Hendrix College is facing a lawsuit after college administrators made a decision not to allow Bone Krusher Entertainment Inc., a local mixed martial arts promotion company, to hold a "Caged Fury" tournament at the college's Wellness and Athletic Center (WAC).
Bone Krusher reached an agreement with the college in March to hold a tournament at the WAC and paid a $250 deposit. Since then, Bone Krusher has paid about $5,300 for advertising and Hendrix-mandated event insurance policies. Event sponsors have also paid about $8,000.
On May 27 the college backed out of the agreement, citing advertising that Hendrix director of media relations Mark Scott said the college felt was "lewd and coarse and not fitting for this institution." Bone Krusher was refunded their deposit.
Scott and Hendrix president Dr. Timothy Cloyd both said they had expected an event similar in nature to the Taekwondo tournaments regularly held at the college. When it came to Hendrix's attention that some Bone Krusher advertising featured skull-and-crossbones imagery, bloody noses and scantily-clad young women, they said, the college had no choice but to pull the plug on Caged Fury.
In Bone Krusher's complaint, filed in Divsion II Circuit Court Thursday, it is argued that because Hendrix waited 58 days after the agreement was struck to back out, leaving Bone Krusher "a mere 24 days in which to secure a similar venue and after which to promote the new location," the college caused financial and professional harm to Bone Krusher.
Bone Krusher attorney Cody Hiland is asking the court to effect an injunction ordering Hendrix to allow the event at the WAC as planned or be awarded compensation for "damages suffered as a result of the defendant's breach of contract."
Hiland said his clients expressed their willingness to alter the advertisements in question. Cloyd said Bone Krusher did seem willing to amend the perceived problems, but the cat was already out of the bag.
"As a religious institution, we have a responsibility to our students and to the community to host family friendly events," Cloyd said. "We're standing firm on this."
Hiland said he understood the college's "right to say who does what there," but the decision that Caged Fury was not a family friendly Hendrix event, if it had to be made, "should have been made on the front end."
"(Caged Fury) is an Arkansas Athletic Commission-sanctioned event," Hiland said. "It's not a fly-by-night operation, and these guys had spent thousands promoting it when Hendrix told them it wasn't happening. It's a breach of contract, at least in our minds, and the only question is the remedy."
Scott said the decision couldn't have been made "on the front end" because he feels the college was "duped."
"We had no way of knowing they were going to market it in such a raunchy fashion," he said; "a lot of the sponsors didn't know either. We were duped into thinking this was a family friendly event."
Scott referred to one particularly illustrative photo of a "Ruff Ryder girl" on event promotion Web site cagedfury.net.
"Let me put it this way: The Ruff Ryder Ashley photo would not pass the morality test in many daily newspapers, if any," Scott said.
As of Friday afternoon the photo in question had been removed from cagedfury.net, though photos of young women in short shorts remain. The Web site also now advertises that Caged Fury will be held at 7 p.m. June 21 at the National Guard Armory in Conway.
Hiland said he hopes a hearing for his motion for summary judgement will be held next week. If the judge grants the requested injunction, Hendrix will have no choice but to allow Caged Fury at the WAC.
(Staff writer Joe Lamb can be reached by e-mail at joe.lamb@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1238. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
