(start at :40 seconds, try not to bludgeon your eardrums with a screwdriver by 1:00)
“I’m here to say all lives matters,” the undefeated boxer answered to the unrelated question. “A lot of times we get stuck and we’re followers. You hear one person say, ‘Black lives matters!’ or ‘Blue lives matters!’ All lives matters.” Mayweather also doled out this piece of advice — quit resisting. “What I learned from boxing that everyone can take for real life is follow directions. Follow order. Don’t give nobody no hard time.” Why? Just...why? Was it loud in there or something? Did he mishear the interviewer? Pretty sure the most common response to a question you couldn't make out is "what?", not some nauseatingly uneducated answer about whose lives matter(s). I'm sure this reporter was happy to get this soundbite because it's going to get him a billion more clicks and views, but you have to imagine he's still wondering what separates Floyd from others when it comes to promoting himself. Do you know what is common on every single prominent African American athlete whose opinion the general public wants on serious racial issues? They have been asked about serious racial issues. In essence, it says a lot about a famous black person if they - themselves - need to bring up their skin color while the landscape of race relations is as polarizing and discussion worthy as it's been in a long, long time. I don't want to say that someone shouldn't be allowed to have an opinion because that right is part of the fabric of the very foundation of this country. That said, I don't think it's a stretch to say that you should be able to read and write a person's name without the help of a 2nd grade teacher if you are going to disparage their social stand against a societal injustice. Like, maybe Floyd Mayweather should just fall back into his La-Z-Boy full of crisp dollar bills that he meticulously arranged for a super awesome Instagram pic and sit this one out. Not for me, but for the entirety of the black community that just buried their head in their hands as he somehow made a peaceful protest of oppression a football issue. If this election has taught us anything it's that stupid people get a voice too, but if they are going to use it to undermine a cause as honorable as equality then maybe it should be more of an inner monologue. I don't expect dumb people living lavishly to be able to relate to normal people living in reality, but I do expect them to realize their life experiences are a teeny bit different than the average person. Floyd Mayweather - seemingly impossibly - critqued Colin Kaepernick's actions as a figurehead for change and applauded him for increasingly his jersey sales in the process. I don't know what I expected from an illiterate boxer that's worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but I think it was a point of view that wouldn't make Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X weep from beyond the grave.
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