Dana White slams Conor McGregor stunt that landed Heat mascot in hospital: Not ‘the brightest thing’
UFC president Dana White had little sympathy for the Heat mascot knocked out by Conor McGregor and felt the whole thing was a terrible idea in the first place.
“What’s up with mascots wanting to get punched in the face by professional fighters? What do you expect? I mean, what are those mascot things made out of?,” White told reporters at the press conference following UFC 289 on Saturday per MMA Junkie.
Burnie, the Miami Heat’s mascot, went down hard during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday at Kaseya Center after getting hit with a left hook by McGregor as part of a mid-game skit promoting the fighter’s TIDL Sport pain relief spray.
Burnie lost the flame on his head from the blow and McGregor laid another punch on the mascot while sprawled on the court.
The former two-division UFC champ, who is scheduled to face Michael Chandler later this year, then spritzed Burnie with the pain relief spray as he was dragged off center stage by his legs.
The Athletic reported that the unidentified man in the Burnie suit was taken to a nearby hospital, “was given pain medication” and is now “doing well” at home.
To White it all seemed doomed to go wrong from the start.
“I wouldn’t have professional fighters punching me in the face if I was a mascot,” White said. “Doesn’t seem like the brightest thing in the world.”
Many NBA fans seem to be of the same opinion as White and are perplexed by the intent behind the pre-planned performance.
“I don’t really understand why they would want their mascot to be knocked out,” one Twitter-user said. “Then the announcer thanked him afterwards. Really weird.”
“Did you hear at the end when the announcer says “Lets go Heat!” as their public symbol for kids is being dragged off the court unconscious,” another tweet said.
Erik Spoelstra, the Heat’s head coach, made light of the incident on Monday ahead of his squad’s win-or-go-home Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets.
“It’s the Miami Heat toughness that we are talking about,” Spoelstra said, according to CNN. “Should’ve been allowed to take the first swing.”