Sports & Politics Intersect: Are McGregor and Mayweather money?

“Everything I do is money.” - Conor McGregor 

While Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather still have over a month to go before their anticipated boxer-vs-mixed martial artist bout, a series of press events this week have grown increasingly virulent in tone as both fighters danced around homophobic and racial taunts (completely overshadowing Mayweather’s unpaid tax bills) at each stop, culminating with Mayweather calling McGregor a “f----t” on Friday and McGregor calling Mayweather a “juice head monkey,” causing some pundits to wonder why the slowest week of the sports year had to be filled with such filth, while critics note that just because the fight is happening, fans don’t have to pick a side if they find both fighters distastefully racist, and in Mayweather’s case, abusive. 

In the midst of all the sturm und drang, UFC president Dana White earlier this week said he does not believe his long-time pal President Donald Trump (White spoke on his behalf at the Republican National Convention in 2016) will attend the biggest fight of the summer, but the allure could prove to be too strong for the former WWE showman.

“If there’s going to be a change in the regulatory structure with respects to sports gambling, we needed to be in a position to meaningfully engage and shape, try to shape what the new regulatory scheme looks like.” - Rob Manfred on the potential for sports gambling to be legalized across the country

The All-Star break found Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred commenting on a number of political issues around the sport between discussing game clocks and what’s causing the upswing in home runs this season. With the Supreme Court due to hear the appeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, legalized gambling could be coming to baseball and the commish indicated the league would like to help shape new policy around the practice, echoing earlier comments made in February. 

Manfred also indicated the ‘Chief Wahoo’ matter has been tabled until the offseason in regards to the Cleveland mascot many fans find racist, although the commissioner has repeatedly pressed the team for its phase-out sooner rather than later. He also stated his commitment to the Tampa Bay market and hopes the team can come to a new deal on their current stadium in St. Petersburg (with upgrades) or perhaps build a new venue across the bridge in Tampa while naming Charlotte, Montreal and Mexico City as possible cities for expansion.

“While the league isn’t commenting on the price of the buy-in paid to join the league, ESPN recently reported that it’s said to be between $20-30 million per team, paid over time. For reference, a new MLS team today costs $150 million to start, but was as little as $10 million just 10 years ago.” - Tech Crunch, July 2017

Big names like Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Mets COO Jeff Wilpon made a splash this week with the announcement of the seven cities to have Overwatch League teams, marking the first time esports teams have been city-centric homes like traditional sports teams. The first season is due to start by the end of the year with teams based in Boston (owned by Kraft), New York (owned by Wilpon), Los Angeles, Miami-Orlando, San Francisco, Shanghai and Seoul. Games will be played Thursday through Saturday nights, with the first season played in Los Angeles while the teams develop local talent pools for each franchise, including amateur events, an open division and regional competitions. This isn’t the first foray into a traditional sports model for Blizzard Entertainment, the Overwatch World Cup kicks off this weekend in Shanghai with the finals to be held in November. 

“Overwatch,” released by Blizzard to critical acclaim in 2016 and has around 30 million players worldwide, is first-person shooter game set in near-future Earth where teams battle together for the safety and stability of the planet. The game has also recently earned praise for featuring an autistic character able to battle on par with her teammates. 

While investing in esports may not make sense to many sports fans outside of virtual world, Tech Crunch notes the investment amount is a relative bargain in comparison to a traditional sports team, and no one wants to be left behind in a new world. Just ask the person who passed on buying the Dallas Cowboys for $50 million.

“You're going to have to miss games, you're going to have to lose some money if you're willing to make the point, because that's how MLB and NBA got it done. They missed games, they struck, they flexed every bit of power they had, and it was awesome. It worked out for them.” - Richard Sherman on the prospect of a NFLPA strike in 2021

With the NBA setting sky-high records signing players to new deals this offseason, displeasure continues to grow among NFL players with their current collective bargaining agreement which critics say punishes rookies, wipes out the ‘middle class’ of players in favor of team owners (and a few league superstars). The matter came to a head earlier this week when Richard Sherman said union had to be strong and commit to a strike. The tone set by players couldn’t come at a worse time for owners as current ad sales are down, cord-cutting is accelerating, while the overall revenue shared between the 32 franchises for the 2016 season was up according to numbers released just this week.

“Ensuring the stability of the Olympic Games for 11 years is something extraordinary. This is why we think that today, this is a great day for the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement.” - IOC president Thomas Bach

With one final meeting this week in Switzerland before the September International Olympic Committee vote, the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics look to be lock for Paris and Los Angeles, with most observers seeing Paris getting the 2024 nod to mark the 100th anniversary of their last Olympiad and Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Games. Local L.A. officials say they welcome either bid, but are expected to ask for monetary concessions from the IOC for waiting four extra years to host the Games. 

If there is a delay, it does present a new wrinkle for the LA 2024 delegation, as they will have to go back and win approval from the Los Angeles City Council a second time to go forward with their host bid. While 2016 polling numbers showed local support for hosting the Olympics, the numbers were considered rather soft and have declined in the interim period. Local activist group “No Olympics LA” sees the the extra time as an opportunity to see how how committed Angelenos beyond civic and sports leaders are to the Olympic movement. 

Of Note: 

• President Donald Trump returned from France on Friday and headed to Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. where the U.S. Women’s Open is currently underway. 

• New Jersey governor Chris Christie filled in for Mike Francesa on sports talk WFAN this week to mixed reviews, calling one caller a “communist.”

• Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera confessed he fears being killed if he returns to his native Venezuela during the current wave of unrest, taking to Instagram to say “I protest for truth, for the end of communism, and I am not with dictators. To the people of the resistance, you are not alone.”

• As time passes since Muhammad Ali’s passing, his relationship and faith in Islam is being scrubbed from his legacy. 

• The Atlanta Falcons announced ‘fan-friendly’ concession pricing at their new Mercedes-Benz Stadium due to open in August, but critics say it’s the least the team could do in return for the generous amount of public funding the venue was granted. 

• Troy Smith, Ted Ginn Sr. and Eric Metcalf hope to be one of the 24 applicants granted medical marijuana dispensary license in Ohio so the trio can open a shop in Cleveland. 

• Former First Lady Michelle Obama posthumously awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs to Eunice Kennedy Shriver honoring her contributions founding the Special Olympics.

• Awful Announcing examined the phenomena of ‘the night ESPN became too liberal’ by awarding Caitlyn Jenner the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and if that assertion is correct as the network fielded similar complaints going back to the dismissal of Rush Limbaugh. 

• Michael Jordan and singer Pitbull have joined the battle to buy the Marlins; Jordan going with the Derek Jeter consortium of owners while Pitbull has joined the Jeb Bush-Tagg Romney party.  

• Peyton Manning recounted his recent golf outing with President Donald Trump earlier this week on “The Jimmy Kimmel Show.’

• DraftKings CEO Jason Robins explained why his team walked away from a merger with FanDuel earlier this week when the Federal Trade Commission indicated the deal would be in violation of antitrust laws.  

• While many NFL players say (off the record) they’re afraid to make political declarations out of fear of being cut from their respective teams, Malcolm Jenkins of the Philadelphia Eagles says he does not feel such pressures despite his advocacy. 

• Clippers owner Steve Ballmer says he will not move the team to Seattle. The Clippers recently indicated they are interested in building a new venue in the Inglewood section of Los Angeles County. 

• Chuck Blazer, the former American FIFA executive at the heart of the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into corruption in the international soccer body, died on Wednesday, leaving behind a complex legacy as both the godfather of growth in American soccer while taking part in bribery across the globe.

• Lewes FC, who field both women’s and men’s semi pro soccer teams in England, announced they will become the first organization to pay their clubs equally. 

• Despite pleas from the Mexican national team and the continual fines from FIFA, homophobic chants still can be heard from fans around the Gold Cup games. 

• MARC USA and the Roberto Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh are petitioning to get the former Pirate’s number retired across baseball, a move that could help establish the legacy and importance of Latino players in the sport.  

• Two Army veterans, father and son, Jeff and Logan Hastings, have undertaken an epic kayaking journey down the Mississippi River to benefit their fellow vets dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and commemorate the 22 vets who commit suicide every day. 

• The Global Mixed Gender Basketball League added a new team owner this week with Cash Money Records co-founder Bryan “Birdman” Williams with a purchase of a New Orleans franchise. 

• Lance Armstrong was surprisingly game to mock doping in cycling despite his long history of lawsuits and sanctions in Andy Samberg’s latest sports mockumentary “Tour de Pharmacy” which premiered this week on HBO, while over on Netflix the documentary “Icarus” about Russian drug use in the Olympics is set to premiere on August 4. 

• Riding high on the idea that Dwayne Johnson might run for higher office a fan set up a political committee Run The Rock. 

For the record books: This week in sports politics history 

''We have to wait and see what type of arrangement there is between Mike Tyson and Donald Trump. But so far, I don't see anything that's illegal or inappropriate.'' - Larry Hazzard, then-chairman of the New Jersey Athletic Control Board 

When boxer Mike Tyson endorsed Donald Trump’s presidential run in 2015, many fans wondered why the pugilist liked Trump beyond “he’s an average guy like everybody else.” But in July of 1988, Trump became the “business advisor” to Tyson while the fighter battled his manager Bill Cayton over earnings and requesting release from his contract, setting off red flags of impropriety as Trump’s dealings with Tyson would be in direct conflict with his job as a casino owner and fight promoter in Atlantic City. 

Tyson eventually settled his suit out of court and remained with Cayton until 1992.