Joe Brolly is one of the most interesting columnists in Ireland, and last week he made a departure from writing about GAA to talk about MMA in the aftermath of the death of Joao Carvalho at an event in Dublin. In that column, Brolly called for a ban on all combat sports, which was as well argued as always. There was one mention of Conor McGregor, which was admittedly unfair:
These violent life-and-death sports are fun. They bring us to somewhere primitive inside us. It is why the spectators in the Colosseum gasped and cheered as the knife was thrust home. Or why the toffs on the balcony at Newgate paid big money to watch the hangman pull the lever. It is why young, penniless men are queuing up to try to murder each other in cages and boxing rings. And why Conor McGregor high fives and beats his chest as a young man dies.
McGregor was unaware of the hideous ending to the fight, so to assume he was revelling in its gore was unfair on Brolly's part. In his column today, however, Brolly reveals some of the absurd abuse he was targeted with in the aftermath of its publication. Here is a small portion of that vitriol:
My column last Sunday caused a surprisingly vicious backlash on social media from the MMA brigade. A lot of Chelsea FC supporters and teenagers and tattooed young men who talk like boyz in the hood and dream of owning a pet tiger. And who call their hero 'Conor', as though they were close friends.
When McGregor retired on Tuesday, MMA fans went to DEFCON 1, and I was deluged with abuse, including this gem: "This is your fault, you one kidney prick".
This is a reference to the fact that Brolly donated one of his kidneys to a man desperately in need of one. While Brolly's comment on McGregor was ill-juidged, to get this level of abuse is ludicrous and irrational. It also tarnishes a number of genuine MMA fans in Ireland. To assume that these vitriolic morons are representative of all MMA fans in Ireland is grossly unfair on those who genuinely enjoy the sport, and are capable of seeing both sides of the many arguments raging around the sport.
Yet the great sound and fury of these trolls obscure this and give many fans a bad image. Brolly's column is yet to be posted online, we will add the link here once it is, but otherwise we advise you to go and buy the paper.
[Sunday Independent]
