Racist remarks and taunting

[Raymond]

The parent compared fans yelling at officials being addressed to fans yelling out explicit racial comments at a player not being addressed.

If the subject matter is too uncomfortable for you to discuss, it's alright not to post. You don't have to entirely distort the conversation to meet your entertainment needs.




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[BillyMac]

... but McIntosh Apples and Delicious Apples.

Originally Posted by Raymond

The parent compared fans yelling at officials being addressed to fans yelling out explicit racial comments at a player not being addressed.

If you only want to post regarding the racial aspect of the parent comment, I'm fine with that that.

I just wanted to speculate about why one aspect (yelling at of officials) may have been be dealt with by game officials while the other aspect (monkey sounds by fans) may have been seemingly ignored by game officials.

Note: Maybe it wasn't completely ignored by the game officials but was reported to the site director, who chose not to do anything about it?

If this were my game, I probably could have been oblivious to the monkey sounds as racially intended (unless pointed out to me), but I may have had rabbit ears to the high volume fan obnoxiously and unacceptably yelling at me, or my partner.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

As for me, I'm not sure that I would be cognizant enough to differentiate between monkey yells that are racial in nature and those that may be "garden variety" distracting. 99% of my attention is on the players, bench, table, scoreboard, and partner, only 1% is on the crowd. I honestly doubt that I would realize that the monkey yells were only directed at the Black player (unless pointed out to me). Yes, for good or bad, I'm that focused on the players, not the fans.

My response to the parent would be, "I'm sorry sir, but I didn't realize that the monkey sounds were racially motivated. I didn't even realize that they were supposed to be monkey sounds, nor did I realize that they were only directed at Black players. Until you set me straight, I thought that they were just fans trying to distract the shooter. I did happen to hear one fan yelling obnoxiously and unacceptably at both me and my partner, and I couldn't ignore that. Be assured that I will report both of these unsporting issues to my assigner who, I'm sure, will bump both reports up to the state. I guarantee that your issue will not continue to be ignored".

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Raymond

If the subject matter is too uncomfortable for you to discuss, it's alright not to post.

While discussing social justice issues may be uncomfortable for for some, they're not for me.

Complex? Sure. Uncomfortable? If we don't discuss them, things will never get better.

[Rufus]

When the student section that took up a good chunk of mid-court started making racists remarks that I didn't hear. My crew chief, who was right in front of them when it happened, turned around immediately and gestured for the entire section to leave the gym. Got game admin and the school resource officer to assist and would not resume the game until they'd all left the premises.

Made sure to inform school admins what had happened but never did repeat to my partner or myself what was said other than it was "despicable."

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Rufus

When the student section that took up a good chunk of mid-court started making racists remarks that I didn't hear. My crew chief, who was right in front of them when it happened, turned around immediately and gestured for the entire section to leave the gym. Got game admin and the school resource officer to assist and would not resume the game until they'd all left the premises.



Made sure to inform school admins what had happened but never did repeat to my partner or myself what was said other than it was "despicable."

Thanks for sharing.

I always pay attention to what comments are made by fans to the players and vice versa. I'll also tell players not to interact with fans and if they're saying something out of line to let the crew know. In today's world we need to be cognizant of what's going on around us. Not just for the players' safety, but for our safety as well. We have seen players slap fans. We have seen shootings inside of gymnasiums. We have fans who follow players and officials off the court. We can't say we don't know what's going on around us because we're staring at players standing around during free throws. Calling somebody a monkey is not a normal distraction technique by fans. Anybody who doesn't know what's going on in that situation just wants to be oblivious. I simply am not going to work in that type of environment. Any of those remarks made toward the player I take them as applying to me also, whether they be racial, anti-semitic, anti LGBTQ, threats of violence, etc.

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[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Raymond

We have fans who follow players and officials off the court.

Partners should always leave the facility together. We had a group of disgruntled fans waiting for our guys in the parking lot a few years ago. Police had to be called.

Originally Posted by Raymond

Calling somebody a monkey is not a normal distraction technique by fans.

Agree, but this didn't happen in the video.

Racial issues between fans and players have been happening more and more in Connecticut, in many sports, over the past few years, making it necessary for both game administrators and game officials to be more aware.

Some issues have been quite subtle ("SAT. SAT. SAT", implying academic ineptitude of urban (mostly Black opponents) while others have been much more aggressive ("N-word").

Originally Posted by Raymond

... whether they be racial, anti-semitic, anti LGBTQ, threats of violence, etc.

Don't belong in a school, or any other "civilized" environment.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Partners should always leave the facility together. We had a group of disgruntled fans waiting for our guys in the parking lot a few years ago. Police had to be called.







Agree, but this didn't happen in the video.



Racial issues between fans and players have been happening more and more in Connecticut, in many sports, over the past few years, making it necessary for both game administrators and game officials to be more aware.



Some issues have been quite subtle ("SAT. SAT. SAT") while others have been much more aggressive ("N-word").

It is most definitely clear as day somebody yells out monkey in the video while a player is shooting free throws. That was the main crux of the news story.

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[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Raymond

It is most definitely clear as day somebody yells out monkey in the video while a player is shooting free throws.

Thanks for pointing that out. I missed that. Wasn't mentioned in article. Thought it was only monkey sounds (which are also bad). I went back and heard it (female voice). Disgusting.