabilitation.”
Their crimes? Collecting sexual images of underage persons and other forms of illegal sex-related media for over a decade. And given that a “disposal” in this case consists of a Community Payback Order – essentially, community service — as a direct alternative to custody, it’s fair to say that Kidd essentially got a slap on the wrist for some pretty serious criminal activity.
According to the Evening Times, Kidd, age 30, carried out his crimes between 2005 and 2017. Kidd was serving as his mother’s primary caretaker at the time of his conviction. As such, though he acknowledged the serious nature of the charges, Kidd was eager to avoid jail time as he feared that incarceration would have a negative impact on his mother’s care.
Lawyer Ross Yuill claimed that a community service-based program would be more appropriate for Kidd because, since the matter came to light, he had self-reported to Stop It Now! Scotland, an organization that helps combat exploitative online behavior. Yuill also stated that: “Mr. Kidd is terrified of spending a minute in custody… He is very fearful of that.” It is unclear if Kidd’s role in elder care played into his sentencing, though, given his crimes, his fear of jail time is certainly warranted.
Regardless, why do we care about some random man in Scotland getting a slap on the wrist for child abuse and exploitation? Because in addition to committing crimes online, Kidd was also a veteran writer for BloodyElbow.com, a fan-focused website covering MMA and the UFC and subsidiary of SB Nation and Vox media.
According to MMA Junkie, on Saturday December 8, Bloody Elbow announced they were firing Kidd. The site issued the following statement: “On Friday night, Bloody Elbow became aware of news reports linking one of our writers to criminal activities including possession of child pornography,” the statement authored by SB Nation executive John Hess read. “As a result, Bloody Elbow and SB Nation terminated his contract that same day.”
On Bloody Elbow, Kidd regularly wrote about anti-doping issues and was a vocal critic of the US Anti-Doping Agency, which serves as the UFC’s anti-doping partner. He also was a co-host for the “Three Amigos” and “Wonder Twins” podcasts.
It is interesting to note that Kidd’s firing from Bloody Elbow came some months after his crimes and sentencing were reported. This is thanks to whistleblowing via social media-based MMA commentator @FrontRowBrian. FrontRowBrian, whose identity is fairly anonymous, called out Kidd’s conviction on Twitter, highlighting Kidd’s “virtue signaling” about other issues — ironic behavior given his simultaneous criminal activity.
“Noted MMA journalist @iainkidd busted for CHILD PORN! 984 images and 496 videos. Yet is virtue signaling about PED’s and Greg Hardy…” FrontRowBrian wrote on December 7.
https://twitter.com/FrontRowBrian/status/1071238139925143552
As the official blog covering MMA and the UFC within the SB Nation group, Bloody Elbow is certainly read by many men. Firing Kidd conveys how the organizations feel about crimes of this nature, which is a good message to be sending out to readers and the general public.
