RINGSIDE POLITICS – JULY 15, 2021

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Welcome to another edition of Ringside Politics with Jeff Crouere

Today’s Hot Topics:

1) The Black national anthem is reportedly set to return before NFL games for good starting in 2021.

“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was played before the start of Week 1 games during the 2020 NFL season, and Front Office Sports reported Wednesday the NFL plans to make it a “prominent part of big league events.”

The NFL allowed social justice phrases like “End Racism” to be painted in the back of teams’ end zones, and players were able to honor victims of systemic racism and police violence last year. Front Office Sports reported the NFL plans on ratcheting up the messaging for the 2021 season.

2) For the owner of a small private security company with a history of avoiding paying debts and declaring bankruptcy, it looked like a good opportunity: Find people with military experience for a job in Haiti.

Antonio “Tony” Intriago, owner of Miami-based CTU Security, seems to have jumped at the chance, hiring more than 20 former soldiers from Colombia for the mission. Now the Colombians have been killed or captured in the aftermath of the July 7 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, and Intriago’s business faces questions about its role in the killing.

On Wednesday evening, Léon Charles, head of the Haiti’s National Police, accused Intriago of traveling to Haiti numerous times as part of the assassination plot and of signing a contract while there, but provided no other details and offered no evidence.

3) Megan Fox is setting the record straight after being accused of supporting former President Trump.

The actress appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” earlier this week where guest-host Arsenio Hall asked Fox about her recent attendance alongside other A-listers at the UFC 264 bout between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The high-profile Las Vegas fight attracted many celebrities, as well as the former president, who Fox noted was received by the crowd at the event as a “legend.”

The remark clearly got people upset, prompting many to accuse her of supporting the controversial Republican. The star took to her Instagram Story on Wednesday to set the record straight.

“UHMMM… I DO NOT ALIGN MYSELF WITH ANY POLITICAL PARTY OR INDIVIDUAL POLITICIANS,” she wrote in her all-caps rebuke. “I NEVER SAID DONALD TRUMP IS A LEGEND. I SAID HE WAS A LEGEND… IN THAT ARENA (KEY PART OF THE SENTENCE).”

Fox continued: “THE ARENA WAS FILLED WITH UFC FIGHT FANS. MANY OF THEM CLEARLY REPUBLICAN BASED OFF THE INSANE CROWD REACTION HE RECEIVED WALK-MOBILE VENUE. THAT WAS AN OBSERVABLE FACT. NOT MY OPINION.”

The “Til Death” actress concluded her statement on the matter by sarcastically likening the backlash she received over her comment to a medieval witch hunt.

“REALLY LOVING THIS UNEDUCATED, MID-EVIL [sic] PITCH FORK CARRYING, BURN THE WITCH AT THE STAKE MENTALITY THOUGH. THE WORLD NEEDS MORE OF THAT.”

4) A judge in Iowa considered new motions Thursday filed by the defense for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a Mexican national who was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts.

Tibbetts, 20, disappeared in July 2018 while on a run in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. Bahena Rivera, 27, who came to the United States illegally as a teenager, led investigators to her body in a remote cornfield about a month after she vanished.

He was expected to get life without parole, but Judge Joel Yates delayed sentencing Wednesday after the defense came forward with two new witnesses. The defense motions requested a new trial and asked the judge to compel prosecutors to provide more information on other suspects investigated in the death of Mollie Tibbetts allegedly linked to a sex trafficking ring.

Today’s Guests:

1) Col. Allen West, Chairman of the Texas Republican Party

2) Vina Nguyen, NOLA Mayoral Candidate

3) Rosalind Thibodeaux, Candidate for New Orleans City Council

4) Larry Frieman, State Representative (R-Abita Springs)

5) Steve Konos, Ringside Politics Creative Director; Ringside Politics Parody of the Week

6) Josh Bernstein, Ringside All-Star, Josh Bernstein Uncensored