WBC lifts Adrien Broner suspension

Did you see what I did there?!

Adrien's back like he never left. Mostly because in reality he never did. After what amounted to a farce of a punishment following Adrien Broner's latest post-fight remarks (after Broner's decision win over Carlos Molina), and a subsequent apology, the WBC has decided to lift Broner's suspension. The suspension was ordered after Broner commented during his interview with Jim Gray that, "I've beaten Afri-CANs and I just beat the [expletive] out of a Mexi-CAN!"

That was apparently sufficient enough for the WBC to publicly release a statement alleging that Broner's comments were racially offensive and that he would be barred from participating in any WBC sanctioned events, and from their rankings, until he made a satisfactory public apology. Thus proving, I guess, that when you act like a petulant child you'll be treated as such, regardless of how pathetic the punishment is.

Broner did go ahead with an apology though, at an NSAC meeting last month, according the to Las Vegas Review-Journal, offering the following:

"I didn't mean any harm, it was more entertainment. If I hurt anybody with what I said, I'm sorry. I'll be sure it doesn't happen again."

"I still want to entertain when I perform in the ring. But I need to be more aware of the things I say from now on. I love performing here in Vegas. What's in the past is in the past. I'm moving forward and hopefully I'll be back in Las Vegas to fight again in the near future."

With that heartfelt apology in place, Sulaiman then released this statement:

"The WBC Board of Governors has voted in favor of accepting the public apology presented by Adrien Broner during his hearing at the Nevada State Athletic Commission."

"The suspension which was in place has been lifted and the WBC Ratings Committee has ranked him at number three in the super lightweight division. Mr. Broner, a former WBC lightweight champion, is expected to understand his role in society while being a public figure and as a former champion, represent the organization which believes in human equality, fair play and has an ongoing campaign against bullying."

Though I personally didn't think his comments were as racially offensive as much as they were a tired gimmick, I suppose reasonable minds can interpret those things differently. I also didn't think the suspension was really warranted, but then again, I don't make those calls. What did strike me as odd about this whole thing was that he'd gone on that very same rant on many previous occasions, and it never seemed to be an issue until he was on the biggest stage. Perhaps the commissioners at that fight had never seen an Adrien Broner 'show' before.

But now that the WBC is no longer shunning Adrien, perhaps we can get another compelling fight out of him. If the WBC was serious about punishing Broner, Lucas Matthysse might have proved to be a more suitable choice for Mr. Young-Fly-Flashy.