Was the gesture disrespectful on the part of Thomson? Yes. Was it worth a fine? Possibly. But did the act justify a six-month suspension? No way. If Garcia wanted to discourage such behavior in the future, he should has fined Thomson a small amount and put him on probation. A suspension was over the line and came off as nothing more than a way for Garcia to beat his chest and abuse his authority.

This is especially poignant because IIRC Frank Shamrock recieved no censure whatsoever for saying, on camera, that Thomson was openly gay. I don’t recall him ever even clarifying that it was a joke, a lot of people were posting on the internet the next day wondering if this was really true. That’s almost slander suit territory there and Garcia didn’t give a shit that I remember.

I agree that Sherk’s hearings and the Franca/Toney situation are unacceptable, but believe the fault is with the commissioners, not Armando.