Few moments meant as much to Randy Brown in his MMA career as being able to fight in the UFC when his dad could watch him perform.
This may not seem like a historic occasion to most fighters, but Brown’s father has been incarcerated for more than 30 years. While he maintained a constant presence in his son’s life, he wasn’t able to watch until recently. According to Brown, his father is currently working at USP Lewisburg, a medium-security federal prison in Pennsylvania.
Brown explained when appearing on MMA watch. He was such an important person that they wanted to get into organized crime. They slowly worked their way up and built up over time and filed a case against him.
“He was a guy, he did drug transfers, they did certain things—they robbed, extorted, all sorts of things. They were after him and eventually got him and he went down under RICO and that was it. They sentenced him to three life sentences.”
The RICO Act, which was passed into law in 1970, was enacted to allow extended criminal penalties for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
After the conviction was handed down, Brown says his mother was deported to Jamaica, where he was raised. He maintained a relationship with his father through phone calls and visits back to the United States
That didn’t change when Brown returned to America, preparing to finish high school. He kept in constant contact with his father, regardless of the distance between them.
He said, “I see it often.” “I see him about twice a month. Not many people realize that I actually had my father in my life the whole time, even when I was sent to Jamaica, I talked to him almost every day. Then when I came back, I left for the summer to go back to America, they would bring me to visit him.” “.
Despite the difficulty of having his father in prison for nearly his entire life, Brown believes there is finally a chance to reunite his family if the upcoming hearing continues his way.
“He has another one [hearing] Brown said. “He’s coming soon, I think he’s coming this summer, and that’s it. He’s had a few already, and he’s been turned down before in the past, but he hasn’t had an accident in about 20 years. He’s been in a lot of different shows and mentoring programs, and he’s been He’s done a lot while he’s there and all the programs they have.At this point, he’s no longer a threat to society.
“He’s a good guy, he’s completely changed. He’s dedicated his life to God. I think that time is done. He’s done a lot of time. He’s been there a long time and a lot of laws have changed. A lot of drug laws and the marijuana movement and the movement of certain things, those things haven’t are illegal.
“I think a lot of his time is time spent on other things, and I think he should be able to be free now, be with his family now, be with his grandchildren. Be able to see my son and my future children.”
Obviously, nothing is guaranteed at a parole hearing, but Brown is optimistic his father will be leaving prison in the near future.
“He’s really changed a lot,” Brown said. “I don’t make excuses for the things that were done. He did what he knew. He was an immigrant at the time. He came from Jamaica to New York, and he found a way, and it wasn’t the best way, but it was the way he knew how.”
When he talks about why he went to jail and why he wants to go to jail, he always says he’s had enough time for all of us. He almost sacrificed himself to try and put us in a better position and somehow he did.”
Brown continues to use his fighting career as a way to change the story surrounding his family name. With a 12-year-old son at home, Brown always strives to be a good example and role model, and that matters more to him than any single fight inside the octagon.
“My job is to change the narrative of the last name Brown,” he explained. “My job now is as an MMA fighter, this little thing I do, I want to change my whole name for everyone.”