Needless to say, there will be no going back for Ryan Garcia ― who is currently in the midst of a one -year suspension for the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) ― after he released a deplorable bigoted rant towards a variety of different ethnic and religious groups during a live streaming session on Twitter/X. The X/Twitter space saw whatever remained of Garcia’s career get pulverized as he doubled down on not only the use of the N-word, but proceeded to smear Muslims, African-Americans, and Jews while launching personal attacks against other individuals. In response, the World Boxing Council (WBC) has issued a statement declaring their intent to exclude Garcia from every activity involving the WBC.
Most of what Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KO’s) said cannot be repeated on this platform, but the gist of it was clearly offensive beyond repair when he delivered a horrendous bigoted tirade on July 4th―the yearly holiday held in the United States of America to celebrate its independence:
“I hate n*****s, I’m anti-black, I’m the KKK. Hey, let’s go bring George Floyd back to life and go kill that n***** again.”
Ryan Garcia
The reference towards George Floyd pertains to an African-American male whose filmed death at the hands of an American cop brought global attention to ongoing cultural, racial, political, ethnic, and religious prejudice within the United States’ society.
Notably, Garcia’s sentiment against prominently African-Americans also pertains to figures such as Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28 KO’s) who was in support of Garcia during his drug test debacle, and trainer Derrick James, who oversaw and trained Garcia for his December win over Oscar Duarte (27-2-1, 22 KO’s) last December, and his now-overturned April 20th victory over Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KO’s).
The WBC was the first to respond as its president, Mauricio Sulaiman, almost instantly reacted following Garcia’s series of racist posts and rants on social media:
“Exercising my authority as president of the WBC, I am hereby expelling Ryan Garcia from any activity with our organization. We reject any form of discrimination. I fear for Ryan’s well-being as he has declined multiple attempts for our help with mental health and substance abuse.”
Mauricio Sulaiman
Sulaiman’s response indicates Garcia may no longer be involved in the WBC’s programs, which includes a wide variety of different activities such as charity work and seminars. Garcia will also likely be barred from being included in the WBC’s rankings upon the end of his suspension, which will end next year in April. This will prevent him from earning any of the WBC’s titles, including a world title.
The WBC’s stance on Garcia’s verbal bigoted onslaught sets a precedent for other sanctioning bodies to follow, which could effectively end Garcia’s career if they apply identical actions.
The actual aftershocks of Garcia’s statements made yesterday have yet to be fully determined, but depending on the moral compass of the various stakeholders and participants in boxing, this could include further lawsuits―with Garcia already facing a costly legal battle with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Logan Paul, the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) stepping in to hand down their own repercussions, and Garcia being made a social pariah that will affect his reputation both in and outside of the ring.
Garcia’s parents have also responded in lieu of Garcia’s bigotry, maintaining that their family household strictly forbade any form of discrimination or bigotry against other groups of people, attributing his behavior to mental health issues:
“Our son has recently made statements that do not align with his, or our family’s, true character or beliefs. Our family unequivocally does not support any statements he has made regarding race or religion — these do not reflect who Ryan truly is and how he was raised.
Those who know Ryan can attest to this fact. Ryan has been open about his ongoing struggle with mental health over the years and as a family we are committed to ensuring and encouraging that he receives the necessary help to navigate this very challenging time and address both his immediate and long-term well-being. We appreciate the continued support, prayers, and compassion.”
Henry and Lisa Garcia
While the statement by Garcia’s parents aims to explain his behavior, for which Garcia proved to be unapologetic about after public backlash, Henry Garcia―father of Ryan Garcia―had been accused of similar behavior himself during the pre-fight press conference of Garcia’s April 20th fight against Haney, which ironically saw Garcia forced to stop Henry Garcia’s own tirade against the Haneys―including Devin Haney’s father, Bill Haney.
With Garcia having cultivated multiple relationships with people in boxing of various different ethnic or religious backgrounds, particularly Floyd Mayweather Jr, a notable silence from a multitude of individuals has ensued including Mayweather himself.
It is also unknown whether Derrick James will continue to train Garcia upon the end of his suspension.
The organization that comes closest to actually handing some sort of punishment to Garcia remains the ABC, which is responsible for coordinating and establishing rules for all of the United States’ state athletic commissions. Actions can occur on their part to bar Garcia from having a boxing license moving forward, which presents a more concrete solution towards banning him from the sport and preventing Garcia from returning to action in professional boxing.
