Shaun King is the justice correspondent with the NY Daily News. He writes regularly about the topic of race in America. Like many journalists in the social media age, King has figured out that provocative and outspoken opinions on sensitive subjects is a reliable way to build a readership. Today, King turned his sights on Conor McGregor.
McGregor, of course, was back in the headlines this week for tossing bottles of sports energy drinks in the vicinity of the Diaz brothers in Vegas this week. During the same bottle throwing exhibition, McGregor called Diaz a 'crackhead ese', a statement that some found offensive and racist (a crackhead being someone addicted to crack cocaine, an ese being a Hispanic criminal)
Surprised no one is talking about @TheNotoriousMMA "crackhead esé" remark lol that was kinda racist...💀 #UFC202
— Silmeon (@SilmeonMusic) August 18, 2016
Alas, McGregor is no stranger to the occasional derogatory statement in the heat of promotion.
Well today, hours before UFC 202, King went to town on the Notorious One and his propensity for the odd occasional offensive statement in the strongest language possible.
It's certainly hard to argue with King's last tweet. Pre UFC 200, McGregor has been positioned as the face of the UFC. Spats with the Fertittas aside, McGregor's offensive language towards the UFC's Latin American fighters certainly isolates him from the UFC's increasingly diverse community. Liam Hogan's thinkpiece on McGregor's 'American amnesia' remains definitive write-up on McGregor and racism.
Huge UFC fan here. UFC is MOST diverse private company in the world. McG hurts International harmony of UFC. #disqualification
— Marie-Lynn in Heaven 🌅 (@_GirlMaher_) August 20, 2016
