Sacramento jiujitsu teacher’s racist voicemail to a Black father sparks outrage
Brazilian jiujitsu is an extremely competitive martial art that’s considered one of the most effective forms of self-defense in the world.
Practitioners of the grappling sport use throws, takedowns, joint locks and chokes to submit their opponents. Different studios compete for glory in tournaments, and rivalries can become fierce. But one Sacramento jiujitsu teacher, Manny Ray Gonzalez of Ralph Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Natomas, has clearly taken the dojo vendettas too far.
Last month, Gonzalez called the Black father of a former student and used the “n-word” while challenging him to a fight.
“I’m over here at the gym and I don’t see you,” Gonzalez said in a voicemail message to Dominique Brandon, who provided it to The Sacramento Bee. “If you really want it, you know where to find it you dumb f------ n-----.”
The message sparked outrage after an Elk Grove jiujitsu teacher shared it on Facebook.
“So as a black man, a black belt, a bjj practitioner, and as a father this is not acceptable whatsoever!” wrote Kenneth Alexander. “This actually infuriates me!!! I feel sorry for the students at this man’s academy!”
Brandon, the target of Gonzalez’s wrath, said it wasn’t the first time he’d heard racist invective from the man who once taught his daughter the Brazilian grappling sport, also known as BJJ. Brandon said the voicemail was preceded by phone calls during which Gonzalez, who is Latino, taunted him with the “n-word.”
“It’s disgusting that he teaches little Black kids … or any children,” Brandon said. “I’m Black and Mexican and I grew up in the ‘hood … I know that these kids already don’t have a chance coming from where they come from, but then you’re dealing with a guy who’s a racist bigot … and people know that, and he’s teaching children.”
Brandon said the dispute with Gonzalez stems from an on-the-mat rivalry. Gonzalez taught Brandon’s daughter for years before she moved to another school. When Brandon’s daughter started beating Gonzalez’s other students and triumphed in a North American Grappling Association tournament last February, Brandon said things escalated.
“A mutual friend of me and Manny’s posted a picture of my daughter that said ‘she’s a killer, no one can beat this teenager, she’s the best in Sacramento,’” Brandon said.
That night, Brandon said, he started receiving angry messages from Gonzalez. Screenshots of texts Brandon provided to The Bee show Gonzalez challenging him to fight. In one text, he mentions owning a gun.
Reached by phone, Gonzalez admitted to leaving the voicemail.
“This is being taken out of context,” he said. “I’m going to hire a lawyer. Please don’t write about this.”
When pressed for an explanation, he hung up. Earlier this month, he apologized on Facebook after a popular BJJ website wrote about the voicemail.
“Due to an unfortunate series of events that escalated between myself and another individual, it has come to my attention that I have to address some problems that have caused issues off and on for a while,” Rodriguez wrote in a post he has since deleted. “I stepped way out of my character and made a racial slur that I deeply regret and apologize for.”
Gonzalez also said he would take a month away from his gym. Of course, gyms in Sacramento are supposed to be closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but many local jiujitsu gyms have continued to hold indoor classes in flagrant violation of public health rules.
Other local BJJ practitioners I spoke with said Gonzalez had become an outspoken opponent of California’s measures to contain COVID. Ashwin Arab, a Sacramento white belt, said Gonzalez threatened him repeatedly after they argued about COVID safety on Facebook.
“I’ll make sure I’m in your face sometime soon,” Gonzalez texted Arab last May. “P—sy.”
He followed up in November to remind Arab of the threat.
“He makes all the posture like, ‘Oh, I’m a big tough guy’… you know, like Cobra Kai,” said Arab, referencing the TV show about a karate school run by a bully. “Well, what is he going to do? Any threat of violence is something that can be used against him.”
Gonzalez’s racist outburst is the latest challenge for Ralph Gracie Jiu Jitsu, a national chain of schools. In 2018, school founder Ralph Gracie attacked jiujitsu teacher Flavio Almeida at a tournament in Anaheim. Prosecutors said Gracie continued to hit Almeida in the head after he lost consciousness, leaving him with broken teeth and seizures. Last week, Gracie received a six-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to felony assault.
The Gracie name is legendary in the martial arts scene. Two brothers, the late Carlos and Helio Gracie, developed BJJ from older Japanese fighting styles. Helio’s son, Royce, made Gracie Jiu Jitsu world-famous after he won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993. Today, it’s one of the most popular martial arts in the nation, with several schools in the Sacramento area.
Gonzalez’s racist outburst reveals an ugly side of the local jiujitsu culture: arrogant, selfish and dangerous.
It will take more than a deleted apology and a brief absence for Gonzalez to make amends — if that’s even possible. For one thing, he must seek forgiveness from Brandon and others in Sacramento’s Black community. And if this scandal doesn’t close his gym permanently, it would help if Gonzalez — along with the other reckless BJJ studios in the Sacramento area — would stop endangering lives and start following COVID rules.