A Canadian mixed martial arts fighter said Toronto police revoked a conditional offer of employment due to concerns about his former stage name, "Pimp Daddy."
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Sean Pierson, 34, who won a match Saturday at UFC 124 in Montreal when he took the place of an injured fighter, said he was given the nickname "Pimp Daddy" by a promoter in 1999, but he hasn't used the moniker in years, The Toronto Star reported Thursday.
"I tried to distance myself from that name the best that I could," Pierson said.
However, Pierson, who was scheduled to become a cadet-in-training with the Toronto Police Tuesday, said the department revoked his conditional offer of employment, which was extended in October, due to lingering concerns about the "Pimp Daddy" name.
Police spokesman Mark Pugash confirmed the nickname was a problem for officials.
"In this case, it wasn't what he was doing. It's that you have a name that I think most people would agree is not appropriate for a police officer," he said.
"We raised 'Pimp Daddy' with him more than a year ago," Pugash said. "Those concerns have not been addressed satisfactorily."
Pierson said he hopes to reapply to the police department in three or four years.