Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu acknowledges mishandling of sexual assault cases

BJJ veteran Roberto Abreu, also known as “Cyborg”, has addressed his role in sexual assault allegations towards his Fight Sports organization.

Back in March 2018, a 31-year-old instructor from Fight Sports was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl, as reported by New York Times. Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu was a coach and close friend of Marcel Goncalves, the man accused.

Many were of the belief that Abreu could have used his influence to expose and denounce sexual misconduct but instead, he allegedly didn’t offer any support to the accusers in question.

He reportedly ignored the accuser and offered support to Goncalves, with Abreu being the godfather to his youngest son.

Back in August, a jiu-jitsu promoter published more allegations of sexual misconduct directed towards other coaches and competitors of Fight Sports, but not Roberto Abreu himself.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CShv326J59l/

While this story was only picked up in October via the New York Times, Abreu did release a statement through Instagram in August which featured the following quote.

“To the victims and their families, I am sorry for my poor handling, ill-preparedness and lack of proper leadership to address the horrible experience they had to go through.”

Abreu has now committed to learning, growing and developing as a person to ensure these issues do not arise again. Some within the community have opted to forgive him, but others feel as if “Cyborg” was forced into a corner and only made the statement due to the intense pressure surrounding the gym.

Our thoughts go out to all of the victims involved in this situation.

What are your thoughts on this situation? Do you believe Roberto Abreu was sincere in his apology? Does more need to be done to combat sexual assault in MMA? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments, BJPENN Nation.