Before Georges St. Pierre turned in his badge and gun, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight kingpin was doggedly pursued by the mixed martial arts (MMA) media, who took a report from TMZ (among others) and ran through the streets of the online forums like the town crier.

Hear ye! Hear ye! GSP has a bastard child, a dying daddy and million-dollar lawsuit!

Since none of it was true, according to the man himself, the harassment of the media -- which may or may not have played a role in the ex-champ's decision to call it quits -- crossed the line, says TriStar teacher and longtime head coach, Firas Zahabi.

His words to Alchemist Radio (via Bleacher Report):

"I can take [the media harassment] and so can Georges, but they went a little too far when they started running after people in his family. That was crossing the line. They started a rumor that his dad is dying and all these ridiculous crazy things. That was pushing the envelope. They went way too far with it."

Inquiring minds want to know!

St. Pierre stepped down from his post as 170-pound titleholder following a close (and controversial) split-decision win over Johny Hendricks at the UFC 167 pay-per-view (PPV) event back in November. "Rush" said he was burned out and had to deal with "personal issues" stemming from his five-year reign as champ.

Whether or not he returns remains to be seen, but you can bet the media will be waiting with baited breath.

The price of fame?