Boxing star Ryan Garcia is threatening to sue the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) for making him take a mental health examination following the posting of several troubling messages on social media.
“I’m gonna sue the NYC commission, and I’m saying this: why?” he began his series of videos. “They’re trying to challenge me for a mental evaluation. I said, ‘OK, what is your premises [sic] for the mental evaluation?’ ‘Well, your tweets and posts.’ I said, ‘Is it not my U.S. constitutional right to have free speech?’ So, because I’m tweeting what I’m tweeting, that’s premises [sic] for a mental evaluation? That’s curious.
Ryan Garcia claims he’s suing the New York boxing commission for requesting a mental health evaluation pic.twitter.com/PT0YSi35vG
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) March 16, 2024
“Now you’re trying to mess with my constitutional rights. Now I’m going to sue you. I’m going to sue for defamation of character, actually.”
Garcia went on to point out that the NYSAC hasn’t required Mike Tyson to take any such evaluation,
“Won’t test Mike Tyson if he fights in New York, but they will test me.”
“Sounds a little fishy to me,” he added. “And I love Mike. Mike loves me.
“Can not wait for them to ask me to take them to court because I will defeat them.”
Many have called for Garcia’s upcoming bout with Devin Haney to be canceled due to the fighter’s social media posts. However, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has said he will take action if NYSAC attempts to cancel the bout.
Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia face off during the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney press tour at Avalon Hollywood & Bardot on February 29, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images)
“We’re in direct talks with the New York Commission, where the fight is to take place. And, you know, social media is so good and so bad at the same time,” Sulaiman said.
Sulaiman added, “I believe he will be in a position to fight, but we are addressing the situation without a doubt.”
Questions about Garcia’s mental well-being circulated after a video circulated claiming that he had died. Following that post, Garcia claimed he was “raped by a family member when he was two years old, had proof of aliens, and was abducted by members of ‘Bohemian Grove’ and was forced to watch child pornography as part of some ritual.”
Garcia has a professional record of 24-1.
