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Conor Gets Candid on Camera
Ted Berg/USAToday:
Am I crazy, or has Conor McGregor menaced the entire world into just sort of dismissing his habit of committing violent crimes on camera?
The most recent example happened in April but surfaced online this week. The footage is grainy, but it appears to show McGregor pour a shot of whiskey for a bunch of grey-haired guys sitting at a bar.
One guy apparently does not want the shot of whiskey, so McGregor starts doing some weird posturing motion that vaguely resembles a silverback gorilla pounding its chest upon being challenged. Then he hauls off and punches the guy in the face.
The same TMZ post that revealed the video includes an interview with UFC president Dana White. In it, White does not condone McGregor’s behavior and says a number of times that “you can’t do it,” but he also says things like, “You know how many guys get punched in the face every day in a pub in Ireland? A lot! The only reason we’re even talking about it is because it’s Conor,” and “That’s Conor’s signature punch, but Conor didn’t punch him the way he could’ve. That was Conor basically feeling disrespected.”
In a subsequent interview with Jim Rome, White called it “pretty bad.”
Yeah, I’d say it’s "pretty bad!" The victim did not appear to be hurt by the punch, and bar fighting is certainly stereotypical behavior inside pubs in Ireland. But a) that it’s Ireland absolutely does not make it normal or OK; b) this isn’t a fight, it’s a sucker punch; c) punching an old man in the face for turning down your offer of whiskey should not be permissible behavior for anybody, no less a trained professional fighter. How is this real?
My friends can drink way more than I can, so I somewhat frequently turn down shots of whiskey. I’ve never been to Ireland, but it’s a place I’d always wanted to check out before I learned that it’s a place where turning down a shot of whiskey might get me punched in the face by the actual Conor McFreakinGregor.
I wrote about McGregor’s persona and brand back in April — just a few days after this happened, but before we knew about it — and I’m not really moved to repeat myself more than I already have. The guy has an amazing rags-to-riches backstory and does enough decent and charitable things to inspire a ton of loyalty in his fans. But he’s also under investigation for sexual assault and has a long history of violent and racist behavior outside the ring, much of it with no real semblance of shame or remorse.
. . .
It’s absurd. This dude feels like the Emperor’s New Sports Hero. How many more strangers is McGregor going to punch before people stop eagerly awaiting his comeback and start eagerly awaiting his imprisonment?
-USAToday
Ted Berg/USAToday:
Am I crazy, or has Conor McGregor menaced the entire world into just sort of dismissing his habit of committing violent crimes on camera?
The most recent example happened in April but surfaced online this week. The footage is grainy, but it appears to show McGregor pour a shot of whiskey for a bunch of grey-haired guys sitting at a bar.
One guy apparently does not want the shot of whiskey, so McGregor starts doing some weird posturing motion that vaguely resembles a silverback gorilla pounding its chest upon being challenged. Then he hauls off and punches the guy in the face.
The same TMZ post that revealed the video includes an interview with UFC president Dana White. In it, White does not condone McGregor’s behavior and says a number of times that “you can’t do it,” but he also says things like, “You know how many guys get punched in the face every day in a pub in Ireland? A lot! The only reason we’re even talking about it is because it’s Conor,” and “That’s Conor’s signature punch, but Conor didn’t punch him the way he could’ve. That was Conor basically feeling disrespected.”
In a subsequent interview with Jim Rome, White called it “pretty bad.”
Yeah, I’d say it’s "pretty bad!" The victim did not appear to be hurt by the punch, and bar fighting is certainly stereotypical behavior inside pubs in Ireland. But a) that it’s Ireland absolutely does not make it normal or OK; b) this isn’t a fight, it’s a sucker punch; c) punching an old man in the face for turning down your offer of whiskey should not be permissible behavior for anybody, no less a trained professional fighter. How is this real?
My friends can drink way more than I can, so I somewhat frequently turn down shots of whiskey. I’ve never been to Ireland, but it’s a place I’d always wanted to check out before I learned that it’s a place where turning down a shot of whiskey might get me punched in the face by the actual Conor McFreakinGregor.
I wrote about McGregor’s persona and brand back in April — just a few days after this happened, but before we knew about it — and I’m not really moved to repeat myself more than I already have. The guy has an amazing rags-to-riches backstory and does enough decent and charitable things to inspire a ton of loyalty in his fans. But he’s also under investigation for sexual assault and has a long history of violent and racist behavior outside the ring, much of it with no real semblance of shame or remorse.
. . .
It’s absurd. This dude feels like the Emperor’s New Sports Hero. How many more strangers is McGregor going to punch before people stop eagerly awaiting his comeback and start eagerly awaiting his imprisonment?
-USAToday
