By Steve DelVecchio
At the request of Floyd Mayweather Jr., CNN reporter Rachel Nichols and ESPN reporter Michelle Beadle will not be covering the boxing event that many are calling the “fight of the century.”
Nichols revealed on Saturday that Mayweather’s camp has blocked media credentials for both her and Beadle and banned them from his fight against Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night. Why? Because both women have been critical of Mayweather over his long history with domestic violence.
In an interview with CNN last year around the same time the video of Ray Rice striking his fiancee surfaced, Nichols grilled Mayweather about his terrible treatment of women. You can see that interview here.
Beadle has also been critical of Mayweather on Twitter, where she has publicly bashed his history of domestic abuse in addition to Pacquiao’s stance on homosexuality.
Mayweather’s ex-fiancee Shantel Jackson accused the undefeated fighter of threatening her with a gun and assaulting her multiple times. Mayweather has also been accused of putting his son in a chokehold, though he was not charged for that alleged incident. He also recently denied ever beating ex-girlfriend Josie Harris in an incident for which he later went to jail.
Mayweather claims the public holds something against him because he is “black, rich and outspoken.” Beyond the domestic violence incidents, there have also been times where Floyd was accused of assaulting security guards or having his bodyguards beat a man up.
As for banning Nichols and Beadle from covering the fight, that is as petty as it gets. It is further validation for those who believe Mayweather is a coward.
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