With millions of eyes on the Mayweather v. McGregor fight Saturday night, Showtime aired a strong public service announcement on diversity and “supporting tolerance.”
The placement of the ad, just before round one of one of the most highly-anticipated and controversial boxing matches in history, may seem odd, but its message was perfect.
Kobe Bryant, along with actors like Liam Hemsworth and Dakota Johnson, delivered Nelson Mandela’s powerful quote on acceptance.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of their skin, or their background, or their religion,” they said. “If people can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Even in the grimmest times, I’ve seen glimmers of humanity that’s reassured me that our goodness is a flame that can never be extinguished.”
Here’s the full PSA:
Stars bring their voice to support tolerance and stop hate in PSA broadcast tonight in #MayweatherMcGregor #SupportTolerance pic.twitter.com/swuA69qiUW
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) August 27, 2017
Hopefully, those words settle in and resonate far longer than 10 rounds.