Boxer Ryan Garcia ‘headed to rehab’ after racist rant, WBC expulsion

Embattled boxer Ryan Garcia is apologizing for using racial slurs in his latest social media rant, saying there’s “no excuse” for his recent behavior.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to the Black community. I apologize to the Muslim community, basically for my language and my vocabulary,” Garcia said on Friday. “I obviously have a big responsibility as a famous athlete and I was very under the influence and I’m going through a lot… but I have no excuse.”
Garcia, 25, announced that he’s seeking help: “I just want to be a positive influence now. I’m headed to rehab and I’m going to make a real change in my heart. Like I said, all I can do is be better.”
RYAN GARCIA: Expelled from World Boxing Council after latest online rant
Here’s what we know about the latest incident involving Garcia:
Garcia took part in a Twitter Spaces earlier this week, where he aimed racial slurs at the Black and Muslim communities and made disparaging remarks about George Floyd, a Black man who died in 2020 after a Minneapolis police officer, who is white, knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.
Garcia returned to Twitter Spaces on Friday singing a different tune, although his apology veered off-track for a moment before moderators on the social media livestream redirected him. Garcia said some of his friends were “hyping” him up and “influencing” him at the time to use racial slurs: “I’m not going to make any excuse. I’m not going to say they forced me. I’m just saying they were pushing it.”
Garcia, who is serving a year-long suspension after testing positive for a banned substance prior to his April fight against Devin Haney, was swiftly expelled by the World Boxing Council as a result and his actions were denounced by his promotion team, Golden Boy Promotions. He said that’s not the only fallout he’s faced.
“I feel really bad and I hope you guys understand my heart,” Garcia said. “I am expelled from boxing as I should be for my comments, and hey, I don’t get to box again. I lost a lot of sponsorships. Trust me, what I said is not going good for me, but I deserve it and I’m not trying to act like I don’t deserve it.”
As World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman announced Garcia was expelled, Sulaiman said Garcia “declined multiple attempts for our help with mental health and substance abuse.”
On Friday, Garcia said he decided to get help as he’s “going through a hard time” in his personal life.
“I’m going to rehab and getting therapy. Just trying to work through my own traumas and then I’m going to come back better for sure,” he said. “A lot of things are happening in my life man. I feel falsely accused of doing steroids. They banned me from a sport I love so much. I’m going through a divorce … and my own mental struggles in itself. It’s not really fun for me… life is not fun right now.”
Garcia’s racist rant online marks the latest troubling behavior for the boxing star.
There were questions surrounding Garcia’s mental fitness heading into his highly anticipated bout with Haney in April following erratic behavior online. After Garcia defeated Haney in dominant fashion, where he knocked Haney down three times, Garcia revealed that he was merely “acting sporadic and crazy” to promote the fight.
But his bizarre behavior continued. In June, he was suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission for one year for testing positive for a banned substance and forfeited his purse from his fight against Haney. His majority decision victory was changed to “no contest.” Earlier in June, Garcia was arrested at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Beverly Hills for felony vandalism after reportedly causing more than $15,000 in damages to a guest room and the hallway of the hotel, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department.
Contributing: Josh Peter