Stephen A. Smith on Mayweather Hate: ‘Grow Up’

During Monday’s “First Take” on ESPN2, co-host Stephen A. Smith responded to the people that have disgust for boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. for his criminal history. ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” recently did a feature on his violent history, in which attorney Gloria Allred for his ex-fiancé Shantel Jackson called for some form of punishment by the sport of boxing’s commission.

ESPN’s Keith Olbermann and John Saunders have made it known that they refuse to watch the fight because of Mayweather Jr. and his troubled past.

But according to Stephen A. Smith, this society will continue to support Mayweather Jr. and people with criminal histories because society keeps them relevant and that ‘we all need to just grow up and own up to that reality.’

“You can complain and draw attention to these issues that affect Floyd Mayweather just like it affected Mike Tyson. In the end, once the court of law has dealt with them, in whatever way they choose, we ultimately get back to why they are relevant in the first place. They are relevant because as fighters they are great and people want to see them, whether it’s seeing them win or seeing them get knocked out.”

He continued, “That’s the reality of the world that we are living in. We all need to just grow up and own up to that reality because they could never be who they are In terms of how they affect us as a society. If we didn’t allow it collectively to happen. But we seem to do that in America and then turn around and wonder why others do it as well. I don’t understand that.”

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