Quote:
Originally posted by tomegun
How do you expect to get anywhere when you say something that is pretty good and then you end it with a dig?
This is the bottom line, if someone doesn't know and comes here to ask that is good. YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER! You know how I know? I have 34 years experience on this earth that says so! If it isn't an automatic T for you then that is really sad. I'm asking you (almost begging) if you don't have something to add to a thread like this leave it alone. Please?
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Tommy,
You sound like a lot of people whose way to make the world a better place is through what you do as an official. I on the other hand realize that I am just an official and I am not going to change minds or attitudes because I give someone a T. I can change behaviors by using my voice and giving my opinion just like I do other times during a game. No, it is not an automatic T for players that are of the same race when they use language that they use on a regular basis. It would not be an automatic T if players spoke in Spanish and I did not know exactly what they said. Does that mean it would get a T? Of course it would under the right circumstances. Just like the issue that we are talking about. And they fact that you do not understand that, either you do not get out much and talk to those that look like us in Nevada or you think we all should think alike. I have no idea what Nevada is like how many Black people are there. I do know that I belong to an association that is almost entirely Black and works a lot of Chicago Public League ball. I also know that when I work city/suburban games the race of the officials always seems to be an issue. Three of officials that worked the state finals took a lot of heat for not "helping out" a city team get to the State Finals. These officials took much more crap from their own people than whether a single word is used.
There was a documentary on the TV channel called Trio. The documentary's name was "The N Word." There were people from all walks of life from the many areas I mentioned in my earlier post. There were Black people that were conflicted by the word, admittedly upset by the usage, and others that were in acceptance of its usage and others that used it for shock value and to take out the sting of the word. And there were people that were of all ages and all different types of backgrounds that had many different points of view. I suggest Tommy that you read more about the many points of view or listen to the many points of view that are out in the public by books or in interviews. You will find that many are conflicted about what to do or what not to do when it comes to this word.
Let me also address one more thing. Condoning something has nothing to do with giving a T. I know that in many aspects of officiating officials give warnings or talk to players about all kinds of things. I see officials give all kinds of warnings when there are conduct issues in a basketball game. I have yet to see an official give an "automatic T" for taunting players. Probably why you see more and more POEs on certain attitudes or why new rules have to be clarified so that officials can take action. The use of language is the same thing in my thinking. There is slang terms that I might identify that older people would never realize would be offensive. I do not concern myself with single words and what I will do when I hear those words. All words have context and different meaning depending on how they are used and who uses them. That is the case whether you or I agree. The people that use certain words think so. That is the world we live in. If you do not want to have much of a thought process and give out Ts, then that is your right. You do not have the right to tell me how to react when we not only live in different states, we do not even have the same background and schools with the same history.
Peace