Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice had his contract terminated yesterday and was suspended indefinitely by the NFL once video was released of him knocking out his then-fiancee (and now wife) Janay Palmer. Floyd Mayweather, who served time in 2012 for a domestic violence case, shared his thoughts earlier in Las Vegas, where he's promoting his Saturday fight with Marcos Maidana:
"When it's all said and done I wish something positive will come out of this situation. I'm not here to say anything negative about him. Things happen. You live and you learn. No one is perfect."
... "Whether they saw the tape or not, I truly believe a person should stick to their word. If you tell me you're going to do something, do what you say you're going to do. Once again, I'm not in the NFL so I can't speak about the situation. But I wish everyone nothing but the best. I'm trying to become a better person each and every day. It's up to the NFL to handle the situation the way they want to handle it."
... "I think there are a lot worse things that go on in other people's households also. It's just not caught on video. ... I know he's going through a lot right now, because football is his passion, football is his love. It's no different than me being in the fight game if they told me, ‘Floyd, you have the biggest deal in sports history' and a couple months later they said, ‘Your deal is taken away from you.' It's not really the money it's the love for the sport, the passion ... I know it's drastic on him and his wife."
To be honest with you, I have no idea where to even start here. Mayweather's complete lack of empathy for anything but the financial loss and "love of the game" -- which Floyd can't manage to equate to himself without bringing up money -- is probably telling, but I'm no doctor, so what can I say here?
Take it how you wish, I suppose. But that's what Mayweather said about the situation.
As for Mayweather's own recent headlines regarding more domestic violence (he's being sued by Shantel Jackson for abuse and humiliation), Floyd shrugged it off for the time being:
"I don't really focus on that stuff. I've been faced with so many different obstacles in my life. My thing is just to focus on my job, which is boxing. Jealousy and envy comes with the territory. People are always going to take shots at Floyd Mayweather. My thing is to be the best I can be in the sport of boxing and focus on my job, which is boxing."