Oh what a surprise – two reporters who had talked about Floyd Mayweather’s history of domestic violence were banned from reporting on that big match. I’ve been growling for days about all the ridiculously excited and eager publicity for a boxing match, even from the BBC, and this item just adds to the disgust. Yay, folks, let’s get overjoyed about a “sport” that cuts out all the frills and folderol of trying to put a ball into a net and just goes straight to the part about guys punching each other. After that lets all go watch people torturing animals for amusement.
As the boxing world watches the hotly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao—two fan favorites meeting for the first time—there are a few people who won’t be there: The sports reporters who’ve spoken openly about Mayweather’s history of domestic violence, and have publicly questioned or spoken out against supporting him as an athlete.
Does this sound at all familiar? Does it sound like Ray Rice for example? Does it sound like the long history of everyone looking hard in the opposite direction whenever people mentioned a football or basketball or boxing star’s history of punching women? It does to me.
Mayweather has had at least seven domestic violence incidents that resulted in arrests and citations against five women, including an arrest in 2010. He pled guilty in March 2002 to two counts of domestic violence for striking the mother of his children in the face with a car door in front of their family, and punching her repeatedly.
Yeah the BBC never mentioned that in its hyperventilating report on the approaching fight that I heard a few days ago. Nope; not a word.
But hey, it’s only women.