Protesters on Strip spotlight Mayweather’s history of domestic violence

The national conversation about boxer Floyd Mayweather’s history of domestic violence came to the Strip on Friday, a day ahead of the kind of fight he gets paid millions for.

A group dedicated to bringing attention to athletes accused of domestic abuse spoke out ahead of Mayweather’s megafight — and mega payday — against Manny Pacquiao. Another group called for the Nevada State Athletic Commission to take a stand against domestic violence.

Mayweather has been arrested multiple times for domestic violence. He’s entered guilty pleas. He’s done jail time.

But his reputation for beating women, including the mother of his children, hasn’t hurt his career. Tickets for Saturday’s fight at the MGM Grand Garden were priced from $1,500 to $7,500 — and the few tickets that were made public sold out in less than two minutes.

Hold Athletes Accountable organized Friday’s rally, which happened shortly after doors opened for the fighters’ soldout weigh-in. About 40 people, mostly men, showed up chanting phrases such as, “Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Floyd’s Gotta Go!” and “Why should we root for a monster?”

“His arrogance, it’s ridiculous. Because we allow him to get away with it the joke is on us as a society,” said Melissa Clary, vice president of the Southern Nevada chapter of the National Organization For Women, which partnered with Hold Athletes Accountable for the event. “He’s basically bought and paid for our city, and he doesn’t represent Las Vegas.”

The notion that Mayweather has Las Vegas in his pocket is getting national attention. Deadspin, a sports news website, published a story Thursday that dissects one of his talking points when questioned about his domestic violence record. The famed athlete often says there is no photographic evidence to prove he’s beaten anyone.

Deadspin found there were photos, just not anymore.

Photo evidence in Mayweather’s domestic violence cases was destroyed as allowed by Nevada law, Deadspin found. After a case is done, anyone involved can ask a judge to order evidence destroyed.

S.A.F.E. House, an advocacy, support and awareness group for victims of domestic violence, released a statement about Mayweather this week.

“Floyd Mayweather’s seven charges of domestic violence against five different women, one of them being strangulation, makes our organization question the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s decision to grant him the license to fight in our great state,” Julie Proctor, executive director of S.A.F.E. House, said in a statement.

“Their decision not only rewards Mayweather’s behavior, but sends a message to victims that violence is acceptable in our society,” Proctor said. “At a time when the National Football League and other sporting organizations have worked alongside advocates to end domestic violence within their systems, the Nevada Athletic Commission has failed to address this issue.”

Harris Harrigan, who lives in Miami and organized Friday’s protest on Tropicana Avenue near Las Vegas Boulevard, said his group held the rally because giant like the fight can overshadow an athlete’s history of domestic abuse.

“On a personal level, I don’t see remorse,” Harrigan said. “Some athletes maybe feel that, ‘As long as I have enough money it doesn’t matter what people think.’”

Some protesters refused to speak to media, with one offering that he was “against publicity” and “respected females.” A few others said they were not allowed to say how they had heard about the event. One man said his sister was killed by “one f———(SOB)” and handed a reporter his I.D. card briefly before snatching it back.

A majority of those protesting were from the Las Vegas area or the West Coast, Harrigan said. He said he didn’t know why a few people said they weren’t allowed to say how they heard about the demonstration, adding that for many of them English was not their first language.

Harrigan said he did not know who founded Hold Athletes Accountable or how long it had been around. The group’s website doesn’t offer a history, but Twitter shows the group began tweeting April 24. It’s Facebook timeline goes back to April 29. Hold Athletes Accountable had 5,590 Twitter followers and 2,142 Facebook likes as of late Friday afternoon.

Contact Bethany Barnes at bbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Find her on Twitter: @betsbarnes.