Those dang racial epitaphs!

I don't think that word means what he thinks it means.

Being honest guys, he didn't enunciate it perfectly, but it clearly ended in a t, and he clearly meant epithet. I can't help but wonder if the tone of these comments would be different if the speaker weren't black.

It has a stigmatism.

I appreciated what he was saying but all i could do during that clip was stare at that bowtie.

His message came across perfectly clear, even though his pronunciation was off in more instances than just that one. He also clearly had a lot of emotion behind his words, which I think is a good reason to cut him some further slack. His message was important, and deserves to be taken quite seriously.

...That being said, I think it is possible to take the message seriously while at the same time having at least a little giggle about the pronunciation snafus.

The implication is that he doesn't know the words he's using. That is, they are implying he's dumb. That's a racist implication. Given the nature of the content, it's surprising to me that sifters wouldn't be more sensitive to that.

If I were to imply some guy with a lisp must wear panties in the bedroom you all would be up in arms.

There is one thing you have to respect black men for, they can pull of seriously effeminate stuff and still not come across that way at all. If my name was Shannon and I'd wear a pink shirt and a matching bowtie, people's first thought would certainly not be "I bet he plays football", it would be "Who's the gay nerd there?" I don't know why but black guys can pull of the silliest outfits and it never ceases to impress me.
And regarding what he said, he's not only right but also very clear. Nitpicking mispronounciations or misuse of words only detracts from his IMO important message.

Heh, oh you Americans, you get so very po-faced about racism. Where's that clip of John Cleese talking about confusing seriousness with solemnity when you need it.

Perhaps, just perhaps, I was just amused at the idea of a racial epitaph and wasn't interested in subjugating his whole race? Perhaps I realise everyone has blind spots in their vocabulary that come and bite them occasionally, and it's all the funnier for having been in a very serious and impassioned speech? Perhaps not everything is about race?

What's going on here?

Perhaps not. This clip certainly is. Perhaps you haven't fully appreciated your own prejudices?

Seconded.

If your "Thats racist!!!" comment requires the qualifier "because he's black", you're wrong. You're an asshole and you're just wrong.

TBH i didn't even notice the slip-up, because unlike "epithet", "epitaph" is not part of my vocabulary and i just immediately understood him.

but why in god's name would anyone let private locker room exchanges damper their faith in our nation's progression towards equality for all?
There are so many many hateful & bigoted actions committed every day, and you want to soapbox about some guy playing it loose with offensible language...

Just to take it a little bit too far, which of these men is letting skin color more strongly influence the judgements they're making?

Edit: full disclosure i have no idea who any of these people are, what rumors they are talking about, or what is a football

Edit2: just saw the voicemail message LOL HOLY SHIT it is 4chan worthy! racial slurs aside it is the most verbally abusive thing i've seen in a long time (but i still don't know them, so thats just how it feels to me). if i got a message half that severe, i would probably shit myself on the spot (but im not a big tough footballist)

While he has an important message that he is trying to get across. This "culture" they are arguing about goes far deeper than anyone realizes. Vocabulary should be the least of anyone's concern. For a side note about the vocabulary used, the word in question has lost its meaning as he is stating. Can it be a powerful word when used in a demeaning and demoralizing context? Absolutely. However, the blatant use and misuse of the word by everyone, blacks, whites and everything in between, has changed the meaning of the word. It is similar to the word fag. It has been years since I have heard the word actually used as a vicious attack towards a homosexual. Can it be? Absolutely. It is commonly used as that? Not even close. Words change meanings over time and especially over generations.

This is not the case here. The "culture" they talk about starts with teenage boys. Walk into a high school locker room. The threatening messages these two dolphins players sent each other are the same ones kids use. Martin even sent a text message to Incognito apologizing for the situation and that he doesn't blame him or they interactions. They are still friends. That says more about the whole situation than anything. They are still friends.

This "culture," yes I'm using quotes for a reason, is being founded in these men from the time they are boys. I was in locker rooms through high school and college. Have I used all the words they refer to? Yes I have. Do I hate anyone I was talking to? Not in the slightest, but it still happened because boys are boys. They don't know any better. That is the real issue. Coaches at the high school and college level are failing their players, not in a sport sense, but in a "how not to be a condescending piece of shit asshole" way. The morals I learned from my parents and family were not taught by many of my coaches. I had one coach who would bench you for this type of behavior. He did not care if you were the star or a third stringer. He did no care if we lost. He said he was more interested in teaching the kids how to be real men than to be football players. This was a great college coach and a great mentor.

This falls to them and to parents to try and teach at a young age this is not socially acceptable behavior. If they don't, they grow into men like we have on the dolphins, and then we have news stories like this. If these announcers think this isn't what EVERY single NFL or NBA locker room is like then they are even more delusional than I first thought.

That's stretching things to an extremely specific point of view. All humans possess prejudices that we may perpetrate completely innocently through ignorance, but I've never acted negatively against someone because of their race. I grew up in a violently homophobic culture, but I'm honest enough with myself that when experience taught me my behavior was morally wrong, I changed.

My comment was purely riffing off the first poster, and was a quote from a film.

The fact that race is the central topic in this discussion is exemplary of how far off the mark it is from identifying the real issue.
Just because the buffoon perpetrating this cultural misbehavior was white, and was slinging racial slurs in complete ignorance, doesn't mean it's an issue OF race. He's racist, and he's an asshole, but the cultural element is the problem, not one fools personal behavior.

The entire "locker room culture" perpetuates bullying and inequality well beyond racial borders, and encourages the ego-centric narcissism that's the real root of the problem. Eliminating racial slurs here is about as useful as making the forest fire no longer produce smoke. You have to smother the blaze with a blanket of individual humility and accountability to extinguish the problem at its source.

(Is it me, or are my analogies getting worse?)

Well I'm certainly appreciating my prejudices against the humourless and uptight right now, so maybe you're right.

This probably requires some background. The details of the story are not totally clear, and won't be pending an investigation. The facts are that Jonathan Martin left the team after what was described as a "breakdown" in the cafeteria. Apparently the team was pranking him by banding together and refusing to sit with him. This is the sort of behavior you see. Afterwards allegations of physical beating and voice mails were revealed that suggested Richie Incognito (I know, ironic name) was the primary perpetrator of the abuses.

Focus has been on the use of the racial epithet in question. Frankly, I think this is a red herring. I, like many of you, don't really care about the use of that word. That said, I think Shannon is correct in stating there are signs of something deeper here. That is, real actual issues of race relations.

You've heard here that Incognito is thought of as an "honorary black" in that locker room. More background is that Jonathan Martin would have been the third generation in his family to graduate from Harvard, but he decided to go to Stanford instead. It's been suggested that Martin was ostracized more for this reason than anything. He just came from a completely different place than most of the other guys playing. At its root, the allegation is that they made him feel uncomfortable for coming from a wealthy black family.

What I find much more upsetting than any epithet is what I interpreted to be a continuation of the sort of attitude Shannon was talking about. By implying he had used an incorrect word rather than emotionally flubbing its pronunciation the implication, to me, is that his intellect is not being respected. Since this clip is most definitely about race, and that is a common stereotype about black men, I couldn't help but wonder if his skin color biased your judgements. That, to me, is much more troubling than throwing around nigger, fag, or kyke with your friends.

In the end, I think this whole story will blow over. It's just as likely to me that Martin was replaced as a starter, and is now trying to lawyer up (call his parents) to cash out his career. We won't know until they look into it. Still, in this context, I was surprised people here of all places would belittle this sort of commentary, and by extension the commentator. It's disrespectful to the message if nothing else. If you don't find discussions of race relations worth being dignified then I guess I think you're kind of a dick even if you aren't a bigot.

Stay classy.

I have astigmatism. Sucks. Those toric lenses are expensive.

I have just 1 word for you:

George W Bush.

Can you point me towards a comparable situation? I can't recall a situation where he was making an emotional plea about an important topic and was ripped for his usual stutter. People like Jon Stewart pick their spots. Comedy is about timing.

I'm not saying you can't get your digs in. I'm saying there's a time and place. Shannon Sharpe's speech impediments and questionable word choice are widely joked about:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/cbs-producers-ask-shannon-sharpe-to-use-at-least-3,7044/

That doesn't bother me. He's plenty self deprecating about his "book smahts." My issue is with context. 99 percent of the time you could crack these jokes in his face and he'd laugh right along with you. If you did it here, he'd rip you in half. The guy grew up dirt ass poor in rural georgia. He made himself a millionaire. What does he need to do for the peanut gallery to shut the fuck up for 2 minutes while he talks about something important? If he was being granted a shred of respect, they would.

Hello, I'm a person on the Internet.