The back and forth between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather continues after Floyd tried to tie his lack of popularity versus the Irish UFC fighter to racism. McGregor didn’t take long to respond to Mayweather’s original comments, saying he didn’t appreciate being “put in that bracket” and that people have been “buried in the desert for less.”
Now a thoughtful looking Floyd Mayweather is responding, saying his words about “that guy Conor … McGregor? Is that his name?” were misconstrued. Transcript via Bleacher Report:
“I didn’t say I had anything against Caucasians…or white Americans, or white people, period. Or Irish. All I said is this, in this world, racism still exists. But I’m not racist, that’s all I said. If he got offended, that’s life. Sometimes people will get offended by certain things people say. Just me, I have tough skin. I’m built for anything.”
Well, Mayweather did talk about McGregor, contrasting the response he received for trash talking with Conor:
“I don’t really know the McGregor guy; never seen him fight. … They say he talk a lot of trash and people praise him for it, but when I did it, they say I’m cocky and arrogant. So biased! Like I said before, all I’m saying is this, I ain’t racist at all, but I’m telling you racism still exists.”
Except McGregor gets a ton of hate for being cocky and arrogant, from the fans, from the fighters he faces, and from the media. He gets a lot of love too, but that’s the thing with being a controversial public figure: You’re gonna have haters. McGregor has his, as does Floyd. Does Floyd have more? Absolutely. But that has less to do with him being black than it does his extensive domestic violence record and his boring style of fighting.
You can’t just say whatever you want, tack on “Racism is real!” and suddenly be right. Racism is real, no doubt. Are “cocky” and “arrogant” dog whistle words racists have been using for decades to talk down successful black athletes? For sure. Does any of that have to do with Floyd Mayweather’s lack of popularity versus Conor McGregor’s? Not really.
(Via Bleacher Report)