Colby Covington is becoming one of UFC’s most well-known fighters for all the wrong reasons. He has become a mouthpiece for Donald Trump, wearing the infamous MAGA hat every chance he gets and using the same hurtful, racist, and xenophobic language that this president has made seemingly normal.
A week before his most recent fight, Covington went to a Trump rally. Shortly after his victory over Tyron Woodley via TKO, Covington received a phone call from Trump while doing an interview live.
“I’m your fan, you’re my fan. Two of a kind,” Trump said.
Covington is problematic. He amplifies the racial tensions the country is facing every chance he gets. He is a living, breathing symbol of everything wrong in America right now.
Some people have argued that this is just Covington’s way of getting attention for himself in a sort of WWE-style promotion. Even if that were to be true it is still wrong and dangerous. He has attacked the Black Lives Matter movement, refers to facts as fake news, and even questioned his opponent’s place of birth – all of which Trump has done himself.
Racists like Covington have come to feel safe enough to say ignorant things publicly and confidently. The danger is that it promotes hate speech that can lead to violence and promotes the divisiveness that is currently plaguing the country.
Covington already has a long history of racist remarks. After winning a fight in Sao Paolo, Brazil in 2017, he referred to Brazil as a “dump” and referred to Brazilians as “filthy animals.” He’s also made fun of UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes who suffered a brain injury after being hit by a train.
His backwards way of thinking was on full display in his feud with Kamaru Usman. Leading up to his loss in a championship fight to Usman, the feud between the two became personal and racially charged.
“The thing that pisses me off the most about ‘Marty Fakenewsman’ is saying that he’s more American than me,” Covington said about Usman. “How is he more American than me? My family has served in the Korean War, in the Vietnam War, my family has shed blood for that flag, for the red, white and blue of America. What has his family ever done for America besides serve in the Federal penitentiary?”
Covington has even taken shots at LeBron and Joe Biden.
His comments are often lazy, ignorant, and lack any real substance. People like Covington do not want to further the progress that has been made. They instead prefer the way things are and only hurt the ongoing conversation about race in America.
Many people claim they don’t want politics in sports. Every time Covington speaks and wears the MAGA hat, he mixes the two and stirs the political pot. It is not a coincidence his nickname is “chaos.” He incites it all the time purposefully.
Colby Covington is a symptom of America’s racism.