NFL
By: Zach Draves
The foul-mouthed malignant self-promotor is at it again.
I am not talking about the obvious culprit, but one of his prominent acolytes.
UFC fighter Colby Covington.
The self-aggrandizing spiel he routinely perpetuates unfortunately catapulted him into the stratosphere.
His physical prowess, combined with his inability to speak coherently while going on tireless racist rants, made him an easy folk hero to a particular insecure demographic.
Angry white guys.
They are small but loud.
To them, Covington is the latest example of the great white hope.
Brute Force and Privilege
Here to reestablish white male supremacy through brute force.
Against the backdrop society growing in racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, along with decades of social progress, there is a segment of white men who feel bitterly resentful.
It is a profound threat to their privilege.
This mindset helps explain who they choose to vote for and what cultural figures they align themselves with.
Precisely, white men tap into those insecurities about social change and do everything they can to halt progress.
Look at Rocky and the impact he had on white working-class men in the late 1970’s.
His underdog story was inspirational but represented a backlash to the progress of the Civil Rights Movement.
When he defeated Apollo Creed, a Muhammad Ali equivalent, he defeated everything that Ali stood for, which constituted a direct threat to white male authority.
In other words, Sylvester Stallone brought Rocky in to “make America great again.”
Real-life examples such as boxer Gerry Cooney, NBA legend Larry Bird, and College Basketball phenom Christian Laettner attached themselves to this same ethos.
Covington is just the latest example of this trend, only more blunt, violent, and pathological.
He’s intentional about targeting black fighters such as Tyron Woodley, using racial epithets, and making disparaging comments about Black Lives Matter.
Questioning LeBron?
Him going after LeBron James is typical.
Not only is he questioning a prominent outspoken black icon on his loyalty to country, but also of his manhood.
When he says that Lebron wouldn’t last ten seconds in the ring with him, he attempts to assert the white male physical process and emasculating blackness.
This practice has been a significant component in maintaining white supremacy in America.
These actions led Covington to receive praise from Donald Trump and many within his base for obvious reasons.
In the end, Colby Covington is one of the most vicious athletic figures of our time.
Somebody who proudly embraces bigotry and cavalierly surrounds himself with those who take pride in their twistiness.
The day someone puts him flat on his ass is cause for celebration.
