In August 2021 after multiple allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation were made public against him, Sousa was dropped by his sponsor Shoyoroll and suspended from his team by Checkmat leader Léo Vieira.[116][117] The allegations were initially collected and distributed by London-based Checkmat black belt Samantha Cook after she publicly accused Sousa of sexual harassment, which prompted more women to come forward and tell their own stories. It was also reported that complains had already been made against Sousa in 2018 for sending explicit sexual messages to female jiu jitsu members in Germany.
In November 2021, Sousa and his lawyer issued a statement to the website BJJ Eastern Europe declaring that he had been found not guilty by a disciplinary committee in London. In November 2022 it was announced that Sousa had also been cleared of all allegations by the UKBJJA, the governing body for Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the UK, “following a lengthy and thorough investigation by a specialist investigator”.
In the second half of 2021, Jackson Sousa , a Jiu-Jitsu world fighter, was accused by some women, including fellow fighter Samantha Cook, of sexual harassment. After being declared innocent by the Independent Committee – linked to Checkmat Hammersmaith and Safeguarding (an act of protecting vulnerable children and adults) –, at the end of last year, it was the black belt’s turn to have his innocence proven by the UKBJJA.
With his innocence proven in both investigations, the black belt no longer has any open lawsuits. In a note sent to TATAME, Jackson Sousa commented on the UKBJJA’s decision which follows the same result as the Independent Committee:
“Last year, false claims by some individuals on social media resulted in my suspension from the team (CheckMat) and the loss of all my income, affiliations and sponsorships. I have been advised by my legal team not to get involved in the “social media court” and “social media circus”. Instead, I fully cooperated with all investigations to clear my name”, said the Jiu-Jitsu fighter, who followed:
“It was hard to be silent for so long and not be able to speak my truth. Not only were the allegations false, but I was also subjected to hundreds of offensive, racist comments and received death threats. I was shocked to see how many in the Jiu-Jitsu community participated in an online cancel culture, without allowing the facts to come to light through formal investigations,” he concluded.
At age 32, Jackson was born in Rio de Janeiro and gained prominence in gi and no-gi competitions. The Brazilian was champion of important IBJJF and AJP tournaments – two of the biggest Jiu-Jitsu federations in the world. He has been residing in England for some years now.
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