Sometime a couple of weeks ago, Ustream, a video platform for the likes of Diva wide receivers and Stephon Marbury, unveiled a new star: Floyd Mayweather Jr. On a lengthy diatribe, the vacationing “boxer” joined the ranks of Mike Tyson in “gutterdom,” in the cheaper real estate of course. The ESPN crawl gave the man of leisure his 14 minutes of infamy and soon moved on like much of the so called “news.” What gives? I mean, all of the markings of outrage where there: racism, homophobia, domestic abuse, even one short man calling another short man a midget! LZ Granderson, a much more talented writer than I, opined on ESPN.com that Floyd was given a “pass” because he is black; that the NAACP is guilty of double standards. He compared the racial controversies of Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Don Imus and Michael Richardson to that of our “beloved” pound for pound champion. He also rekindled Fuzzy Zoellers blunder and the impact his racist comments had on his sponsorships many moons ago. Taking all of this in I must say I’m just as curious as he is about why Floyd is being held to a different, much looser standard and I’ve come to a clear conclusion.
Floyd isn’t Big Enough to Generate Moral Outrage
Before you get all bent out of shape understand I am not speaking for our boxing community. I am speaking for the mainstream community to which radio personalities like Don Imus have more reach and influence. People like Dr. Laura and Don Imus have millions of viewers and listeners daily, so when they slip up it resonates culturally. Michael Richards of “Seinfeld” is seen more in syndication on a weekly basis than Floyd Mayweather will be seen by a mainstream audience in his whole public life. “Dancing with the Stars” could not make him a household name because like it or not Boxing is no longer a mainstream sport. Floyd may have bragged about Reebok paying him a million for 3 weeks (I’m still looking for that gear) but that is pocket change compared to the sponsorship packages Tiger Woods lost for banging a Denny’s waitress. If you pay close attention there are even more factors that determine whether a “controversy” like this has “legs” and I’m prepared to list them for you. Take the following factors under consideration when you gear up to make Floyd “pay” for this tasteless act.
Timing: The Fall is Here
Football is KING, and thanks to Lebron James and NBA free agency nobody cares about inactive boxers. The Bob Arum press conference and Floyd’s denial that there were negotiations (for Pacquiao) was our response to “The Decision” and it was fitting. Our sport suffers from the lack of a governing body, a schedule and clarity on just who is the champ in each division. As a fan of many sports I welcome the normalcy of the fall and watching seasons unfold. Mainstream sports fans are just now bracing for the best time on the sports calendar, Michigan is more concerned with jobs & the return of Wolverine dominance than a native son’s Vegas turmoil. When “real” sports with real schedules and anticipated championships kick into gear Randy Moss’s opinions on anything are more important than Floyd. If Terrell Owens vaguely hinted that he isn’t as close to “Ochostinko” as we think, it can (and will) dominate the news cycle. It is no secret that the NFL pre-season draws more viewers than Major League Baseball and sports networks are run like a business. The fall primaries are heating up, so straight news channels are not in play and Nancy Grace has her pick of hundreds of Murderers and Rapists to get her “numbers.” There’s a new Fall TV schedule, (Boardwalk Empire baby!), new shows and controversies all at our fingertips on smart phones and flat screens. All mainstream consumers know about Floyd Mayweather is that he won’t fight Manny Pacquiao and unlike us they aren’t interested in him much further than that.
They don’t have that kind of time.
The Mainstream Made Their Verdict
ESPN is the command center for every sports fan on the planet and only the topics and athletes they deem “viable” get promoted from the news crawl. The few talking heads that even bother to talk about boxing have rendered their verdict on Mayweather; and the verdict is who? Respected journalist Tony Kornhieser commented on Mayweather’s racist/homophobic rant with the “go to” rationalization that boxing is barbaric and nobody even took boxers seriously. Whenever his PTI co-host Michael Wilbon bothers to mention Floyd it is to call him a coward. Ray Leonard (and to a lesser degree De La Hoya) were the last boxers to be taken “seriously” because they were easily accessible through network TV and product endorsements. The average sports fan isn’t trolling Ustream or TMZ, and ESPN makes it easy for him to access his favorite sports daily with the limited time they have. Grown ups don’t check for Fiddy’s tweets about Floyd’s “bad new bitch” or his current “baby mama drama.” If he ain’t fighting, he ain’t real to them. As Floyd is a symbol of boxing and its continuous inability to provide fair trade to a sports consumer with increasing options, his misdeeds are no more significant than the obscure C list rapper. Of all of the listed athletes on Forbes’ top earners of 2010 only Mayweather’s “skrilla” is solely generated on the field of play. The mainstream isn’t interested in the things boxing fans bother to debate and obsess about, their message to us is “wake me when he fights that Pacquiao guy” and nothing more.
And lastly, The Sad Truth about Moral Outrage
Moral outrage in 2010 is a business like everything else and Floyd is bad for business. No matter how much Floyd pushes the “vile meter” he won’t get the attention of big game hunters like Jackson and Sharpton. Jackson added his nuanced bit of two cents to the Lebron controversy because the mania surrounding his Free Agency was a media phenomenon. Fox News has become a goliath in the “age of Obama” making Glenn Beck a demigod and Bill O’Reilly even richer. Newt Gingrich calling Obama a Kenyan despot bent on destruction is about money; more money than a childish boxer can generate. Had TV Azteca’s Ines Sainz pulled the same stunt in a boxing gym and not at an NFL practice field she’d be denied the credential to our talk shows. The NAFFAA should by all means take Floyd to task for his behavior but don’t be surprised if he never does a public service announcement denouncing racism. Mike Vick’s fall was a windfall for PETA and all of the groups who can wage corporate war on a sport that generates billions. When “real’ sports icons rankle our feathers there are statistical surveys that inform us on just where they stand in the grand scheme of things.
The Q Rating
The Q Rating is a metrics of likeability and familiarity that determines whether Madison Avenue decides to weave an athlete into the American quilt. Therefore, jocks with a high “Q” are more likely to get a more intense push pack when they do something awful. Floyd Mayweather is not a part of this crowd, which is why no one in the media is interested in making an example of him. CNBC Sports Business just released an exclusive on Lebron James becoming the 6th most hated athlete in pro sports, positive Q rating plummeting as a result of “The Decision.” Below this entry were links to his endorsements and their stock values! Despite our favorite boxer mixing in domestic abuse to his recent controversy cocktail, he isn’t even mentioned as a viable villain. Chad Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez still maintain high rankings in the “athletes you love to hate” category. Tim Smith of ESPN theorized in November 2009 that Floyd had an “opportunity” to raise his positive “Q” and take boxing along with him “if” he came back and fought? the fight. What followed were two fights against opponents we didn’t want to see and more (Pacquiao) nonsense that rendered him invisible to the mainstream sports consumer.
Moral outrage and protest is a science, the ends must justify the means or it is considered a loss. When affective protestors like Al Sharpton “move” on a target, that target must be big enough to enhance future social/political credibility and boxers don’t fulfill this criterion. High Q ratings determine casting for shows and who in the sports landscape secure extremely lucrative product endorsements. Floyd Mayweather’s “team” despite him being 33 years of age, have yet to crack that stratosphere so his misconduct really only impacts him criminally and the flunkies who surround him. Put it this way, Julius Erving (yes Dr. J) and Nolan Ryan are more highly regarded in this world than Floyd – the “Q” bares this reality out. I’m not even sure if his genius in the ring makes him more relevant than “Snookie” from Jersey Shore. Remember, she’s on a tweet for tweet basis with John McCain! A 2008 President Candidate and avid boxing fan.
Keep in mind, Floyd started this infamous video as an announcement of what he was going to do before it unraveled. Lebron tells you what he’s going to do on ESPN while selling millions of dollars worth of sponsorship, Floyd was on a format you can access tomorrow. Maybe Floyd’s latest indiscretions would be more of a “happening” if he took his own advice and “stepped his game up.”
154lb Division, “Say it out loud”? Colin Cowherd
I totally give credit to ESPN host Colin Cowherd for what I am about to say because “say it out loud” is one of his trademark rants. This Saturday we have a PPV 154 “fight” between Sugar Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora. Yep, that’s right a fight between a 39 yr. old welterweight who was last seen shaking like a leaf in a welterweight fight and a guy who last fought a meaningful fight at the weight 2 years ago!
Say it out Loud!
Alfred Angulo who was offered more money than he’s ever made turned down a fight against the REAL man at 154 Sergio Martinez. Why? Because he wants a crack at the mythical Julio C. Chavez, Jr. If Mr. Arum can’t make that “super fight” Angulo would also like a crack at Miguel Cotto, ironically a 5’7″ come forward banger who is a shell of himself at the weight.
Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez are the real class of the division, so much so that they have to rematch at middleweight. That is if HBO wants to pay them and stop trying to shame them into fighting by releasing false press releases.
Say it out Loud! How does it sound?
Manny Pacquiao, who may still be able to make 140 lbs., a great fighter who refused Yuri Foreman due to “size” is now fighting Antonio Margarito. Both fighters are fighting for a vacated 154 lb. WBC strap due to the (cough) unworthiness of Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez. Neither fighter has a resume at the weight and the last time Margarito was seen in a major bout, he was getting his ass kicked by a welterweight. Not to mention that elephant of plastered hand wraps in the room, the one only his trainer can see. Manny is doing Arum a “solid” in this one because “Margs” is just as big as Foreman. Never let it be said that Arum will let anything get between him and the Mexican boxing fans’ wallet.
I guess everything, including ridiculous hypocrisy, is bigger in Texas.
