12/22/24
February 17, 2011
High School Coach Bounced for Racial Slur: The head coach of the 15-0 Richmond Heights High School basketball team in Ohio has been relieved of his duties the rest of the season. Jason Popp told his players in a halftime rant, "Y'all are playing nigger ball. Y'all are not using your heads."
posted by rcade to basketball at 09:32 AM - 14 comments
Shoddy reporting: the story doesn't say if they were. Mark that down as another paper that would be well-served to remove their comments section. Half of the comments seem to be suggesting that since they've heard black people use the word, it's ok now. And then there's this gem:
I am suspicious when ever I hear a story about a white man being cruel to a black person.
It could be just my white man bias, but of the thousands of white people I know none would ever do what the black youth accused the white coach of doing. And many of the white people I know do not like black people and would be considered racists by today's standard. Still they wound never say the N-word to a black person.
posted by yerfatma at 10:14 AM on February 17, 2011
The story says there were ten black varsity players. I just assumed that was pretty much the whole team.
Yeah, that comment caught my eye as well. He knows thousands of white racists, but would be shocked if any of them used the word "nigger" to a black person.
posted by bperk at 10:27 AM on February 17, 2011
At our local high school, use of the word has progressed from black kids using among themselves to white kids using it among themselves. To my knowledge, the use of the word has so far not crossed racial lines amongst the kids.
But stuff is bound to happen if groups of people are throwing the word around.
Bothers the hell out of me that young people who didn't have to go through hellfire to take ownership of the word and get it gone from daily discourse feel it's theirs to toss about as they please.
posted by beaverboard at 10:45 AM on February 17, 2011
Context matters. White kids and black kids listen to the same music. It's hardly surprising that they would pick up the language and slang. I don't subscribe to the view that only black people can use it. The context in which it is used takes precedence over the the skin color of the user for me.
posted by bperk at 11:00 AM on February 17, 2011
Anyone know where I can catch a good game of... god I can't even really get myself to say it.
posted by phaedon at 11:18 AM on February 17, 2011
Wow. Moron.
posted by THX-1138 at 01:13 PM on February 17, 2011
As opposed to what? Honkey ball? Cracker ball?
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:00 PM on February 17, 2011
Can't condone the use of that type of language at a sporting event, doesn't matter who said it, and it doesn't matter in what context it was used.
Any coach knows better. You don't get to be a high school coach without going through training on this type of behavior, so this guy knew better.
My perspective is that the word should never be used, and music that contains the word just serves to propagate it's use. Drives me crazy to hear black people say it's ok to use it amongst themselves...if you can use, others can use.
on a side note, one player was quoted as saying "My definition of a coach is someone who helps his players get better on the court and off the court. Coach Popp wasn't really doing either,". They were 15-0, so maybe he was 50%?
posted by dviking at 05:34 PM on February 17, 2011
My perspective is that the word should never be used, and music that contains the word just serves to propagate it's use. Drives me crazy to hear black people say it's ok to use it amongst themselves...if you can use, others can use.
Black people have been using it amongst themselves for more than 30 years. Richard Pryor used it. Fred Sanford used it. The difference is that black culture has gotten mainstream. White kids listen to black music and hear music from a different perspective. And, if the argument is that music has to be censored because it isn't fair to white kids that they can't say nigga, I think we can easily reject that foolishness.
posted by bperk at 06:49 PM on February 17, 2011
I think we can easily reject that foolishness.
Is it not equally foolish to think that a black kid should be able to utter the n-word without consequence, while a white kid would be held accountable? If blacks use it in public, it decreases others' sensitivity to it. I don't find it helpful.
As to Pryor, et al, funny stuff, I'll admit laughing to their jokes that contained the n-word. Never asked for censorship, just stated my position that music that perpetuates stereotypes and/or negative connotations just increases the likelihood that others will continue to use the word. If anyone is serious about removing the n-word from use, they have to attack all usages of it.
My take on it, if you feel differently I'm okay with it.
posted by dviking at 10:55 PM on February 17, 2011
Richard Pryor strongly disavowed the use of Nigger. He stopped using, and said that he was wrong to use it.
posted by Aardhart at 11:23 PM on February 17, 2011
The youth will decide how they choose to use the word and the social rules that govern it. Nothing we says means a thing. That's the way it is, and the way it should be.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:59 PM on February 17, 2011
If blacks use it in public, it decreases others' sensitivity to it.
I haven't noticed any decrease in sensitivity.
posted by tron7 at 10:37 AM on February 18, 2011
I wasn't expecting it to be all black players when I clicked on the link. I'm not surprised that didn't go over well to that audience.