Mike Perry’s manager doesn’t condone his use of the N-word, but he understands it

Mike Perry’s manager Abe Kawa spoke out about his fighter’s use of the N-word during a recent interview with MMA Junkie.

Perry has faced a great deal of criticism over the course of the last few weeks and months, for his seemingly regular use of the N-word. Some have decided to stick up for the controversial UFC star, whereas others have jumped to condemn him.

Kawa seems to fall somewhere in the middle.

“One thing I can’t do, and I’ve been blamed many times in the past for, I don’t run their social media,” Kawa said of Perry. “I can’t tell people what to do and not do; I can only give them advice. I can show them, ‘Hey, this is where you’re going to lose out on things.’ In this case, Mike, if we would take the time to actually listen to Mike, you would understand where he was coming from.”

“I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do,” Kawa continued. “So I don’t want to put myself out there and say what he’s doing is the right thing to do. But for him and the way he grew up and the way his beginning was, it’s right. So, I get it. For the person who is not used to that and for the person who doesn’t get it, for me, I don’t go around doing that just the same way. I may have in the past and whatnot. But for him, for what he feels is right, it’s hard for me to change that in one shot.”

Kawa continued: 

“He would have to go to jail for that. It would have to be a law that says you’re doing something wrong. That’s the way he sees it. He feels that everybody else is being closed-minded, where he’s the one trying to educate everybody. And it just doesn’t come out that way. So I understand the hurt.”

“I think the stigma of what he’s doing is probably way more blown up in the media than actually to the common folks,” Kawa said. “If you look at the comments, once one person says something, everyone kind of goes in there. But then you have the other side of it, where everyone is like, ‘Why are you guys messing with him? He came from where I came from. I get it, Mike.’ So he’s getting a 50-50 split of people saying to him don’t do it, and then the other 50 percent saying, ‘We understand you, it’s OK.’ So Mike is gonna be Mike; we all have to love Mike.”

What are your thoughts on Mike Perry using the N-word? 

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/22/2020.