Rumblebones
Banned
UFC standout 'The Black Beast' Derrick Lewis saves Confederate flag-toting Hurricane Harvey victim
Derrick Lewis, better known in UFC circles as The Black Beast, said his legs have been chewed up from ant-infested waters and his thighs burn from braving the strong currents of Houston flood waters.
In truth, hes risking his life trying to save Houston people in need even if one of them, he said, brought with him a controversial and divisive symbol linked to racism in America.
I dont care about that, Lewis told MMAjunkie. I live in Texas. It aint nothing new. Ive been living in the South all my life, and it aint nothing I hadnt seen before or discussed about. I dont care about that type of stuff. I just wanted to help him.
Lewis lives in Houston, a city currently in a state of crisis as Hurricane Harvey dumps seemingly endless streams of water into the streets, flooding massive portions of the city.Earlier today, both major airports were closed until further notice because of the conditions. The situation is so dire, even city officials have been forced to limit their assistance.
Ive always been that type of guy that I like to help people more than I like to help myself, Lewis told MMAjunkie. And so I just seized the opportunity. The police, they kept getting on the news and saying that theyre not going to help no one unless its a life-or-death situation. Basically, the firefighters said the same thing.
So Lewis has been in the streets for the past two days, responding to distress messages on Facebook and phone calls to friends, using his massive Chevy truck to help usher folks to dry ground.
Mostly, were trying to get all the families that have kids, Lewis said.
His twitter and Instagram feeds are pretty dope. This guy has a huge, potentially career changing fight in just a few short weeks and he's been out there helping people (I believe he said he rescued about a 100 people), including a dude with a Confederate flag.
Sunday night, Lewis was able to help a family in need, saving them from the fast-rising waters. It was a noble gesture, of course, but one made perhaps even more special due to an object he said one of the flood victims carried that is inextricably linked to racism: a Confederate flag.
I picked up one guy and his family, his wife he just kept apologizing to me, because all he really had was his clothes, and he wanted to take his Confederate flag, Lewis said. He wanted to take that with him, and he just apologized and said, Man, Ill sit in the back of your truck, man. I dont want to have my flag inside of your truck like this. I said, Man, Im not worried about that.
Hes saying, You never know if you ever need someone, so I already knew where he was going with it. I just said, Dont even worry about it. Its OK. I dont care about that. His wife kept hitting him and saying, You should have just left it.'
Lewis insists he didnt give it a second thought and will continue to offer assistance to anyone in need, especially with even more rain and strong wind expected to hit Houston in the next several days.
Going by his feed he's still going helping people.
I just don't understand the dude with the Confederate flag. The fact he was apologising just goes to show he clearly knows what that flag represents, so what the fuck?