Brennan: When Mayweather bans two journalists, he bans all of us

LOUISVLLE — I wish I were in Las Vegas right now, not at the Kentucky Derby.

I wish I were covering the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight.

I wish I could stand with my colleagues Rachel Nichols of CNN and Michelle Beadle of ESPN and not go into the fight, but instead report from outside the arena — or wherever everyone ends up — not only about the fight but also about the very serious issue of Mayweather's terrible criminal record of domestic violence.

Nichols and Beadle both announced today on Twitter that they have been denied credentials for tonight's fight by Mayweather's camp because of their reporting and commentary on his extensive history of violence against women. Kelly Swanson, who is involved in credentialing for the fight, appears to be backpedaling now, saying they are not banned and that it all was a "misunderstanding." Yeah, right. Clearly, the intense social media backlash is getting to the fight promoters. It might have something to do with the First Amendment.

But so far, Nichols and Beadle's tweets still stand. And as long as they do, every journalist who is credentialed to cover the fight at the MGM Grand Arena should stand with Nichols and Beadle and not go into that fight. When Mayweather bans two, he bans all of us.

That said, nothing Nichols and Beadle or any of us have written or said about Mayweather's past has brought as much attention to this important issue as the banishment of these two journalists now has. So in that way, Mayweather himself is now shining a light on his awful past, and that, oddly enough, is a positive development in the midst of this bizarre and unacceptable situation.

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