Floyd Mayweather’s track record has proven that he’s not exactly the athlete you want to run to for social and political commentary, or just about anything unrelated to boxing. After all, this is the same convicted woman beater who defend noted racist Donald Sterling’s character. And the same guy who defended Justin Bieber and his offensive N-word “joke.” Now, Money Mayweather is also the “All Lives Matters” guy.
In a recent interview with Fight Hype, the multi-millionaire athlete was asked to give his two cents on “why boxers aren’t selling pay-per-view.” Rather than staying on topic, Mayweather completely went off on a tangent about all lives matter while also advising people to follow orders and directions.
“I’m here to say all lives matters,” the undefeated boxer answered to the unrelated question. “A lot of times we get stuck and we’re followers. You hear one person say, ‘Black lives matters!’ or ‘Blue lives matters!’ All lives matters.” Mayweather also doled out this piece of advice — quit resisting. “What I learned from boxing that everyone can take for real life is follow directions. Follow order. Don’t give nobody no hard time.”
It’s labeled “anti-police” by critics, but the Black Lives Matter movement started in 2013 when George Zimmerman was acquitted on charges of murdering 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Since then, the movement has remained in the forefront of combating racial injustices, including officer-related shootings, police brutality, and, race-based corruption in the criminal justice system.
It’s worth noting that many black victims of police brutality weren’t giving police a “hard time” when they were shot and killed. Just recently a Florida caretaker of an autistic man was shot while on the ground with his hands up. Philando Castile was shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer while trying to put his hands up. In 2014, Walter Scott was shot and killed by North Carolina police as he was literally running away.
Mayweather also spoke on Colin Kaepernick’s stance on the national anthem, telling the interviewer that the 49er needed to “stand up and get the starting job” before saying he couldn’t “knock” Kaepernick for his beliefs.
