Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate says she’s been the target of unwanted photos before. She understands it comes with the territory of fame.
“It’s not breaking the law, and it’s not illegal,” Tate said Wednesday on “MMA Tonight.” “It’s annoying, but it’s not crossing the line.”
And that, Tate said, is something Conor McGregor has to understand.
Earlier this week, McGregor found himself in hot water after he allegedly slapped a cell phone out of the hand of a fan who wanted a picture outside a Miami nightclub, leading to his arrest. According to the police report, McGregor stomped on the phone and took off with it in his possession.
Footage of the incident surfaced today in which a man who appears to be McGregor can be seen stomping on a smart phone, then picking it up.
McGregor was arrested Monday and charged with felony strong-arm robbery and criminal mischief, which carry maximum jail sentences of 15 and 5 years, respectively. McGregor was taken to jail but released after he bonded with $12,500.
The alleged victim, Ahmed Abdirzak, gave his side of the story to TMZ, detailing how McGregor tricked him by going in for a handshake before turning on him.
As far as Tate is concerned, there is no excuse for McGregor’s alleged actions.
“He is a megastar. He has made himself into one of the most recognizable faces … and he’s making millions and millions and millions of dollars. He’s created that,” Tate said. “So, what I think is that this fan was out of line. He was disrespectful and probably should’ve had a little more common sense to respect the space of Conor. With that being said, I guarantee you that guy’s bought every single one of Conor McGregor’s pay-per-views.
“So figure it out, Conor. Do you appreciate your fans, all of them, the ones that are making you rich, or not? Blow the guy off. That’s kind of what you have to do. It’s the price of fame.”
Plus, as Tate pointed out, what good is it to escalate these types of situations with fans?
“It’s not helping anything, and it’s the unfortunate thing that I think megastars and super famous people have to learn to put up with. And Conor’s no exception,” Tate said. “You cannot take a person’s phone and smash it.”
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