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Philippines, 09 May 2024 |
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Floyd Mayweather Jr., Neutral on Race Issue, Says All Lives Matter By Teodoro Medina Reynoso PhilBoxing.com Tue, 28 Jul 2020  Every athlete of note in the US and elsewhere, regardless of color has made known his or her stand regarding the perceived persisting bad treatment of Afro Americans in a continuing protest campaign led by the Black Lives Matter movement One prominent figure is conspicuously missing: Floyd Mayweather, Jr. But that is not surprising. As early as nearly four years ago, Floyd has made known that he does not subscribe to the Black Lives Matter philosophy stating that for him, all lives matter whatever the color of the skin. He even jokingly contented that the color green for green bucks matter much more to him. However, as if to redeem himself somewhat, Floyd in the aftermath of the tragic fate of Afro American George Floyd, had belatedly expressed sadness over the incident and even offered to finance his funeral services. George Floyd was an unarmed black man who died of alleged police abuse during his arrest in Minneapolis last May 25. His death has sparked mass protest actions across the US with people of all ages and ethnicities joining the march against police brutality and racial injustice. But in the midst of growing outcry, there has been no indication of Floyd Mayweather Jr's changing his stance on Black Lives Matter issue as he last expressed in a December 12, 2017 story published in the website www.complex.com titled "Floyd Mayweather Doubles Down on Controversial Stance: I'll Say It Again, All Lives Matter" which reported the following: "Back in October 2016, Floyd caught a lot of flak for some comments he made during an interview with Tha Boxing Voice. After he was asked why other boxers weren’t selling out fights like he used to, Mayweather responded by randomly expressing his unpopular opinion on the Black Lives Matter movement. "I’m here to say all lives matter," Mayweather said. "You know, a lot of times, we get stuck, and we are followers. When you hear one person say 'Black lives matter,' or 'Blue lives matter,' all lives matter." Mayweather’s comments didn’t sit well with a lot of people, and he received criticism from all directions, one critic even calling his comment irresponsible. But the backlash does not seem to change Mayweather’s beliefs... In his own Instagram post, Mayweather also addressed his "all lives matters" comments from 2016 and told everyone that he’s sticking by them. After a fan mentioned the comments on IG, he spent several minutes trying to explain why he doesn’t think what he said is a big deal. Mayweather started his explanation by talking about how he created his TMT clothing line for everyone of all races to wear: "A lot of times, everybody be talking about 'Yeah, black lives matter, black lives matter! But I see more white people with my TMT (The Money Team) shirt...When I started with my TMT, it's not a black thing, it's not a white thing, it's the right thing. So my TMT gear is worldwide. My TMT gear is for everybody. I didnt make it for blacks or whites, it is for everybody." Mayweather then doubled down on his "all lives matter" comments before bringing his Filipino friend/photographer into the fold and talking about how everyone’s life should matter: "I got a lot of scrutiny when everybody was like, 'Oh yeah, Floyd said all lives matter.' I don’t give a fuck what nobody say. I live my life the way I fucking want to live my life. I say what the fuck I want to say. I ain’t no fucking follower. And I’ll say it again: All lives matter. At the end of the day, right here, this is one of my best friends. This is one of my best friends right here. So at the end of the day, he’s Filipino. At the end of the day, I look at him like a brother. So his life matter to me, just like everybody on here. Y’all life matter to me, too. It’s all love. Everybody life matter. Everybody mean something." That led to Mayweather making this statement, which he seemed to backtrack from right away after saying it: "A lot of times we say, 'Black lives matter, black lives matter,' but at the end of the day, in the hood, blacks is shooting blacks. I’m saying—nobody should be killing nobody. I just want peace. Me myself, I want peace. I think everybody should have peace. All around the world, we should have peace." And Mayweather finished by talking about how he thinks people should interact with police. He also attempted to punctuate his explanation with a poorly-timed joke: "My thing is this: There’s good cops out there, just like there’s bad cops out there. At the end of the day, it’s all about following rules and regulations. That’s on both ends—for people in this world and for the cops. I know the cops got a job to do, but the cops’ job ain’t to be shooting motherfuckers, either. But also, when the cops tell a motherfucker to get out the car, just follow rules and regulations. All you got to do is follow rules. Don’t question a motherfucker. When they pull me over, when they ask for my registration, my license, my insurance, I just hand them this. [holds up a stack of money] I’m fucking with y’all. I’m popping shit..." In the past, Mayweather has proved time and time again that he’s probably not the best guy to call on if you’re looking for opinions on important social issues. This is further proof of that. But you would think that he would realize that and steer clear of addressing these kinds of issues, especially in such an informal setting." But what could be the other considerations behind Floyd Mayweather's continuing neutral stance regarding the race issue that he has been risking being tagged as a modern day Uncle Tom? The Wikipedia defines Uncle Tom as: "In the American racial context, 'Uncle Tom' is a pejorative term for African-Americans who give up or hide their ethnic or gender outlooks, traits, and practices, in order to be accepted into the mainstream". The way I see it, Floyd's continued distancing himself from the race issue may have put him in a better light with the "Establishment". Lately, Floyd has been getting improved reviews on his ertswhile pro boxing career and claimed legacy as TBE or the best ever boxer. He was widely disparaged especially during his comeback for cherrypicking his opponents, ducking Manny Pacquiao until Manny grew old and for his crass materialism and commercialism as he himself proudly proclaimed with his Money persona and TMT branding. But few years into his second retirement, he was even declared as Fighter of the Decade despite fighting for just about half of the past ten years (2010-2019). He is also being recognized as among the very best fighters in history trumping even some of the all time greats in certain latest rankings. Some of these recent accolades and recognitions have been given him by organizations as the Boxing Writers Association of America, the Ring Magazine, Sports Illustrated, ESPN Sports, boxrec,com, among others that used to be critical of him before. Just saying... The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.  |
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