Listen to Deontay Wilder’s Strong Response to Wednesday’s Arrest in Tuscaloosa
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder was stopped by Tuscaloosa Police on Wednesday when an officer found marijuana in his vehicle and arrested the boxer.
Wilder's lawyer said the marijuana belonged to someone who borrowed the vehicle, but the boxer didn't have a chance to tell his side of the story until a Friday appearance on The Steve Shannon Morning Show in Tuscaloosa.
"Officer Roach saw an opportunity to get shine off of my name, to become maybe famous or something, and he took that opportunity," Wilder told host Steve Shannon. "That's what he did because many of people have been let loose for way more than what was discovered in my vehicle. Trust me, many. But because he wanted to get his shine and the remarks that he made led me more to let me know what the deal really was, which is ok. Because God is still good, man. I'm still strong. I'm still positive."
Wilder seemed frustrated with the coverage the arrest received in comparison to many of the charitable things he's done outside of the ring.
"People know me in town. They know what I do for the city. They know what I do for the inner state of the kinds. They know all that, but why is nobody talking about that? Why does nobody want to talk about all the money that I gave to many families to keep their homes, to keep their kids in their homes?
"Why at the gym, when something breaks out, bad news breaks out, you have so much media at the gym? I hear about all this media at the gym and I'm not even in town right now because I'm busy. I'm doing other things. I'm helping out other people. But when you're talking about a kid losing his life and you're taking him on a trip or you're giving money back to him, you only have a few reporters for that. Why is that?"
Wilder said he's received more support than ever following the arrest.
"I just want to thank all of my supporters. They're still supporting me. They're still carrying on. They're still calling out my name. They're still saying, 'That's my camp,' because they know what I do."
Wilder said this incident doesn't change his feelings towards Tuscaloosa or his decision to make this his home.
Listen to his entire comments from his interview on 95.3 the Bear in the video below.