Ryan Garcia is going to rehab. Or so he says.
On Wednesday, Garcia continued to tank his own career when he went on a racist rant on his X Spaces, using a slew of slurs and disparaging Muslims. It was just the latest in a series of bad choices for the Victorville, California native, but it appears as though this was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back.
The following day, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman stated on social media that Garcia had been expelled by the council. “We reject any form of discrimination,” Sulaiman wrote.
In the wake of the incident, Ryan Garcia has attempted to apologize for his words, though his apology to the black community felt like more of a justification for his poor decision-making.
“I grew up in a neighborhood where everyone said that word that now I’m abolishing from my vocabulary,” Garcia wrote on Instagram. “I’ve supported many black men and black communities. I’m not mad at the outrage and I sincerely apologize if I hurt and offended anyone. But my pain deserves to be felt, black and brown have always united. And it will always be that way.
“I’m just a shade lighter than you, but I love you and I love black children to the point I’d die for a black child. I was speaking against black-on-black crime. [Again] I’m Sorry.”
In the comments section of the post, Garcia tried to pass the blame to a “friend” who supposedly asked him to say “that word” before revealing that he was heading to rehab.
“I’m also headed to rehab,” he added.
Ryan Garcia’s expulsion from the WBC comes weeks after an anti-doping violation and an arrest for felony vandalism
It’s been a tumultuous couple of months for the former WBC interim lightweight champion. After a stellar performance against Devin Haney in April, ‘King Ryan’ had everyone convinced that his downward spiral was nothing more than an act to fool his opponent and oddsmakers ahead of fight night.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be entirely true. In the months following the fight, Garcia was flagged by the NYSAC for an anti-doping violation. He was subsequently suspended for one year by the commission and his win over Haney was overturned to a no-contest.
Weeks later, he was arrested in Beverly Hills after reportedly causing $15,000 in damage to property at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Garcia was charged with felony vandalism.