Conor McGregor is a lot of things but he is not a bigot. Self described Senior Justice Writer Shaun King is a lot of things but if nothing else he is a lightning rod for controversy every single time he types text to a screen. So you knew when King tackled the subject of McGregor’s upcoming boxing match with Floyd Mayweather the takes would be hot and possibly racially heavy.
When Twitter was still just a social media embryo, King was beginning to make a name for his writing career by diving headfirst into almost any race related topics he could hashtag. For all the good (and controversial) work King has done with Black Lives Matter movement, he’s done just as much to alienate people with his petition to cast a wide net with how he finds a racial spin to even the most inane topics.
Is Shaun King an important modern activist with the keen an ability to shine light on some of the most overlooked race topics of the day? Or now as his stage grows larger has he turned into a parody of his former self? Like everything on The Internet the truth lies somewhere in the middle but then King writes an entire story for the New York Daily News on how McGregor is a bigot.
Conor McGregor, the Irish darling of mixed martial arts, is a bigot. Dig a little bit, and you’ll see it for yourself. Is he entertaining? Yes. Is he a gifted self-promoter? Absolutely. Is he a skilled, hard-working fighter for the UFC? For sure. And because of his popularity, fans and brands alike are willing to look past his numerous reprehensible statements.
Okay
Leading up to his 2015 match against Brazilian fighter Jose Aldo, McGregor repeatedly resorted to disgustingly bigoted attacks. In a reference to colonialism, McGregor said, “If this was a different time, I would invade his favela on horseback and kill anyone that was not fit to work.” McGregor later said, “What I really want to do is turn his favela into a Reebok sweatshop.” McGregor also said of Aldo, in an apparent joke targeting Latinos, “I think I’m going to have him come and clean up my airplane.”
Interesting
McGregor started his bigoted tirades right back up again in his lead-ups to his fights against Nate Diaz. In August 2016, using an old slur against Latinos, he called Nick and Nate Diaz “cockroaches.” He also used tired bigoted stereotypes comparing Nate Diaz to “a little Cholo gangster from the hood” and calling his family “ese’s.”
Go on
In a day and age where we need principled people to speak out on racism, bigotry, and discrimination, Conor McGregor does the exact opposite, instead mainstreaming those things without consequence.
Lightning rods gonna lightning rod. Are we entirely sure King knows what the word bigotry really means?
Let’s check in with how King’s home field is reacting to him lobbying charged words at MMA’s biggest star.
Shaun, I enjoy your commentary… but I think you missed the mark with this one. Worse gets said in battle rap, tbh. ♂️
— Stamina MC (@StaminaMC) June 19, 2017
Give me a freaking break, McGregor is like Trump? What’s next? Mayweather is Obama? Dana White is Mitch McConnell?
— Saadat Ali Zia (@my69cents) June 19, 2017
@MMA_Inciter umm the “slur about the Diaz brothers” calling them “cockroaches” is a Scarface quote!!! OMG
— DB (@NotoriousDB23) June 19, 2017
What utter utter attention seeking drama mixing drivel.
— . (@amcgif10) June 19, 2017
I’m not self-hating. I am just letting you know that he never said “spic.” If you want to make stuff up, good for you buddy.
— Josh Sánchez (@jnsanchez) June 19, 2017
Complains about racism
Injects racism into any dispute or conflict no matter how explainable it is without race.
Sad pathetic man.
— Covfefe the Wise (@Covfefethewise) June 19, 2017
There is only one truly non-problematic and pure MMA fighter out there, gang. pic.twitter.com/sV3zpiJvOE
— Young Mark Corrigan (@undercardnolan) June 19, 2017
