SEAL Team 6 Legend Responds To Sean Strickland/SEAL Controversy, Offers Very Rational Take

Former SEAL Team 6 operator Andy Stumpf isn't overly impressed by some of the reactions to Sean Strickland's Navy SEAL controversy.

The UFC superstar made some waves when he claimed no Navy SEAL could make it through the training he does. While he didn't specify, it definitely seemed like he meant fight training. Could a Navy SEAL beat Sean Strickland in the octagon? It'd be interesting to find out, but some of the reactions were really out there.

Specifically, former SEAL Jimmy Watson released a video talking about skin grafts and taking souls. Personally, I found it cringe as all hell, and I say that as someone who is a big fan of the military. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, you can watch it below, and let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

Andy Stumpf responds to Sean Strickland Navy SEAL backlash.

You know who else found the response to Strickland absolutely cringe? Andy Stumpf. For those of you who might not have heard of Andy Stumpf, he's a legit dude.

He was an operator in SEAL Team 6, got shot in Iraq on the same mission Tyler Grey was blown up, recovered and deployed again. The man isn't a joke or someone pretending to have knowledge of the topic. He's fought alongside some of the greatest warriors in America's history, and he thinks this entire situation is embarrassing.

Stumpf revealed in an interview with Patrick Bet-David that he had a "professional" conversation with Strickland on Instagram after his comments went viral, and that it was clear to him that the UFC star was talking about fighting. While he thinks Strickland might be playing a bit of a character, he thinks the response is over-the-top.

"[Strickland is] playing a character. It's part of who he is and what he does in the UFC. If you think the SEAL - or the guy who was a SEAL - who responded to him is also not playing a character, then I don't know what to tell you because that is one of the worst representations of the SEAL community possible. He needs to shut the f*ck up," a clearly agitated Stump said.

The former operator further added, "This whole, ‘We’ve taken souls.' Shut the f*ck up. Shut up. Like, dude, go write a Hollywood movie if you want to talk about it like that.' It nauseates me. I was a professional soldier. Not a psychopath. I'm not out there trying to delicately navigate my way through the spiritual universe and take this soul and that soul."

You can watch Stumpf's full response below. It's definitely worth every second of your time.

I respect the hell out of Stumpf's response. I really do it. It would have been so easy for him to just jump on the bandwagon and say some variation of, "I'm a Navy SEAL and Sean Strickland is a coward!" 

Andy Stumpf actually has the credibility to throw out the SEAL tag and stand behind. He's killed for this country and he took a bullet for this country. He's not an online influencer.

Yet, he didn't start spouting off and throwing his credentials around. He laid out the situation as he saw it, which is as follows:

• Strickland was talking about straight up fight training and is playing a character.
• The response was embarrassing and completely unnecessary.
• Be careful who you take seriously online.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you handle a situation where people are overreacting. Take a breath, step back, analyze the information in front of you and make a judgement.

And for the record, you're free to think Sean Strickland is a clown and an idiot for his comments. That's your right as an American, and to be clear, SEAL training is very hard! Do people die every year as was claimed? Not even close. Are there skin grafts? Stumpf says he's never seen it.

Last thing I'll say on this is that I spoke to another ST6 operator and one more Spec. Ops. veteran about Strickland's comments. Both had reactions that mirror Stumpf's and both admitted it wouldn't be a fair fight against Strickland…..and that many UFC fighters would struggle in a Spec. Ops. training pipeline.

Andy Stumpf offers reasonable response to Sean Strickland/Navy SEAL controversy. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Think Stumpf is correct? Think he's wrong? Think I'm wrong? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com and we can debate it!