Less than two months away from his return to the Octagon, Michael Chandler is facing a heap of backlash after opening up about how he hopes to raise his adoptive children.
Chandler and his wife, Brie Chandler, adopted their son Hap in 2017. Five years later they welcomed their second adoptive son, Ace. As most everyone familiar with the fighter already knows, Chandler’s children are black while he and his wife are white.
That alone has sparked some negative commentary online from those who oppose the concept of transracial adoption, but it was Chandler’s comments during a recent appearance on The Shawn Ryan Show that have seemingly caused many folks to take issue.
“I’m not raising black children, I’m raising children,” 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.
“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. Where we think that the most important thing about us is our skin color or our gender or our political affiliation.”
Chandler has since come under fire with many arguing that he, as a white man, is ill-equipped to teach his children about black culture and offer them the tools necessary to navigate the world as a black man.
Josh Thomson and ‘Big’ John McCarthy come to the defense of Michael chandler
Offering his take on the situation during a recent episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast with co-host ‘Big’ John McCarthy, former MMA star Josh Thomson came to the defense of Chandler and his family amid the “ridiculous” fallout.
“A lot of people that listen to our show know that Michael Chandler and I don’t see eye-to-eye on things,” Thomson began. “We don’t like each other. This is something I feel very strongly about. I feel like Michael Chandler is doing something for these two young boys that they weren’t going to get from their biological parents and I can do nothing, but applaud him for it and there’s not much else I can say.
“It really is important to be brought up in a house with two loving parents. To be provided for and to give them safety and comfort in his own home. Not just the physical things, but the love and I’ve seen videos of him working out side-by-side with his sons. I have nothing, but positive things to [say].
Chiming in, John McCarthy offered some insight into the situation, revealing that the biological mother of the eldest child had specifically chosen Chandler and his wife to adopt her son.
“The mother picked them to be the parents because she knew she couldn’t be. I think that takes great courage on her part, to bring a child into the world and know that I am not prepared to be the parent that this child needs and I need to pick people that I believe can be. Obviously, you’re never going to be 100% sure, but I think she did a great job.
“Why is it that people want to put so much emphasis on how much melanin you have in your skin? Martin Luther King said long ago, that it is not about the color of your skin, it’s about the content of your character, and what Michael Chandler and his wife did is show that they have the character to say skin color means nothing to me. I want to be a loving parent to someone that needs a parent.
“Anyone can have a child, but not everyone can be a true mother or a true father. That is something that takes time. It takes caring. It takes compassion and that’s what those two have brought to the table for their two young sons. And anyone who sits there and says anything other than ‘way to go…’ You want to bring up that he should indoctrinate his sons with black culture. He should indoctrinate them to be real men.”
McCarthy was also quick to slam those doling out the trash talk online, asking those people what they were actively doing to improve the life of another person.
“What are you doing? Where are you adopting people? What are you doing to make someone’s life better? All you do is sit there and criticize. You’re the problem. Michael Chandler and his wife are the answer. They’re doing something. They’re not perfect. They’re not gonna be perfect. None of us are, but I’ll take what they’re doing any day over the people who are complaining.
You can watch Josh Thomson and John McCarthy’s full comments below:
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