Irish Prime Minister Condemns Conor McGregor’s Behavior

Ireland’s biggest sporting star is Conor McGregor, but that doesn’t mean the Irish Prime Minister has to approve of it.

McGregor recently appeared at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago last weekend, where Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was also in attendance. According to BJ Penn, Varadkar did not want to be associated with McGregor at the parade. Media members claimed he moved away from McGregor after noticing him at the event.

According to the Irish leader, he did not know McGregor would be present via the County Press. He clarified that he was there representing Ireland while McGregor was there promoting his whiskey and representing the Plumbers Union:

“I was happy to walk in the parade in Chicago. I wasn’t specifically walking with Conor. As I understand, he was there promoting his whiskey.

“I was there at the parade at the invitation of organizers representing the country. Conor McGregor was there, I believe, at the invitation of the Plumbers Union.”

Distance

That was hardly explanation nor confirmation if he was deliberately avoiding McGregor. But Varadkar then opened up with his true opinion, noting that he doesn’t want to be associated with McGregor’s recent track record of arrests:

“Obviously he’s had some trouble with the law in recent months, and I wouldn’t condone or like to be associated with the kind of actions he’s been involved in, which include prosecution in New York and a potential prosecution in Florida.”

There’s no doubt McGregor has made more headlines in recent months for his legal troubles than any successes in the Octagon. He only recently got his assault charge for his 2018 Brooklyn bus attack cleared after completing community service in New York-area churches. However, he rapidly picked up another pair of strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief charges when he smashed a fan’s phone outside of a Miami club.

On the other side of the coin, he has not won a fight since defeating Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 205 in November 2016. McGregor last appeared in a one-sided loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at last year’s UFC 229. He was again suspended for the post-fight brawl, even if he did not start it.

As a result, even his most feverish supporters are beginning to grow impatient for a ‘Notorious’ win. All they seem to get nowadays is controversy, however.

And for that reason, Ireland’s Prime Minister doesn’t want his name spoke in the same breath as his.