On Thursday night, Conor McGregor attempted and failed to ease accusations of racism which have accumulated during his multi city promotional tour for his August 26th fight with Floyd Mayweather.
On stage in New York, he said that suggestions in the media that he had something against black people were 'absolutely fucking ridiculous'. He went onto explain that this was especially ridiculous as he's 'half-black from the belly button down'. That was before he gyrated suggestively for his female fans.
In the two previous media events, McGregor had made some racially insensitive remarks, telling Mayweather to 'dance for me boy'.
The Dubliner's behaviour raised the anger of ESPN's Mike Wilbon on Thursday. On sports show Pardon The Interruption, which aired before the New York press conference, the co-host said he has never been a fan of Mayweather. This time, however, he wants to see the undefeated boxer leave his opponent in a bloody mess.
McGregor went into what I will call a bigoted, race-baiting, two-day rant in which he told Floyd to dance and called him a boy and illiterate.
I have never rooted for Floyd. Never, ever, [not] once but I want him to leave McGregor an unconscious bloody lump on the mat.
I don't just want to see him get beaten up, I want to see him get carried out. I don't care if he crossed the line for everybody, he crossed the line for me, McGregor did.
In this case, he specifically was either given or chose - either way, he's a grown man - some sort of buzzwords to buy into some stereotypes and fears out there. Which, by the way, this country probably doesn't need right now. They don't care, but I care.
If you make Floyd a sympathetic figure, that's an amazing thing.
Now I can follow this every day hoping that McGregor gets his head knocked off.
You can watch Wilbon censure McGregor below.
