MIAMI, FLORIDA: Conor McGregor recently kicked up a new media storm after his left hook sent Burnie, the Miami Heat mascot, to the hospital in a skit gone wrong. The 34-year-old UFC champion was promoting his new pain relief spray, TIDL Sport, when he smacked the man inside the mascot with a scripted punch during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday, June 09.
In a video of the staged physical altercation, the former two-division UFC champion squared off against the mascot and coldcocked him with a hard left hook, sending him flying to the ground. McGregor then landed another punch on the ground before dousing Mascot with his spray while Heat staffers pulled him off the court by his legs. However, the spray didn’t exactly work wonders for the man inside the mascot as he was rushed to the emergency room of a nearby hospital for treatment.
'It was a skit and it went the way it went'
The employee, who hasn’t been identified yet, received medical attention and was given pain medication by the doctors. As per the outlet, he has since been sent home and is doing well now. Following the altercation, McGregor told TMZ that he has mended fences with Burnie. "The mascot's good. It was a skit and it went the way it went and all is well,” he said, adding “I spent a lot of time with him afterward, we spoke it out and everything was great. It was a skit, it was part of the show." However, the staged altercation has since garnered immense social media attention, with users slamming McGregor for landing legitimate strikes on Burnie.
One user wrote, "I'm, starting to think he is looking for relevance through criticism... law suit coming his way by the way." “It really happened and McGregor may have to pay for it. I don't think Conner realized he hurt the mascot,” a user wrote. A third user asserted “Why do people like this guy again? I see nothing but negative things about him." However, there were also some users who noted that the altercation was scripted. “Isn't that all staged? Burnie has boxing gloves on. And the crew was immediately ready to come in and drag him away. All seems staged but Conor just punched too hard,” one user noted while another said, “You see the people fanning the chicken after he passes out? You all see that? You wanna think about how it seems illogical to do that.”
McGregor accused of sexually assaulting a woman in VIP restroom
This comes after McGregor was accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside a VIP restroom after Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the Kaseya Center. The alleged incident of sexual assault took place when the accuser was leaving the premises, and his security summoned her to the men's VIP restroom, as per the demand letters that were sent to the UFC star, the NBA, and the Miami Heat this week. The victim’s attorney claims that McGregor "shoved his tongue in the victim's mouth and aggressively kissed her” before allegedly pinning her against the wall and attempting to sodomize her. While the Miami police have already launched an investigation into the matter, McGregor’s representatives affirm that the "allegations are false."
