Ryan Garcia continues to dig himself into a deeper hole. His bizarre behaviors, which an increasing number of observers attribute to a mental health issue, reached a peak yesterday when the Californian boxer made heavy racist remarks during a live social media session:
“I hate n*****s, I’m anti-black, I’m the KKK. Hey, let’s go bring George Floyd back to life and go kill that n**** again.”
These words were added to a post on X, later deleted, where he had written:
“Fuck all n*****s and fuck all Muslims.”
Such words have caused shock in the boxing world and beyond. Henry and Lisa Garcia, Ryan’s parents, promptly released a joint statement about their son’s behavior:
“Our son has recently made statements that do not align with his, or our family’s, true character or beliefs. Our family unequivocally does not support any statements he has made regarding race or religion — these do not reflect who Ryan truly is and how he was raised. Those who know Ryan can attest to this fact. Ryan has been open about his ongoing struggle with mental health over the years and as a family we are committed to ensuring and encouraging that he receives the necessary help to navigate this very challenging time and address both his immediate and long-term well-being. We appreciate the continued support, prayers and compassion.”
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman also commented on the matter. While he had previously expressed support for Garcia, ensuring the Federation’s backing, this time he distanced himself clearly, accompanying his words with an “expulsion” measure:
“Exercising my authority as president of the WBC, I am hereby expelling Ryan Garcia from any activity with our organization. We reject any form of discrimination. I fear for [Ryan’s] wellbeing as he has declined multiple attempts for our help with mental health and substance abuse.”
This is certainly not the first time Garcia has made delusional statements on social media. During the preparation for the fight against Devin Haney, for instance, he wrote that the best therapy to cure cancer is fasting, while on another occasion, he claimed to have slept with the wife of professional boxer Caleb Plant, leading the latter to recently attempt to attack him, only to be stopped by Garcia’s bodyguards. We will now see what turn this situation will take and if the young man will indeed accept to undergo examinations and therapies for what increasingly seems to be an unequivocal psychiatric syndrome.