[quote="Monte" post=396618][quote="SJUFAN2" post=396616][quote="Monte" post=396614][quote="austour" post=396587][quote="Monte" post=396582][quote="Duke of Earlington" post=396573][quote="Monte" post=396571][quote="Duke of Earlington" post=396569]Im not a huge PC guy and I think alot of this stuff is an overreaction, but what grown adult still uses this word? This dude has no one to blame but himself and if he never works again, he has no one to blame but himself.[/quote]
"...never works again"? Really? How about we confiscate all of his personal belongings and banish him to siberia? Inappropriate comment? Absolutely! An apology and maybe a small suspension is more then enough IMO. But then again, ESPN are masters at selective outrage and punishment, and Plus I'm sure the corporate hypocrites(the advertisers) are already feigning outrage and threatening to pull commercials.[/quote]
I meant on TV or radio. Obviously he can be employeed again but for a tv or radio station to call games, i doubt it.[/quote]
Respect your opinion Duke, but still think the guy does not deserved to be fired, let alone never work as a broadcaster again.[/quote]
I listened to the quote in question and he not only said it but he said it with disdain. Tom Brennaman should be hired by a company that does not have a problem being associated with homophobia and anti-gay positions.
If he loses his job it's just because his present employers don't fit that description. It could be a moral stance or it could be an economic decision because hiring him and presenting him to the nation tarnishes their brand. That's up to them.[/quote]
He used the word "Fag" so that automatically makes him "anti-gay"? Because you know what's in his heart? So everytine someone uttered the word "WOP" we can assume they're anti-Italian? What little I know of you, not at all surprised by your assumptions and position. Needless to say, I couldn't disagree more. But then again, I tend to be more "tolerant" then most of those who profess to be.[/quote]
If he'd just been caught uttering only the word "fag" then you might have a point. But he said (roughly) "...that's one of the biggest fag cities in the world." Clearly his statement was intended to poke fun at, or insult some city by linking it to a derogatory phrase for a fairly large segment of the human population. Its certainly fair to presume he's not a fan of the folks that the word is meant to deride, or he wouldn't have used it to insult whatever city he was talking about.
Context matters.
To use your WOP analogy...if he'd just uttered "WOP"...people would have been scratching their heads wondering WTF is he talking about? And people would want to know the the rest of the conversation was to determine whether it was intended as a derogatory comment towards Italians.
Whereas, if he said something as outrageous as ... "My daughter is engaged to a WOP, I'd rather she married a N****r." Nobody would have a doubt what he meant or how it should be taken.
The guy F'd up. He'll pay a price for that, and should.
He apologized, live on the air and off the cuff. He deserves some credit for that. Whether he gets another gig behind a microphone will probably depend on whether he takes your point of view and argues he wasn't intending it to be an insult, or if he follows through on his apology with real action that reaches out to those he offended.
In a civil society "Fag", "WOP", "N****r", and every other ethnic, religious or social slur should never be acceptable in the public space. ESPECIALLY on the public airwaves when children are watching/listening.[/quote]
Agree with much of what you're saying, but are you suggesting those words not be used in movies, theater, etc? Whether in jest or seriously? How about for comedic purposes? What about in music????? Also, keep in mind that his words weren't meant for the public.
Major screw up no doubt, but unless he has a history of homophobic, racist, etc behavior, but should not be career ending IMO.[/quote]
I'm not suggesting that those words be censored from art or legislated out of existence. Just that they aren't fit for the PUBLIC airwaves, nor should they be used in public discourse, say at a PTA or school board meeting.
If they were in a movie, it would get an R rating. Parents would be able to decide if that content was acceptable for their children.
If they were in lyrics there would be a warning on the CD case about the language content.
People should be able to have the expectation that they won't have to worry about hearing that kind of flippant bigotry, or having their kids exposed to that language on public broadcasts.
"...never works again"? Really? How about we confiscate all of his personal belongings and banish him to siberia? Inappropriate comment? Absolutely! An apology and maybe a small suspension is more then enough IMO. But then again, ESPN are masters at selective outrage and punishment, and Plus I'm sure the corporate hypocrites(the advertisers) are already feigning outrage and threatening to pull commercials.[/quote]
I meant on TV or radio. Obviously he can be employeed again but for a tv or radio station to call games, i doubt it.[/quote]
Respect your opinion Duke, but still think the guy does not deserved to be fired, let alone never work as a broadcaster again.[/quote]
I listened to the quote in question and he not only said it but he said it with disdain. Tom Brennaman should be hired by a company that does not have a problem being associated with homophobia and anti-gay positions.
If he loses his job it's just because his present employers don't fit that description. It could be a moral stance or it could be an economic decision because hiring him and presenting him to the nation tarnishes their brand. That's up to them.[/quote]
He used the word "Fag" so that automatically makes him "anti-gay"? Because you know what's in his heart? So everytine someone uttered the word "WOP" we can assume they're anti-Italian? What little I know of you, not at all surprised by your assumptions and position. Needless to say, I couldn't disagree more. But then again, I tend to be more "tolerant" then most of those who profess to be.[/quote]
If he'd just been caught uttering only the word "fag" then you might have a point. But he said (roughly) "...that's one of the biggest fag cities in the world." Clearly his statement was intended to poke fun at, or insult some city by linking it to a derogatory phrase for a fairly large segment of the human population. Its certainly fair to presume he's not a fan of the folks that the word is meant to deride, or he wouldn't have used it to insult whatever city he was talking about.
Context matters.
To use your WOP analogy...if he'd just uttered "WOP"...people would have been scratching their heads wondering WTF is he talking about? And people would want to know the the rest of the conversation was to determine whether it was intended as a derogatory comment towards Italians.
Whereas, if he said something as outrageous as ... "My daughter is engaged to a WOP, I'd rather she married a N****r." Nobody would have a doubt what he meant or how it should be taken.
The guy F'd up. He'll pay a price for that, and should.
He apologized, live on the air and off the cuff. He deserves some credit for that. Whether he gets another gig behind a microphone will probably depend on whether he takes your point of view and argues he wasn't intending it to be an insult, or if he follows through on his apology with real action that reaches out to those he offended.
In a civil society "Fag", "WOP", "N****r", and every other ethnic, religious or social slur should never be acceptable in the public space. ESPECIALLY on the public airwaves when children are watching/listening.[/quote]
Agree with much of what you're saying, but are you suggesting those words not be used in movies, theater, etc? Whether in jest or seriously? How about for comedic purposes? What about in music????? Also, keep in mind that his words weren't meant for the public.
Major screw up no doubt, but unless he has a history of homophobic, racist, etc behavior, but should not be career ending IMO.[/quote]
I'm not suggesting that those words be censored from art or legislated out of existence. Just that they aren't fit for the PUBLIC airwaves, nor should they be used in public discourse, say at a PTA or school board meeting.
If they were in a movie, it would get an R rating. Parents would be able to decide if that content was acceptable for their children.
If they were in lyrics there would be a warning on the CD case about the language content.
People should be able to have the expectation that they won't have to worry about hearing that kind of flippant bigotry, or having their kids exposed to that language on public broadcasts.