While the American public and the boxing world watch the hotly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, 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 supporting him as an athlete.
Respected sports journalists Rachel Nichols, Michelle Beadle and Chris Mannix, among others, were denied media credentials for the event at the request of the Mayweather camp. All three, as well as other journalists denied passes, have a history of talking openly about Mayweathers past assaults on women. The assaults have been so serious, that despite the millions he’s thrown at the cases, he’s done jail time.
While the world watches in awe of his spendthrift ways, opulent life and amazing physique its important to remember: if Mayweather was an NFL player, he would have been banned from the league for life. Long ago.
With an event as closely covered by the media as this one, it’s shocking that veteran reporters from major outlets like HBO, ESPN, and USA Today would be banned from the bout. It especially suspicious when their perhaps-lesser qualified colleagues at the same outlets have been approved.
Beadle has in the past promoted the #BoycottMayweather Twitter hashtag, while Nichols has confronted him openly about his history of abusing women.
Mayweather has had seven domestic violence incidents that resulted in arrests and citations against five different women, including an arrest in 2010.
He pled guilty in March 2002 to two counts of domestic violence for a particularly viscous attack in which he struck the mother of his children in the face with a car door in front of their family, and then punched her repeatedly.
‘Champ’ did 90 days in jail in 2011 after being convicted of punching, and pulling the hair of his ex-girlfriend Josie Harris while two of their children watched in September 2010.
On a night where we are supposed to celebrate an outstanding American do battle, perhaps we should instead reflect on just where the spotlight ought to shined.
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