The recent press tour to promote Floyd Mayweather's money-spinning bout with Conor McGregor became mired in negative publicity, as McGregor used language consistent with racist rhetoric, telling Mayweather to "dance for me boy" on stage in Los Angeles. McGregor attempted to address the controversy on the third night in New York, bloviating that "all of the media seem to be saying that I am against black people. That's absolutely fucking ridiculous. But do they not know that I am half black? Yeeaaaahhh. I’m half-black from the bellybutton down".
McGregor responded to the allegations in a more sanguine manner later in the night, at a press conference with the assembled media:
That doesn't sit well with me. I'm very multicultural, I'm a multicultural individual. I don't have any ill-feelings toward anyone, I don't even see colour. I just wanted to say something and have some fun with it...I just wanted to play with it and address it in my own little way. It's stupid and it's ridiculous, is basically what I was getting at.
UFC President Dana White was on stage for the duration of the tour, and he has spoken about his experience to ESPN. When asked about the racism allegations, White jumped to McGregor's defence, saying that he is not a racist, and blames the media for picking up on it:
Let me put it this way. I've known Conor now for three, four years. I've spent a lot of time with him. There are people you hang around that you know are racist. You know it. Conor McGregor is not a racist, in my opinion. In no way shape or form do I think he was going out and trying to be a racist. I know the kid. He's just not like that. He doesn't treat people that way.
I knew the media would pick up on it. The media loves stuff like that. To you guys, that's a home run. 'Oh, he's being racist,' and this and that. These two are going to try and knock each other unconscious in 30 days. I don't think there's anything you can say that's meaner than that.
White also denied that the press tour will hurt the number of PPVs sold for the fight. You can read the full piece here.
See Also: Watch: The First Trailer For The Conor McGregor Film 'Notorious'
