The saga continues for Floyd Mayweather, Jr. In addition to his most recent legal battle with Manny Pacquiao, Floyd is now being sued by Antony Cliff, a 21 year old man who alleges that he was beaten by Floyd’s bodyguard after asking whether Floyd would fight Manny Pacquiao.
The incident happened on May 27, 2010 in the Palms casino last year. According to sources, Anthony Cliff approached Floyd to take a picture and he was told that he could not do so. Later that evening, Cliff saw Floyd and his bodyguards at the valet stand and Cliff inquired about the fight against Pacquiao. At that point, Mayweather and his guards surrounded Cliff. Mayweather stated that he felt disrespected and gave his bodyguards a “thumbs down” which was the directive to attack Cliff.
Cliff is stating that he was, “ struck in the face, repeatedly kicked in the back and side and that his head was slammed to the ground”. The Palms, owned by the Sacramento Kings Maloof brothers, is also named in the lawsuit for allegedly failing to provide adequate security. This suit comes on top of Mayweather facing felony charges stemming from a domestic argument.
I can see both sides of this equation. Fans have developed a strange sense of entitlement with their favorite celebs. The evolution of social networking has contributed to celebrities seeming accessible. I firmly believe that celebs do deserve some type of privacy. When approached in public during your down time, a celeb shouldn’t feel obligated to comply with a fan’s request and the fan should respect that. Conversely, the alleged altercation between Anthony Cliff and Floyd Mayweather is not the proper way to handle fan frustration. The next time a fan bothers you Floyd, pretend that he’s Pacquiao and just walk away.