Floyd Mayweather Jr. won the fight Saturday night against Manny Pacquiao, furthering his undefeated streak to 48-0. Mayweather, who stated, “The check got nine figures on it, baby,” when asked if he received his expected payout of $100 million after his win, defended his reputation in the ring, but his personal life has now come into question.
With several million people watching on pay-per-view and 16,507 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Mayweather’s disturbing past — rife with charges of domestic violence — did not seem to affect his payout or distract him from the task at hand.
Let’s contrast this with the series of events over the past year that led the NFL to adopt mandatory sanctions for all NFL personnel for domestic violence offenses. In Minnesota, Adrian Peterson has been attempting to receive a trade but has yet to leave the Vikings. After being disciplined, Peterson has received mixed support from fans, but it is clear that he will never regain the support he once commanded. This is progress.
It is responsible for organizations to discipline athletes for glaring ethical violations. As athletes are role models and privileged to receive large amounts of money — mainly as a consequence of public exposure — they need to be held accountable for their actions.
While it’s true that boxing works differently than the NFL, as there is no single overarching governing organization that employs all professional boxers, something needs to change.
Outspoken journalists Rachel Nichols and Michelle Beadle, who have covered his past, were allegedly banned from attending the fight by the Mayweather camp.
While the situation is unclear as to what happened, this blanket censorship is unacceptable if it is true. Some have stated that Saturday’s event was a massive scam and that boxing is on its way out as a sport. I couldn’t agree more, if nothing changes.
