Conor McGregor’s acerbic tongue makes for some snappy sound bites, but it has also landed him in a lot of trouble.
Think of all the Conor McGregor quotes that have become part of the general lexicon of MMA and combat sports.
“60 Gs, baby!”
“Who da fook is that guy?”
“We’re not just here to take part, we’re here to take over.”
Whenever ‘The Notorious’ opens his mouth, the world takes note. If what leaves his lips happens to be witty, clever or catchy, it will more than likely end up being a viral meme that will eventually devolve into a hackneyed phrase that everyone grows weary of.
The opposite side of that is whenever he says anything controversial, the backlash he receives is a lot worse than most.
McGregor has found himself at the centre of several shitstorms in 2017. He had a couple of misinterpreted quotes during the MayMac press tour that were perceived by many to be racial slurs. More recently, he found himself in hot water over using the six-letter f-word multiple times in Gdansk.
The Dubliner isn’t the first UFC fighter to drop the f-bomb. Hell, he isn’t even the last. However, he is the most prominent. While the world’s mainstream media won’t pay much heed to what Jorge Masvidal says, McGregor’s a completely different animal.
A superstar generally chooses a life in the spotlight, but their spawn is born into it. If Conor Jr were to copy his father’s style, pursue a career in combat sports and get in trouble for using off-colour trash talk, McGregor admitted to Sky News that he wouldn’t know how to deal with it.
“The fight game is a cruel and ruthless business. You must get in there. Someone is going to do me grievous bodily harm, like really. Someone wants my head drilled into the floor at 100 m/ph. It is what it is, you’re going to say things when you come face to face with a person who’s trying to do that to you, who’s trying to maim you for life and who’s trying to take food off your table. That’s going to happen. If he is to say it, it is what it is. I would just hope he… I don’t know, I don’t know.”
Not letting him off that easy https://t.co/FBcAcROIQb
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 4, 2017
Being a fighter is no excuse for calling someone a faggot. A lot of people have used that word multiple times with no intended malice behind it. However, once you are aware that it offends an entire sector of humanity, it’s a minuscule concession to make to avoid using it.
This is something that McGregor is trying to work on. He was thrust into superstardom while he was still maturing as a person, so he knows it will take time to figure these things out.
“I think maybe I could do that a little better, but I’m still trying to figure out the whole thing. I’m only new to this, let’s be real. Five years ago I was in the queue for the social welfare. Five years ago. €188, I collected. I stood at the post office. No job, I lost the plumbing job. I had nothing. That’s where the fucking fight was. Five years ago.”
“Now I’m like the president, I’m like a politician. If I sneeze it’s in the news and it’s all over the place. I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m still trying to learn. I’m still trying to manage what way I go about it, so please be patient with your president. (laughs)”
Even when he breaks from the persona and opens up about something of substance, he still manages to close with a punchline.
