Mixed martial artist Michael Chandler opened up about fatherhood. Chandler, who is white, and his wife Brie, adopted two boys, who are both of African-American descent.
The couple welcomed their first adoptive son Hap in 2017, before welcoming Ace in 2022. But, Chandler suggested his children’s race is the farthest thing from his mind. “I’m not raising black children, I’m raising children,” Chandler said on April 22 on the “The Shawn Ryan Show.”
The 38-year-old UFC star expressed his belief that identity politics can create an environment where people forget that everyone is a human being first and foremost.
Instead of focusing on his adoptive children’s race, Chandler said he is doing what he can to raise his black children in the ways he feels are best, with the hope that they ultimately grow into upstanding men.
“Whether you are black or you are white, no matter what race that you are, there are certain things about being a man and being a good man when it comes to character and integrity and safeguarding the helpless and sticking up for those who need it,” Chandler said.
“Being a good man, a good man of reputation, none of that has to do with skin color. Everything has to do with the character of the man. Probably not an answer that some people would say is important but that’s where the world has gone.”
From Chandler’s point of view, a person’s character has the ability to transcend race, age, and religion.
“Where we think that the most important thing about us is our skin color or our gender or our political affiliation or all these different identity politics or the identities that we put on each other, when really we’re just human beings on this earth. And there are certain things about being a good person that transcend skin color, and age and sex and religion.”
Chandler’s perspective on race sparked a firestorm of reactions across social media. Some suggested that Chandler’s parenting techniques will ultimately be a disservice to his children.
“Most of the replies are ‘but how will they survive racism!’ The larger crime here is *being* black while *robbed* of blackness. He’s robbing them too, not just failing to protect. He is both cheating these 2 boys out of cultural identity AND leaving them unprepared for the world,” one person wrote on X.
Others described Chandler’s thought process as “wishful thinking.”
“No. I just listened to 5 minutes and 30 seconds of fantasy and wishful thinking. He is raising black children and they need to understand what it means to be black, not just in America, but in this world,” another person wrote.
Another X account asserted that despite Chandler’s best efforts, his children will ultimately be viewed as black men.
“He means well and you can tell. They will have an amazing happy childhood. But when they get older and your not there to hold their hand, the world will see them as black men. It’s okay that they be prepared for that.”
“I think his heart is in the right place but I HOPE he doesn’t have to learn the hard way that raising children of color is different,” another social media user wrote. “Yes you should raise them to be honest, upstanding men/women but all it takes is one incident w/someone/ppl who are not such and all that stuff goes out the window because it’ll boil down to the color of their skin. A lot of white ppl are oblivious to this, doesn’t mean they’re bad or don’t care but if you are white and are raising children of color it is your responsibility to understand,educate yourself, and if need be talk to black fathers.”
In 2017, Chandler recalled how he was brought to tears shortly after seeing a picture of his then-9-month-old son Hap for the first time.
“We wanted a newborn to six months. It’s just funny how you have your preferences and you have your plans and then all of a sudden God just says, nope. He was nine months old. They sent us his picture, and as soon as I saw it I got this feeling inside of me, and I started tearing up. I was just like: ‘That’s my son,” said Chandler in an interview with MMA Fighting.
