ESPN Writer Calls Kimbo Slice 'Disgusting'

ESPN's LZ Granderson has an interesting column this week about Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson who got somewhat famous by posting his street fights on the Internet and is now getting even more famous for fighting in legitimate mixed martial arts competitions.

And Granderson writes that he thinks the fact that Slice is going big-time is a big problem:

I don't know if he's necessarily stupid, because I've never met the man, but he certainly seems to be misguided. Why else would Slice disregard all sense of honor, pride and history to project an image that can best be described as a cross between Lil' Wayne and Kunta Kinte -- a runaway slave with a mouth full of gold teeth playing up every single stereotype of an African-American male in exchange for short-lived adoration from a soulless media with ADD. ... I find what Slice is consciously doing downright disgusting.

I think Granderson is one of America's best sports writers, and I share some of his concerns about the way Slice is sometimes portrayed. But I also think it's important to remember that Slice can't control how others portray him, and he demonstrates in all of his interviews that he's an intelligent and articulate person who takes his sport seriously. I think people who watch his first CBS fight will come away thinking highly of him.