Katie Couric ‘Fled’ Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao Fight: Did Mayweather Ban Female Journalists From Bout?
Katie Couric reportedly left Las Vegas hours before Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao touched gloves because she felt “uncomfortable” about attending the bout.
Couric, who previously interviewed both fighters in April ahead of their eagerly anticipated encounter, was seen arriving in Las Vegas ahead of the contest. However, according to Page Six, she then decided to turn around and flew back to New York without actually attending.
Insiders revealed to the aforementioned publication that Couric was seen out and about on the streets of Las Vegas with her husband John Molner on Saturday. However, as the contest drew closer and closer, Couric felt more and more uncomfortable about attending the fight, with a friend of hers explaining, “The more Katie thought about it, the less comfortable she was going.”
But why did Couric feel so uncomfortable that she decided to miss out on the fight of the century? It’s been speculated that Couric left because Mayweather’s camp allegedly banned two female journalists from attending the fight because they had previously been critical of the fighter’s chequered past.
In 2002, Mayweather was charged with two counts of domestic violence and one count of misdemeanor battery, while, in 2010, he was jailed for 90 days after being found guilty of beating Josie Harris. In addition, there have been various other domestic battery accusations as well.
And on Saturday, both ESPN’s Michelle Beadle and CNN’s Rachel Nichols tweeted that they had been barred from entering the MGM Grand Arena by Floyd Mayweather’s camp.
I, along with @Rachel__Nichols, have been banned from the MGM Grand Arena for the fight tonight by the Mayweather camp. #TheFightGame
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) May 2, 2015
No fight for me or @MichelleDBeadle. Mayweather’s team told my producer the camp was blocking my credential. https://t.co/JTjjXadPp8 — Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 2, 2015
Nichols then peppered her Twitter account with further information, with one Tweet even alluding to why she had been banned.
No fight for me or @MichelleDBeadle. Mayweather’s team told my producer the camp was blocking my credential. https://t.co/JTjjXadPp8
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 2, 2015
Nichols then provided further details of the entire incident and the events leading up to her being refused entry.
Have had a bunch of folks asking questions about the Mayweather issue. Here’s what happened: After asking (cont) http://t.co/aD1ekEVTdS
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 2, 2015
However, Mayweather’s camp have strenuously denied these allegations. Kelly Swanson, who is Mayweather’s publicist, soon took to her own Twitter account to insist that they hadn’t been behind the banning.
No one including ME banned @Rachel__Nichols from covering the fight. She is already credentialed. #Facts
— Kelly Swanson (@kellyswanson1) May 2, 2015
And @MichelleDBeadle isn’t even on the press list. She’s credentialed through @HBOboxing. Yes credentialed. #Fact#2
— Kelly Swanson (@kellyswanson1) May 2, 2015
Swanson also late told USA Today that the whole incident had been a misunderstanding and insisted, “Rachel Nichols was never banned from the event. She’s been credentialed the whole time.”
Swanson added, “There was a misunderstanding by the credential office as to… they said that she wasn’t credentialed for tonight, however, this shows [a database printout with Nichols’ picture] that she was credentialed all along. So whoever was saying… I don’t know who that was, I had nothing to do with it. And when I saw it, I was like, ‘What is this woman talking about?’ Because she’s always been credentialed, she’s always been welcomed.”
However, Nichols later dismissed Swanson’s comments during an interview with Sports Illustrated, explaining, “There are emails. They lie. It’s their job. But I was banned.”
[Image via YIMG]
