ONE Championship Stars Speak Up Against Racism And Cyberbullying

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SPORTS | June 10, 2020

ONE Women's Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee (L) and former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard "The Landslide" Folayang (R) (Image Source: ABS-CBN Sports/Santino Honasan)

The continuing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic has been used as a tool for discrimination in different parts of the globe and the unjust deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor have put racism on the spotlight. On the other hand, the unexpected and untimely death of 22-year old Japanese-Indonesian female professional wrestling star Hana Kimura due to alleged cyberbullying following her appearance in the Japanese reality show Hana Kimura literally shocked the industry. This is where people who have the capacity use different platforms to speak out and rally against these issues, and a number of ONE Championship stars are among those to do so.

Discrimination towards Asians cannot be tolerated under any circumstance for the likes of ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon "The Truth" Vera, ONE Women's Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee, ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian Lee and ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin Nguyen. Meanwhile, other ONE Championship stars have condemned the actions of thousands of people in the United States taking to the streets their strong protest against racism and police brutality following the death of an unarmed but eventually COVID-19 positive George Floyd who was killed at the hands of several police officers in Minneapolis. Some have even resorted to different levels of violence as their own statement against such issue.

Several martial artists have also expressed their sympathy and reacted to the unfortunate circumstances leading to Kimura's tragic death. Former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard "The Landslide" Folayang, who is considered as the face of mixed martial arts in the Philippines and one of the sport's most recognizable figures, is no stranger to receiving criticism online since it was used as motivation for him and his fellow Team Lakay to stablemates to improve their craft which led them to numerous world championship titles over the years. For the 36-year old Baguio City native who has been a true example of perseverance over the challenges and setbacks he has faced throughout his MMA career, online presence should be handled with responsibility. While it may be difficult for them to block all the noise and negativity, Folayang also encourages people to know their true worth and not let the opinions of others become the basis of one's existence.

Although she never knew Kimura, Vietnamese-American women's atomweight contender Bi "Killer Bee" Nguyen was saddened by her tragic passing and can relate well to the wrestler's situation considering that she was a participant in the widely popular American reality TV series Survivor prior to her ONE Championship career. Aside from cyberbullying, Nguyen also experienced bullying in real-life having survived an abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend and martial arts has paved the way for the 30-year old to get back on track. Like Folayang, Nguyen also encourages people to reach out to someone - family, friends, teammates, etc. - in times of need. She also suggests those who are being bullied online to delete and block those who are bullying them, acknowledge that they are sick individuals who don't know them and turn to a strong support system that cares for and loves them.