TheLukieBaby
Pro
In the last weeks boxing column I wrote briefly about the latest hot button issue which was Broner missing weight. This week I want to not just share my insight on this topic, but provide an opinion that has not been shared and was prompted by a high profile journalist. The Tweet read "Broner said nah mean and you know what I am talking about 1,000 times." A fairly innocent tweet some might say since boxers are not known for their IQs, as you do not see a lot of Harvard grads entering boxing, but I interpreted this statement as a real put down to Broner. This is a tricky line to walk. I cannot fault this journalist since he explained, "I was reading too much into what he was saying," but the sad truth is racism starts as joke or something lying silently under the surface of human interaction that we white people often don't even comprehend and that when confronted with can shake up the entire moral fabric of our functioning, like a tapestry unraveling.
So you might wonder why this dialogue with a journalist about Broner got such a response from me. Part of what I am writing about is the fact that it seems socially acceptable and maybe almost a requirement to disparage Broner at all costs. Adrien Broner has an aura around him that can easily piss someone off the way a rapper talking about an expensive lifestyle could make a man making 40k a year mad. He is a braggadocio, unforgiving, and is candid in his belief in himself as well as great at creating sound bites. From an outsiders perspective Broner came off on Friday as an entitled athlete not unlike Alex Rodriguez, who feels that he is the show and he doesn't have to conform. This was evident when he missed weight and immediately drank water and ate dinner, a pure act of defiance. Even after defying those rules he came in over what Escobedo's camp thought would be a 10 lb limit over the contracted weight, when he came in at 143, saying that he believed that it was 10 lbs over the weight from the day before. On top of this a circus of events occurred that eventually had Escubedo much richer despite his corner telling him to not take the fight the day of the event.
So what is it that bothers me about the coverage of Broner? He is somewhat hateable or unlikeable, right? Well, for starters, why are there claims that his entrances are too showy? Huh? Yes, people have critiqued Mayweather for such antics, but Mayweather is also Black and is also a boxer who people will view Broner as being influenced by heavily. I just remember being a child and not hearing people complain about Hector "Macho" Camacho and his escapades, in fact, that was part of his charm. The sport is entertainment and when you start to hear people nitpick about walkouts when two men who trained for 8-10 weeks to fight are finally about to meet I think you should judge them on their in ring performance and let them do whatever need be to get them to the ring.
The other odd remark I heard was about the circus Broner and his girlfriend created in the ring after the fight, taking away from his fight. I have heard people saying things like, let a fighter who truly deserves a chance to make good money get the fight over someone putting on this type stuff. The problem is Broner is entertaining, the sad part, is in many ways, he is portraying to white America a Black stereotype that a lot of white kids grow up believing. It seems that the type of image he is promoting whether intentional or not, is rubbing a core group of white middle class people the wrong way. Perhaps the white audience feels that they are smart, have worked harder, and have more talent than Broner, without acknowledging that their feelings are really based in their white privilege. The concept of someone like Broner being successful undermines to a lot whites middle class people. Whites might be more comfortable relating this type of success story to a humble champ or a stoic hard ass who does his talking in the ring. I just wonder would the hate for Broner be so strong if he was white.
Getting back to the initial Tweet, which started this piece I think, yes, it had truth in it, but I have always said that interviewing boxers after a fight is not the best idea, since they are not in the best mind frame to answer questions. To mock the language someone uses is more telling of the character of the attacker than it is the fighter "who talks funny." Broner is walking a line as a cocky, brash and outspoken fighter and you can dislike him for his lack of respect for his opponents or for missing weight. My question to you is, does race influence the way Adrien Broner is viewed?
So you might wonder why this dialogue with a journalist about Broner got such a response from me. Part of what I am writing about is the fact that it seems socially acceptable and maybe almost a requirement to disparage Broner at all costs. Adrien Broner has an aura around him that can easily piss someone off the way a rapper talking about an expensive lifestyle could make a man making 40k a year mad. He is a braggadocio, unforgiving, and is candid in his belief in himself as well as great at creating sound bites. From an outsiders perspective Broner came off on Friday as an entitled athlete not unlike Alex Rodriguez, who feels that he is the show and he doesn't have to conform. This was evident when he missed weight and immediately drank water and ate dinner, a pure act of defiance. Even after defying those rules he came in over what Escobedo's camp thought would be a 10 lb limit over the contracted weight, when he came in at 143, saying that he believed that it was 10 lbs over the weight from the day before. On top of this a circus of events occurred that eventually had Escubedo much richer despite his corner telling him to not take the fight the day of the event.
So what is it that bothers me about the coverage of Broner? He is somewhat hateable or unlikeable, right? Well, for starters, why are there claims that his entrances are too showy? Huh? Yes, people have critiqued Mayweather for such antics, but Mayweather is also Black and is also a boxer who people will view Broner as being influenced by heavily. I just remember being a child and not hearing people complain about Hector "Macho" Camacho and his escapades, in fact, that was part of his charm. The sport is entertainment and when you start to hear people nitpick about walkouts when two men who trained for 8-10 weeks to fight are finally about to meet I think you should judge them on their in ring performance and let them do whatever need be to get them to the ring.
The other odd remark I heard was about the circus Broner and his girlfriend created in the ring after the fight, taking away from his fight. I have heard people saying things like, let a fighter who truly deserves a chance to make good money get the fight over someone putting on this type stuff. The problem is Broner is entertaining, the sad part, is in many ways, he is portraying to white America a Black stereotype that a lot of white kids grow up believing. It seems that the type of image he is promoting whether intentional or not, is rubbing a core group of white middle class people the wrong way. Perhaps the white audience feels that they are smart, have worked harder, and have more talent than Broner, without acknowledging that their feelings are really based in their white privilege. The concept of someone like Broner being successful undermines to a lot whites middle class people. Whites might be more comfortable relating this type of success story to a humble champ or a stoic hard ass who does his talking in the ring. I just wonder would the hate for Broner be so strong if he was white.
Getting back to the initial Tweet, which started this piece I think, yes, it had truth in it, but I have always said that interviewing boxers after a fight is not the best idea, since they are not in the best mind frame to answer questions. To mock the language someone uses is more telling of the character of the attacker than it is the fighter "who talks funny." Broner is walking a line as a cocky, brash and outspoken fighter and you can dislike him for his lack of respect for his opponents or for missing weight. My question to you is, does race influence the way Adrien Broner is viewed?
) but well written piece
at him being overweight and paying off duke and beating that booty. 
at the faux proposal to his GF though
@ this bullshyt
