Showtime exec Stephen Espinoza: Conor McGregor’s insults bothered me

Showtime Sports executive vice president Stephen Espinoza was bothered by Conor McGregor’s words during the pre-fight press tours.

Apart from Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the entire Money Team, Conor McGregor also clashed with Showtime Sports executive Stephen Espinoza. McGregor repeatedly branded Espinoza a “f----ng weasel” for the alleged mic cut during the Los Angeles presser.

Espinoza appropriately kept quiet on stage as McGregor hurled insults at him throughout the press tours. But on Monday’s episode of the MMA Hour, he revealed that the Irishman’s words actually struck a nerve.

“It bothered me a little bit. I think anyone who is personally insulted is bothered,” Espinoza said (via MMA Fighting). “But I’ve been called a lot worse by people I respect more than Conor, so that in itself wasn’t a big issue to me. What bothered me about the whole thing was his comments about Showtime.”

What irked Espinoza more was not the insults thrown at him. Rather, it was those that were thrown at Showtime as a whole, which includes the employees that worked through the fight.

“I know my staff and I know the kind of people who work for us,” Espinoza said. “On that timeframe, on those 72 days, there are literally dozens of people who are giving up dinners with their kids, time with their spouses, giving up things that they would rather do with their nights and weekends for the success of this pay per view, which ultimately the bulk of that money is going to Floyd and Conor. And making them both very rich men.”

“So to have Conor insult them, by extension, to say ‘f’ Showtime or whatever, when there’s an entire team of people who are making personal sacrifices to make sure his event is successful and generates money for him, it just seemed a really short-sighted comment and really unprofessional.”