New York Knicks To Remove Sexist Ads

 
The Knicks will be removing the above ads after the franchise drew criticism for the sexist and misogynistic tone of them. Maybe the franchise will get it together at some point. These ads don't exactly look good, especially due to the fact that the Knicks have lost a number of sexual harassment lawsuits over the past ten years. More here.

White Men Can Jump According To The All White Starting Roster for the Minnesota Timberwolves

According to a story in the Minnesota Star Tribune, the starting lineup for the Minnesota Timberwolves, is rather pale. Critics are describing it as an "all white starting line-up."  

SBW thinks those critics should ask the team's Puerto Rican players if they identify as white.

To be frank, the majority of NBA players are black. The Star Tribune reports that only a quarter of all players are non-black. Which means, three-quarters of all NBA players are black, so for the Minnesota Timberwolves to have a starting line-up with nary a black player, makes critics wonder about the motives behind its roster. 

 

The team has fifteen players and five of them are black. Critics of the current starting line up believe it was planned to appease the majority white fan base located in Minnesota.  However, team officials adamantly deny the basis for such an action. To be accurate, only five members of the starting line-up are white Americans. The five remaining team members are Puerto Rican and European. 

Read more here and here.

How Not to Be Racist #1: A C-word in the Armor

I'm glad someone said it!  No point in beating around the bush.  Racism is racism.  Let's just be honest. 

Representative Judy Chu, Democrat from California and the first Chinese American woman elected to the United States Congress, addressed a racial slur used recently on the ESPN website regarding Jeremy Lin.  

ESPN fired the editor who described the New York Knicks basketball sensation as a "Chink in the Armor" last week. 

After being fired on Sunday, Anthony Federico, claimed that he was not trying to be "cute or punny."  He also said that he had used the phrase hundreds of times in ESPN headlines while he worked there.

Representative Chu called the situation "appalling" and "extremely sad."  She said, as most people with common sense would find, that Federico used the racial slur on purpose and denied claims that his use of the C-word was an innocent mistake.

Since his firing, Federico has apologized to Jeremy Lin and any others who may have been offended.  He said that he did not intend the headline as a reference to the racial slur.  

For some reason, I feel like no editor could defend his use of the N-word as a mere accident and have people agree with him. 

Chu also called boxer Floyd Mayweather the "heavyweight champion of insensitive remarks" due to his tweet that said “Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he’s Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.”   

Somehow this strikes me as a bit hypocritical.  [See article titled Boxer Floyd Mayweather in Obama's Corner.]  This type of praise is similar to the way millions of people find it of note and are swept into the hype when Black politicians rise to prominence - such as a certain Black Senator from Illinois who appeared on the national scene beginning in 2004.

Chu properly highlighted that the C-word has been used since the 1880s to demean Chinese immigrants and is still used on playgrounds to demean Asian and Asian American children today.  Thus, neither Federico nor ESPN may claim ignorance. 

“The ‘C’ word is for Asian Americans like the ‘N’ word is for African Americans,” Chu told MSNBC on Monday.

While I've heard many debates in which people have fervently argued that the N-word holds a special place in American history and is like no other slur, I think it is safe to say that the C-word does as well.  Although the history behind the words may be different, both originate in prejudice, hate, and fear.

How about this?  No N-word, C-word, G-word, W-word, S-word or any other racial slur.  It doesn't seem that hard to me.  And if you are confused, click here for a list of racial and ethnic slurs that neither you nor your racist friends should be using.  In 2012.  No excuses.  No exceptions.  Now I'm all for the First Amendment even if such speech is offensive.  However, the rest of us don't have to like you, give you a platform to spew your bigotry, or consider you to be an intelligent human being.  

Read more of Chu's zingers here.