by Sean Crose

Just one short day after rapper and Floyd Mayweather friend Earl Hayes killed himself and dancer/actress Stephanie Moseley, the famed boxer is in the news again. The LA Times is reporting that the LAPD wants to talk with Mayweather since he reportedly witnessed the horrific crime through FaceTime.

Via the LA Times:

“LAPD Lt. John Ratke said detectives were seeking to question Mayweather about any discussions he or his associates had had with Hayes the day of the shootings.”

The Times also reports a source informing the newspaper that law enforcement is “gathering electronic records in the incident.”

When famous names are attached in some way (any way) to a horrific crime, media coverage will be extensive. And this case has proven to be no exception. Mayweather’s connection to the murder/suicide has been all over the internet.

Gossip website TMZ, which may have been the first outlet to run the “Mayweather angle,” has run another headline which reads:

“Floyd Mayweather Riled Up Killer Before Murder-Suicide Dump Your Wife.”

While the title may arguably place Mayweather in a dubious light, the accompanying piece makes it clear he didn’t intend to initiate the violence which followed his FaceTime conversation with Hayes.

“Hayes was distraught,” the site reports, “over what he believed was repeated infidelity, including a fling he said Stephanie had with Trey Songz.” The site goes on to claim that Floyd argued Hayes should leave the dancer/actress.

“One Mayweather source,” TMZ goes on to report, “says Floyd challenged Hayes, saying he was weak for not leaving her.”

It was then, the story goes, that Hayes made his violent intentions clear.

“We’re told when the boxer realized Hayes was going to shoot Stephanie,” TMZ goes on, “he begged Hayes not to go through with it.”

Hayes clearly was at not at the point where he could be reasoned with.

Of course no one will know for sure what actually happened until the official police report comes out. According to the LA Times, autopsies on Hayes and Moseley have yet to be conducted. Until the whole story comes out, however, until the inarguable facts actually see sunlight, speculation can be expected to run wild.

Reactions have ranged from the heartfelt (Moseley associates and even 50 Cent) to the preposterous (fans who comment online that Floyd will use the tragedy as an excuse to avoid Manny Pacquiao). Shocking events impact people in a variety of ways.

Who knows what kind of effect all this is having or will have on Mayweather?

Perhaps surprisingly, the man showed up at the LA Clippers game last night. This strikes some as odd – very odd. Still, people mourn in their own way and no one can tell what goes through a person’s mind during such a time.

Truth be told, these events are unusual even by Mayweather standards.

Mayweather, after all, leads a highly unconventional life. In a sense, he’s the ultimate modern American sports celebrity. The bling. The fleet of cars. The spending. The entourage. The strip clubs. It’s all part of a life few could ever attain – or perhaps even want to.

Yet there’s been a dark side to the Mayweather legend, as well. Abusive relationships. Arrests. A jail sentence. Charges of rampant misogyny. None of it leads to a boy scout image. Floyd, though, has always presented himself as a bad boy “gangsta” type for media consumption.

If the reports are accurate, however, he tried to keep Hayes from killing Moseley. That’s clearly to the man’s credit. Unfortunately, Mayweather’s best efforts finally failed him. Monday’s brutality can’t fairly be blamed on Mayweather.

It adds another dark chapter, however, to what is turning out to be a very strange saga.

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