In 1995 South African kickboxer Michael Bernardo met France’s Jerome Le Banner in the ring for a semi-final round in Tokyo. The opponents move in for the kill, lock eyes and …kiss each other.
Today at 40, Le Banner is still a champion athlete, having most recently won contests this summer. Unfortunately, Bernardo committed suicide last year following a long battle with depression.
h/t AmericanBlog
tookietookie
That was so sweet.
dvsBTM
Ahhh, le Français + Suid-Afrikaner = Rainbow-coloured unicorns!
Dxley
Dt wasi nodig om joslf dood te maki, Michael. Rest In Peace!!!
Homophile
Totes adorbs.
fredo777
Aww, I didn’t hear about his suicide. That’s fucked up. I always loved this clip.
Caliban
Yeah, this is a great clip. What I like about it is that the first kiss is supposed to be an insult to the masculinity of the other fighter, a move other boxer/fighters have pulled with sometimes violent results. But instead of reacting in homophobic horror, the other fighter kisses him back and smiles, not really in a homoerotic way but more like, “You goof! I’m not insulted by that” and they have a shared moment that’s almost sweet because they’re seeing each other as real people instead of just macho gladiators.
n900mixalot
Won’t see anything like that in America… land of the free and repressed.
Fitz
It would be more touching if the follow up wasn’t: and then died of mental illness.
D P
Aww.. That was really sweet!