Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyMac
Riddle me this? What if two African American teammates use the n word between themselves, not in anger, but as some type of cultural urban greeting, not whispered, not yelled, but loud enough so that an official, a few players, a few fans, and a coach can hear it?
It wasn't during the game, but the n word was used by Kemba Walker as he was being interviewed, surrounded by his teammates, after Connecticut won their most recent national championship. We all heard it. It's not too far of a stretch to think that we could hear something similar during our high school games.
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That's a tough one but as JRut mentioned in his most recent post we just establish ground rules. I guess the main difference is he and I go into games knowing it might be used so it's not a major shock. We're both the same in that neither of us likes the word that much so making the kids aware of it - or more aware - is key. Usually a hard stare or a, "Young men, not today" clears up the problems if they're saying it - but not yelling it - to one another.
I've mentioned in other posts we have a "no profanity" policy in the NYC Public Schools (another debate for another time) so when we give a quick mention about sportsmanship in the pre-game meeting we'll remind players in schools where it may be an issue "that includes the N-word." I can say I've yet to have a problem.