Given another chance, Mullin says he would have jumped over dais to get to Teamster boss

Nov. 17—Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said he never lost his cool in an altercation between himself and Sean O'Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

In an interview with The Transcript, he said O'Brien fueled the feud when he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, "You know where to find me. Anyplace, Anytime cowboy."

In response, Mullin said, "This is a time, this is a place. You wanna run your mouth, we are two consenting adults, we can finish it here."

Mullin told The Transcript, "You don't sit there and flat out call me out and expect me not to respond."

The senator said he had planned to finish the fight with his hands before the meeting began, and he doesn't regret what he did.

When asked if he would have done anything differently, he said "No, except maybe drop over the dais and got to him faster."

He said his Oklahoma values prompted his action.

"I remind people that I'm a guy that was raised in Oklahoma my whole life and we don't act like that," he said. "If you're gonna run your mouth like that, you better be prepared to answer the call as someone calls you out on that.

"Honestly, I thought that guy would just kind of back out."

In the course of his career as a mixed martial artist fighter, Mullin said he had competed in five professional fights.

According to fighting news website Sher Dog, Mullin competed in the welterweight class at 170 pounds, standing 5-foot-8. He was 3-0 with the promotion Xtreme Fighting League based in Tulsa. Of those three fights, according to Sher Dog, two came against the same opponent, Clinton Bonds, who had a pro record of 1-11.

"I had no intention of losing," he said. "My wife used to fight, too. She [Christine Rowan Mullin] was a professional kickboxer. I'm more afraid of her than Sean O'Brien."

He said he wrestled since high school and competed in jiu jitzu until he ran for office, having competed in the North American Grappling Association. Mullin was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as an Outstanding American entry in 2016 — awarded to "individuals who have used the disciplines of wrestling to launch notable careers in other walks of life, such as science and technology, business and industry, government and the military, and the arts and humanities."

According to the NWHF, Mullin wrestled briefly at Missouri Valley College before leaving school to help his family's plumbing business.

Mullin told the Transcript he stood up to O'Brien after O'Brien had crossed a boundary.

"We respect each other. If you cross that boundary, we're going to stand up," he said. "I wasn't mad or angry. It is just a matter-of-fact."

Mullin referred to O'Brien as a bully who baited him five times online before he chose to respond.

"It was never personal to me. I was just calling him out for being a bully online. A lot of people can be powerful behind a keyboard and be a keyboard warrior, but very seldom do you get called out on those words," he said.

He said he learned his values from his father.

"Oklahoma values means we are going to take care of our ourselves. We're gonna do what we say. You are responsible for your words, and you are responsible for your actions," he said. "I know not everyone can stand up to a bully. But some people have certain skill sets where they can."

The altercation took place at a hearing on labor unions in the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions subcommittee. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, broke up the fight and told Mullin to sit down.

Mullin said he was interested in addressing unions because he is afraid more states will force membership on its members.

Currently, 26 states including Oklahoma are "right to work" states, meaning unions can't impose membership.

"Bernie Sanders, our chairman, is an open socialist. He thinks that unions are the future," Mullin said.

He said the average salary of non-states union workers is $4,000 higher than states that those in non-right-to-work states.

The claim is disputed among economists, according to multiple reports.

"There's a time and a place for unions. I'm not against you being part of a union, but you should have a choice to join a union," Mullin said.

State Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman, said he felt embarrassed to watch a U.S. senator resort to threats of violence, especially in the U.S. Capitol.

"The fact that Sen. (Jim) Inhofe, Sen. Mullin's conservative predecessor, is also embarrassed by these actions showed that perhaps this generation of conservatives could learn something from their elders," Rosecrants said.

Rep. Annie Menz, D-Norman, said she would like Mullins to stand up for the needs of Oklahomans.

"If Senator Mullin wants to be a fighter, maybe he can stand up for Oklahomans instead of his own self-interests and the far right extremist establishment," she said.

Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore and Rep. Sherrie Conley, R-Newcastle, were reached for comment but did not respond before press time.

Brian King covers education and politics for The Transcript. Reach him at bking@normantranscript.com.