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LZ Granderson is a respected African-American columnist for ESPN.com's Page 2. He also hosts the web-based ESPN360 talk show Game Night. Granderson was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, home state of Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Usually, sportswriters from the area *ehem, David ehem Mayo ehem* refrain from being critical of their man. Typical. But Granderson isn't your usual sportswriter. He is one of the few openly gay sportswriters in the industry, and his writings for ESPN's Page 2 usually centers around social and human aspects of sports.
So when fellow African-American and Michigander Floyd Mayweather Jr. exposed his ignorance with his ****phobic and racist rants over UStream last week, Granderson was one of the few mainstream American writers that stepped up and called for Mayweather's idiocy to be dealt with accordingly.
Granderson wrote on ESPN.com
"After watching Floyd Mayweather's racist and ****phobic rant on YouTube, I was immediately reminded of another popular YouTube clip: "The Bed Intruder Song" featuring Antoine Dodson. With each slanderous remark out of Mayweather's mouth, I could hear Dodson saying "you are so dumb, really, really dumb -- fo' real."
Personally, I was taken aback that there wasn't as big of an immediate backlash from Mayweather's racist and ****phobic rant similar to the outrage caused by the likes of radio talk show host Don Imus and former Seinfeld star Michael Richards. Surely, Mayweather's rant belong to the same ignorant category, but initially it seemed as if his racial slurs again Asians and ****phobic statements were greeted with apathy by mainstream US media which typically would jump on these issues.
And then the Filipino outcry.
Racism is disgusting. And the fact of the matter is, racism is colorblind as well. Whether it's racism against black people, white, Asians or Middle Eastern races, there should be zero tolerance over hateful racist remarks. Mayweather came out with an apology saying "he was simply having fun" and that he did not have a racist bone in his body. Honestly, I believe Mayweather isn't a racist, but his apology and his actions just proved that he's a bigger idiot than even his biggest detractors perceived him to be.
Can you imagine Manny Pacquiao saying anything like that? And as stupid as Roger Mayweather's statement about the drugs he thinks Pacquiao was taking (A-Side meth that made Filipino soldiers bulletproof 500 years ago), this one takes the cake on the list of the Mayweathers' foot-in-mouth disease comments. How can you even take this guy seriously with anything he says now? Seriously, his steroids accusations over Pacquiao sound like some childish excuse now more than ever. I honestly really pity those who blindly follow and believe this guy. But then again, George W. Bush was the President of the United States not too long ago. Mayweather may be one of the best boxers of this era, but he definitely is one of its biggest idiots.
Granderson also added,
"If we truly believe in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," then it is only fair that the boxing world punish Mayweather. I understand he's the industry's cash cow. But this kind of hypocrisy only fertilizes racial tension while simultaneously lining the pockets of people who make their living manipulating that tension."
Co-sign.
As obvious as it really is, I appreciate the fact that there are some mainstream people out there who are willing to step up and call out injustices like this that have no place in society. Quoting Pacquiao quoting Peter Parker ,"with great power comes great responsibility," and whether you buy into Pacquiao's image or not, at least you will never see the guy promote the stupidity Mayweather pimps so proudly out there.- DG
You can contact LZ Granderson through e-mail at l_granderson@yahoo.com.
Usually, sportswriters from the area *ehem, David ehem Mayo ehem* refrain from being critical of their man. Typical. But Granderson isn't your usual sportswriter. He is one of the few openly gay sportswriters in the industry, and his writings for ESPN's Page 2 usually centers around social and human aspects of sports.
So when fellow African-American and Michigander Floyd Mayweather Jr. exposed his ignorance with his ****phobic and racist rants over UStream last week, Granderson was one of the few mainstream American writers that stepped up and called for Mayweather's idiocy to be dealt with accordingly.
Granderson wrote on ESPN.com
"After watching Floyd Mayweather's racist and ****phobic rant on YouTube, I was immediately reminded of another popular YouTube clip: "The Bed Intruder Song" featuring Antoine Dodson. With each slanderous remark out of Mayweather's mouth, I could hear Dodson saying "you are so dumb, really, really dumb -- fo' real."
Personally, I was taken aback that there wasn't as big of an immediate backlash from Mayweather's racist and ****phobic rant similar to the outrage caused by the likes of radio talk show host Don Imus and former Seinfeld star Michael Richards. Surely, Mayweather's rant belong to the same ignorant category, but initially it seemed as if his racial slurs again Asians and ****phobic statements were greeted with apathy by mainstream US media which typically would jump on these issues.
And then the Filipino outcry.
Racism is disgusting. And the fact of the matter is, racism is colorblind as well. Whether it's racism against black people, white, Asians or Middle Eastern races, there should be zero tolerance over hateful racist remarks. Mayweather came out with an apology saying "he was simply having fun" and that he did not have a racist bone in his body. Honestly, I believe Mayweather isn't a racist, but his apology and his actions just proved that he's a bigger idiot than even his biggest detractors perceived him to be.
Can you imagine Manny Pacquiao saying anything like that? And as stupid as Roger Mayweather's statement about the drugs he thinks Pacquiao was taking (A-Side meth that made Filipino soldiers bulletproof 500 years ago), this one takes the cake on the list of the Mayweathers' foot-in-mouth disease comments. How can you even take this guy seriously with anything he says now? Seriously, his steroids accusations over Pacquiao sound like some childish excuse now more than ever. I honestly really pity those who blindly follow and believe this guy. But then again, George W. Bush was the President of the United States not too long ago. Mayweather may be one of the best boxers of this era, but he definitely is one of its biggest idiots.
Granderson also added,
"If we truly believe in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," then it is only fair that the boxing world punish Mayweather. I understand he's the industry's cash cow. But this kind of hypocrisy only fertilizes racial tension while simultaneously lining the pockets of people who make their living manipulating that tension."
Co-sign.
As obvious as it really is, I appreciate the fact that there are some mainstream people out there who are willing to step up and call out injustices like this that have no place in society. Quoting Pacquiao quoting Peter Parker ,"with great power comes great responsibility," and whether you buy into Pacquiao's image or not, at least you will never see the guy promote the stupidity Mayweather pimps so proudly out there.- DG
You can contact LZ Granderson through e-mail at l_granderson@yahoo.com.
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