NFL legend Shannon Sharpe slammed UFC fighter Josh Hokit for his controversial comments about former first lady Michelle Obama.
After defeating Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House lawn, Hokit shouted:
“Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?”
On his show, “Nightcap,” Sharpe criticized Hokit and accused him of “perpetuating a racial stereotype.”
“When you go outside and try to take a jab at something, you’re not that funny. You’re not that entertaining, and nobody thought you were funny,” Sharpe said.
Sharpe added that similar comments had been made about Venus and Serena Williams in the past.
“They said the same thing about Venus and Serena,” Sharpe said. “Every time a Black woman becomes something, some people from that side try to take a shot at them. It’s been going on. I mean, when is it going to be enough? You don’t see us get in position, we don’t do anything like that. We don’t take shots at nobody like that. But they do it all the time and it’s cool.”
UFC president Dana White condemned Hokit’s remarks after the fight.
“I understand that the Obamas are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families,” White wrote in a text message to Time Magazine. “Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.”
“Undercurrent of racism was painful, confusing and unfair” – Serena Williams on her Indian Wells boycott
Serena Williams famously boycotted the tournament at Indian Wells for 14 years after being heckled and booed in the final in 2001. Serena and her family were targeted by fans who were apparently upset after Venus withdrew from their semi-final match shortly before it was scheduled to begin. Serena’s father Richard said he had received several racial slurs.
In a column for Time Magazine ahead of her Indian Wells return in 2015, Serena explained what had happened.
“The false allegations – that our matches were fixed – hurt, cut and ripped into us deeply. The undercurrent of racism was painful, confusing and unfair.”
Serena ended up reaching the semifinals before withdrawing due to injury.
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