Jon Jones Explains Why He Intervened During Riots In Albuquerque
Jon Jones has explained why he was seen confronting vandals during riots that took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd. A video was released showing Jones approaching people and confiscating spray paint. His bravery has been universally commended, and he has now spoken out about the events that led him to that moment.
“I had a teammate give me a call, and he said ‘hey Jon, we’re having a protest, and there’s a lot of Hispanics and caucasians down there, but there’s not a lot of African Americans in Albuquerque,’” Jones explained in an interview with Fox News. “He said ‘we should get down there and be a black face.’ I said ‘that sounds great.’ He said ‘yeah, it’s going peacefully.’
“When I get down there, the peaceful protest was over, and a lot of people were just hanging around still. The vandalism started right away. I just noticed the protesters leaving and going home. No one was saying anything. No one was speaking out. Everyone was just kind of scared of these hooligans taking over the town. I’ve never seen anything like it. No police were around anywhere. People were just doing whatever they wanted to places I like to hang out at.”
“The longer I waited and just said nothing, I just started to feel like a coward,” Jones concluded. “I was just watching people doing whatever they wanted in our community, so I just started to talk to people and say ‘hey man, it’s not the way. It’s not the way.’ I just kind realized what kind of danger I was in approaching all these masked people asking them not to do certain things. Finally I had enough of it and I just started taking things from people.” (Transcribed by BJPenn.com)
Do you think more MMA stars should take an active role like Jon Jones is during these tough times?
