Conor McGregor is telling us who he is, and we should believe him
Ted Berg writes the Morning Win newsletter for For The Win. Yell at him on Twitter at @OGTedBerg or via email at AskTedBerg@gmail.com.
I can't stop watching this video of Conor McGregor destroying someone's phone at 5:20 a.m. outside a Miami Beach hotel.
I want to make fun of it because I'm supposed to be irreverent in this space, and because it is, on face, sort of silly - McGregor's just strutting toward the hotel looking carefree, surrounded by fans shooting video and taking selfies, then appears to pick out this one guy at random and attack his phone in a sudden and weirdly controlled flurry. But I can't bring myself to simply mock it because I don't think McGregor deserves to be treated so lightly, given his history of horrible and terrifying behavior.
McGregor got arrested for the incident, was released a few hours later, then sold the T-shirt he was wearing on his website. It all seems oddly calculated, like a branding effort of some sort: "I'm the unhinged MMA guy, beware my swift and accurate left hand, buy my gear online."
To be fair, there's no indication in the surveillance video of whether the guy whose phone got smashed said anything to McGregor that prompted the attack. But there's a whole lot that's confounding and disturbing about the mega-popular fighter: He is under investigation for sexual assault in his native Ireland, though details are sparse due to Irish laws about how such cases can be covered in media. He has been abjectly and publicly racist and Islamophobic. He often seems like he is ready and eager to fight friends, fans, refs, and buses alike. He has hung out with and emphatically praised Vladimir Putin.
But we've also seen McGregor be gracious and generous and thoughtful and self-deprecating. It looks like he genuinely loves his kid. His rags-to-riches backstory has earned the praise of no less a hero than The Rock himself. McGregor inspires so much loyalty in his fans that one dude even jumped into the Octagon to try to protect him after a loss in October.
McGregor is not a flatly written villain, at the least.
I'm normally reluctant to judge the character of strangers, for all I may joke about them. I don't know this guy, but I don't want to know this guy. We are what we pretend to be, and Conor McGregor either legitimately is or is at least acting as a crazy, violent jerk, and possibly way worse, even if he sometimes takes a break from problematic tweeting to give World Series tickets to firefighters and promote his whiskey company.
And maybe being a crazy, violent jerk can, in a weird way, help make someone marketable in a vicious combat sport, but it's sort of the same as the Derek Jeter phenomenon I outlined here back in 2014: The values you associate with your brand are the ones you endorse, whether or not they're genuine. Jeter was about hustle and leadership and re2pect and selflessness. McGregor is about, among other things, calling an Islamic opponent's wife "a towel" and his manager "a terrorist."
He is also extremely online, so much so that I hesitated before writing this for fear he will see this little newsletter and send his millions of minions after me, or, worse yet, come find me and kick the crap out of me. But that's maybe the most disturbing thing: This guy still inspires a ton of fawning coverage across so many media outlets, and it almost feels like he uses his wealth, his popularity and his success to hold the whole world hostage. I'm afraid of this stranger. It might be his whole point, but it doesn't make him admirable.
Wednesday's big winner: Joe Pavelski
This man scored a goal in the NHL playoffs with his face. After a teammate's slap shot ricocheted off his chin and into the net for San Jose's first goal in its 5-2 win over Las Vegas in Game 1 on Wednesday, Pavelski left the ice, spit out some teeth, got some stitches, and returned to the game. Hockey stuff.
Quick hits: Wade, swords, Jeopardy!
- Dwyane Wade promised and delivered a triple-double in the final game of his NBA career. LeBron James made it out to watch his old teammate, and - after retired star Paul Pierce argued earlier this week that he had a better career than Wade - Nets fans and Heat fans came together in Brooklyn to serenade Wade with a chorus of "Paul Pierce sucks."
- Kyle Busch won a NASCAR event at Bristol Motor Speedway and- wait a minute, what the heck is he doing with that sword? It turns out it's part of the prize for winning, but who OK'd this idea? NASCAR guys beat the tar out of each other on the regular. Holy crap, do not arm them.
- A professional sports gambler named James Holzhauer completely shattered the single-day record for Jeopardy! winnings. I'm a little bit behind on the show - I DVR it all week and catch up on weekends - but from what I've seen, Holzhauer goes for a couple of $1000 clues before he goes fishing for Daily Doubles. I've always wondered why more people don't do that. I don't want to hash out too much of my Jeopardy! strategy here in case I ever get on the show. I was in the contestant pool once but never made it on. I took the online test again last night but do not feel great about how it went.
Thirsty Thursday
Did you know that, best I can tell, there's not a single photograph in our archive showing Dirk Nowitzki drinking something? I went looking for one on the occasion of his final game, but all my searches came up dry. So instead enjoy this photo of Cubs starter Jose Quintana with a steamy cup of coffee. It looks like an advertisement for coffee. Jose Quintana is so thrilled he has coffee. I feel this.