UFC star Michael Chandler stood by his controversial remarks about raising his Black sons to not see color.
The MMA fighter said ‘virtue’ was the most ‘important thing’ about being a ‘good man,’ after coming under fire for his attitude towards parenting children of a different race.
He and his wife, Brie Chandler, are parents to seven-year-old Hap and two-year-old Ace, both of whom they adopted.
During an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show in April, Chandler said, ‘Whether you are Black or you are white, no matter what race that you are, there are certain things about being a man and being a good man when it comes to character and integrity and safeguarding the helpless and sticking up for those who need it.’
He went on, ‘Being a good man, a good man of reputation, none of that has to do with skin color. Everything has to do with the character of the man. Probably not an answer that some people would say is important, but that’s where the world has gone.’
UFC star Michael Chandler stood by his controversial remarks about raising his Black sons
He and his wife, Brie Chandler, are parents to seven-year-old Hap and two-year-old Ace
Chandler addressed his comments about ‘not raising Black children’ during an interview on The Pivot podcast last week, which is hosted by former NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder.
‘I think that soundbite obviously can be clipped … that little five seconds can be clipped, and of course, I would say, “Wait a second,” but if you dive deeper into it, right, it was all about their skin color is not the most important thing about them,’ he explained.
‘And maybe I’m wrong for saying that, maybe other people would disagree with me. The most important thing about a man is being a man and the virtues and the things and the characteristics about being a good man.’
Although critics slammed the 38-year-old for seemingly neglecting to acknowledge the challenges his children may face as a result of their skin color, Chandler insisted he plans to have conversations about race when the pair are older.
‘My wife has wanted to adopt an African-American boy since she was a teenager,’ he explained
Chandler said he plans to have conversations about race with his sons when the pair are older
‘Obviously, part of it, too, is if I would have done that interview and my sons were 14 and 11, it’s a little bit different,’ he went on.
‘I’ve got a 2-year-old, and I’ve got a 7-year-old. So maybe that question being answered to me five years from now or … you know, my son Hap now is 7, so, we’re getting toward that direction, but he’s always just been a little kid, and then Ace is just a little kid. So there’s always the age-appropriate scenario.’
Elsewhere in the interview, he explained why Brie was intent on adopting children.
‘My wife has wanted to adopt an African-American boy since she was a teenager. My wife has had that on her heart since she was a teenager,’ Chandler said.
‘I remember she used to do inner-city mission work, she used to go to Jamaica on mission trips with her dad. Everybody knew she was going to do it, eventually, someday. And she always said if “I marry a good man, I want to do this.”‘
The couple welcomed their first child in 2017 before adopting their second son in 2022.
