Miesha Tate Body Issue: 'Hypocrisy' Talk Regarding Ronda Rousey Is Off the Mark

Miesha Tate is being criticized by some for being hypocritical regarding her appearance in ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue," but those remarks are way off base.

Carleton Curtis of FoxSports.com is one of those who mistakenly believes that Tate has gone back on her words from last year:

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What a difference a year makes. Just 12 months after criticizing rival UFC women's bantamweight Ronda Rousey of posing nude in ESPN The Magazine's 2012 "Body Issue", Miesha Tate has wound up in the pages of its 2013 issue.

The move makes considerable promotional sense, but remains puzzling after her pointed remarks on Twitter last July.

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Curtis and others who have been critical of Tate are missing the mark here in a bad way.

Tate never criticized Rousey for posing nude. Rather, she criticized Rousey for posing nude after Rousey blasted others for doing the same thing—albeit in, perhaps, a different manner. 

Let's look back to last year in order to sort this out. 

Rousey came out with a strong statement against "ring girls" who pose naked. According to Kevin Marshall, via Spike.com, Rousey said (among other things):

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...all of this goes back to advice my mom gave me. She gave me this one piece of advice, which I still hold dear. She said, "Look, whatever pictures you put out there are gonna be out there forever, so just think that one day your 12- or 13-year-old son or daughter is going to see those pictures."

So, whatever I'm not gonna show on a beach, I'm not gonna show in a magazine. 

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Rousey also said some things I won't mention here, but still, she was highly critical of women who put their naked bodies in public view.

Then, months later, Rousey appeared naked in the "Body Issue," which caused Tate to go on an epic Twitter rant:

In truth, her point was/is valid. Rousey's decision to pose for the "Body Issue" was hypocritical.

But Tate never supported Rousey's original statements—far from it!

She made her point crystal clear in a recent interview with MMAJunkie.com's Josh Morgan:

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I never said it was hypocritical for Ronda to pose nude for the "Body Issue." I said it was hypocritical for her to talk crap about the Octagon girls posing nude in Playboy and then go pose nude for ESPN. That was my only qualm.

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If anything, Tate was standing up for the women who choose to pose for magazines. Anyone trying to say Tate is being hypocritical by posing for the "Body Issue" simply doesn't know the facts. 

Tate wasn't the one making a huge fuss and judging other women for their choices. Tate wasn't the one stirring up emotions by condemning people—it was Rousey who stirred this particular pot. 

As for Tate's participation in this year's magazine, you can bet her little spat with Rousey last year won't hurt her. If anything, people will take more notice because of it. 

That's not a bad thing for Tate or for ESPN The Magazine. 

Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78