Conor McGregor aimed a vile, homophobic slur at Jake Paul just hours after he was found liable of assaulting a woman who accused him of rape in a Dublin hotel six years ago.
The Irish mixed martial arts fighter was ordered to pay nearly 250,000 euros in damages after a jury of eight women and four men reached its verdict on Friday.
The plaintiff Nikita Hand alleged that McGregor sexually assaulted her and that another man, James Lawrence, did the same, Ireland’s high court heard during two weeks of evidence.
Ms Hand’s lawyer had told jurors that McGregor was angry about a fight he had lost in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client.
‘He’s not a man, he’s a coward,’ attorney John Gordon said in his closing speech. ‘A devious coward and you should treat him for what he is.’
McGregor, in an almost instant response on X, said he was disappointed jurors didn’t see all the evidence prosecutors had reviewed and planned to appeal.
Calls to Rape Crisis Centre rose during McGregor case
Calls to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre surged during the McGregor case, RTE reports.
Chief executive Rachel Morrogh told the Irish broadcaster calls went up by 17% in the first 10 days of the trial, with contact by first-time callers increasing by 50% in the same period.
She said media coverage of the case was having ‘a really profound effect on the people who use the centre’s services’.
‘This case is being directly referenced by many of those callers who are distressed at the contents that they’re reading in the traditional media, but also that they’re accessing information that has been pushed through social media,’ she said.
‘So it’s a really distressing time.’
Noting the verdictPaul, who last week beat Mike Tyson in a professional boxing fight that shattered Netflix records, questioned how he continues to attract such negative coverage, given the records of McGregor and UFC president Dana White.
‘Dana hits his wife Conor’s convicted of rape But I’m the bad guy,’ said Paul,failing to make the distinction between a civil and criminal case.
McGregor replied almost immediately, saying ‘No, you’re a little gay nerd’ before swiftly removing the message from the platform, but not before it was captured by X users.
It is the second time in the space of a week that McGregor has caused a social media storm after he deleted a revolting tweet mocking American-Puerto Rican boxer Prichard Colon.
What to do if you’ve been raped
If you have been the victim of rape, either recently or historically, and are looking for help, support is out there.
- If you have recently been raped and you are still at risk, ring 999 and ask for the police. Otherwise, the first step is to go somewhere you are safe.
- If you want to report your rape to the police, ring 999 or the police non-emergency line on 101. An Independent Sexual Violence Advocate (ISVA) will often be on hand to help you through reporting and even after you have made a statement, you can still decide to withdraw from the criminal justice process at any time.
- If you plan on going to the police, if possible, do not wash your clothes or shower, bathe or brush your teeth. If you do get changed, keep the clothes you were wearing in a plastic bag. These steps will help to preserve any DNA evidence your attacker may have left on your body or clothes.
- If you don’t want to contact the police, Rape Crisis suggest talking to someone you trust about what has happened; or you can ring one of the UK’s many rape and sexual assault helplines.
- Anyone aged 16+ can contact Rape Crisis’s 24/7 Support Line by calling 0808 500 2222 or starting an online chat.
- If you have been injured, you’re best advised to go to your nearest A&E to seek medical treatment. If you are uninjured, you can go to your nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). The NHS has information on where to find your nearest centre here.
- If your rape is historic, you can still access support, including from the police – there is no time limit on reporting and your account can still be used as evidence.
Paul, now 11-1 in boxing, has been accused of cherry-picking mismatched opponents throughout his career but McGregor appeared to take the joke too far with a crass comment following the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s win over Tyson that was quickly deleted.
‘They are eyeing Prichard Colon for next opponent,’ McGregor wrote on X.
Colon’s story is one of the sport’s biggest tragedies. In 2015 in a fight against Terrel Williams, Colon was repeatedly punched in the back of the head, collapsing in his dressing room after the fight.
He was left in a coma for 221 days after suffering a brain haemorrhage, remaining a vegetative state with life-altering injuries. To this day, the 32-year-old receives around-the-clock care with heart-wrenching videos shared by his family on social media illustrating the tragedy that is still felt in the sport.
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