Franklin "Smart Brother" McNeil's recent article on Chael Sonnen epitomizes hypocrisy of some MMA fans and media

by S.C. Michaelson on Aug 4, 2010 11:13 AM EDT

Let us rewind back one year to a HYPOTHETICAL situation. It's after UFC 100 before the post-fight press conference is about to begin. The room is filled with electricity; not only because of the exciting night of fights witnessed on this historical night, but because of the in-cage interview of the UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Lesnar, OD'ing on a cocktail of testosterone, adrenaline and downright rage, went on a verbal tirade against his opponent, a UFC sponsor and even made a comment about "getting on top of his wife". The members of the press were split into two camps; some enjoyed the performance for what it was; entertainment, others seemed to harbor more vitriol and, in one prominent African-American ESPN writer's case, looked as if he wanted to cry while arguing with another person it about the crassness of it all.

Fast forward back to today and an interesting column on ESPN.com written by Smart Brother Franklin McNeil. The article is a basic summary of the buildup to the Middleweight Title fight. In it, McNeil portrays an almost endorsing tenor. Now, I'm not saying that McNeil was that writer described as having a fit in the preceding anecdote because it has not been 100% confirmed...but I hear it was Franklin McNeil. Back during a UFC 100 recap article for ESPN.com, McNeil writes:

That type of respect wasn't exhibited by heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who overpowered interim titleholder Frank Mir in the main event. The 265-pound Lesnar bullied Mir en route to a second-round TKO.

Afterward, Lesnar put a blight on what had been a flawless evening. He refused to shake Mir's hand, made a derogatory gesture toward the fans, took a jab at one the event's major sponsors and made a off-the-cuff sexual reference.

If Lesnar had wanted to cement his status as the most disliked fighter in UFC, he accomplished that goal. He is officially the man everyone wants to see beaten to a pulp.

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What is this “Smart Brother” stuff about? Maybe there is some pro-wrestling in joke I’m missing here, because it sounds like you’re mocking him based on his skin color.

by smoogy2 on Aug 4, 2010 3:37 PM EDT reply actions

It's from the movie "Undercover Brother"

and it relates to McNeil’s physical resemblance to Gary Anthony Williams character ‘Smart Brother’.

by Steve4192 on Aug 4, 2010 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Couldn’t find a picture of the ‘Smart Brother’ character, but here is Williams.

Put him in a white lab coat and glasses and you have Smart Brother.

by Steve4192 on Aug 4, 2010 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions

I’ll take your word for it

by smoogy2 on Aug 4, 2010 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions

I almost commented on this at WKR

when I saw it. I just totally disagree with the entire premise. The circumstances of your examples are all so different I think it’s a huge stretch to call it hypocrisy.

And generally I love to pile it on McNeil.

ALL OF YOU LISTEN TO MEE, DON'T DISTURB HERE, I WILL CALL POLICE CATCH YOU, DON'T COME TO MY BANGOLOW HOUSE, UNDERSTAND, O.K. I HATE ALL OF YOU.

by Chris Barton on Aug 4, 2010 4:17 PM EDT reply actions

I love to hate on Franklin McNeil with every fiber of my being, but you totally missed the boat on this one.

1) Frank Mir is Franklin McNeil’s co-worker and aquaintence/ friend/ whatever. I’m sure he’s given him the inside scoop on a bunch of stories over the years. Seeing your friend get his head bashed in and then watch his opponent put on a show of some less than thrilling sportsmanship in the cage will leave a bad taste in your mouth. 2) Chael Sonnen is making Franklin McNeil’s job (and that of the MMA media on the whole) very easy right now. He’s giving them reams to write about. He’s always got a fresh soundbite or story to provide them with. 3) There’s a huge difference between selling a fight before hand, and a complete lack of sportsmanship after a fight. Every writer loves pre-fight trash talk because it gives them something to write about. They don’t like a lack of sportsmanship in the cage, because it makes the sport they cover look bad.

Damn it, I can’t believe I just defended Franklin McNeil. Damn you Black Lesnar, damn you all to hell!

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by Brian Mayes on Aug 4, 2010 4:49 PM EDT reply actions 5 recs

I disagree that Chael is making anyone’s job easier. He’s opening doors to discussions about race and nationality and truth and twitter ethics that are probably pretty uncomfortable for most MMA media…

Total MMA: "The best book on the real history of MMA that I’ve seen," Dave Meltzer

by Jonathan Snowden on Aug 4, 2010 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions

He’s providing tons of content and lots of interest.

I don’t think any of it should make the media more uncomfortable than the outright racist and homophobic things that were thrown out before the Rampage and Rashad fight. Sonnen’s stuff pales in comparison to what those two were throwing out there.

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by Brian Mayes on Aug 4, 2010 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

It beats making news out of nothing...

"In Soviet Russia, Hell goes to you!"

by actionbastard on Aug 5, 2010 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Mainstream media isn't covering that though

They’ve left it to the bloggers and fans. Notice Smart Brother did not comment on any of those remarks.

Called it before the fight:
Cardio - The BIG question. Does Shane Carwin have cardio? He's never gone past the first round. His muscle mass is astounding and we all know that with all that muscle comes a need for the heart to pump fresh oxygenated blood to keep them from building lactic acid. He does train up in the thin air of Colorado, so that can't do anything but help. However, we have seen him pretty winded after a 1st round fight. Adrenaline dump or cardio problems? We won't find out the answer to that until someone takes him out of the first round.

by S.C. Michaelson on Aug 5, 2010 3:00 AM EDT up reply actions

If fact, they've resorted to complaining about "Why doesn't Anderson talk?" as "news".

by S.C. Michaelson on Aug 5, 2010 3:03 AM EDT up reply actions

So you’d rather he wasn’t saying this stuff? I find that hard to believe.

by ufc4 on Aug 6, 2010 12:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Hahaha

I agree with parts 1 and 2. Part 3, I see no difference. Matter of factly, I see pre-fight as worse than an adrenaline fueled rant afterwards. This isn’t saying that I hate prefight trash talk, not at all. I’m talking about when it goes over the line like Sonnen (and Mir wanting to kill Lesnar) has.

by S.C. Michaelson on Aug 5, 2010 3:02 AM EDT up reply actions

If you take McNeil seriously, more fool you. Seriously, the guy is just not very good at his job. He was awful covering boxing years ago, and he’s even worse now he’s latched on to MMA.

by sheikybaby on Aug 5, 2010 9:41 PM EDT reply actions