Linebacker Junior Seau makes a slur about gays while trying to explain how Miami Dolphins players care about each other.
Dallas coach Bill Parcells refers to surprise calls as “Jap plays”–a reference to Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
Timberwolves superstar Kevin Garnett speaks about going to “war” with Uzis and grenades before a playoff game.
Several times in the past month, a prominent sports figure had to surgically remove his foot from his mouth.
This is nothing new, of course.
Former Dodgers general manager Al Campanis, ex-CBS NFL announcer Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder and one-time Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott spewed repulsive ramblings long before Seau and Parcells used distasteful terms.
But why does this keep happening? Are people in sports more likely to make offensive comments than others? Or is it simply that reporters are there to witness their insensitive comments?
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“It’s a combination of both,” said Villanova assistant coach Ed Pinckney, who retired from the NBA in 1996 after a 12-year career. “Parcells probably says that so many times in practice and the players don’t even think about it because he was saying it in a sports context.
“When Seau says he doesn’t want to be thought of as a [homosexual], guys would say this sort of thing in the locker room. When I was playing, a coach might say, `That’s a [homosexual] play.’ . . . That doesn’t make it right, but guys might not look at it as being offensive. . . . People are very sensitive now.”
In interviews last week, several people who have played professionally say politically incorrect remarks about race and sexuality are routinely made in locker rooms, and it’s natural some of the slurs would slip into public comments.
Former Dolphins tight end Jim Mandich, the team’s radio analyst, said the “locker room is a friendly, playful place–with a little more honest and open conversation–and there’s a tendency that something said there might be considered inflammatory elsewhere.”
Seau–who made his slur at a banquet in front of teammates, coaches, reporters and Dolphins fans–failed to consider who was in the audience.
“When you get in front of a camera, you forget where you are,” former Dolphins running back Mark Higgs said. “The locker room is different, and we joke all the time. Nobody takes that stuff seriously. Dan Marino used to say no black golfers would beat him until Tiger Woods came on the scene. People would go crazy if he said that in front of the camera.
“The gay thing is common for a locker room. That’s why Seau ended up saying it in the media because he is used to saying it in the locker room.”
Some people believe there’s a double standard. Years ago, ex-NBA star Charles Barkley joked about how he “hates white people.” Most took his comments in jest.
“It’s hard to even have a sense of humor because if you say something, you know you’re going to get criticized for it,” Higgs said. “What happens when comedians make comments? They don’t get put on the front page like Junior.”
Sports sociologists believe other factors are at work. Jan Sokol-Katz, project coordinator for the University of Miami’s Center for Research on Sport in Society, believes males are more likely to spew insensitive remarks than women.
Of 20 high-profile “foot-in-mouth” incidents over the past 17 years, only two involved insensitive comments made by women (former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott and golfer Jan Stephenson).
“There’s something when men are together, and it has to do with certain subcultures,” Sokol-Katz said. “It’s found in the military and fraternities. . . . They allow themselves to talk in derogatory ways about other people. They get in public and forget.”
Richard Lapchick, director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida, has done diversity management training for the NBA and Major League Soccer. He was struck by Parcells’ remark.
“I’m saddened that a coach of his stature for so many years wouldn’t have thought that through,” he said.
As for players, “This is the culture they’re used to, where they can say these things and feel it’s not such a bad thing,” Lapchick said. “History tells us we’re going to keep getting statements like that.”
Players who make insensitive comments almost never lose their jobs and are usually not fined. Announcers, owners and team executives, however, appear to be held to a higher standard.
Of the 20 incidents analyzed by the Miami Herald, three people were suspended because of offensive remarks–Schott, former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker and Colorado football coach Gary Barnett. Two were fined but not suspended–ex-New Jersey Nets coach John Calipari and former NBA star Dennis Rodman–and five ultimately lost their jobs because of their comments–Snyder, Campanis, ESPN’s Rush Limbaugh, ex-junior hockey league coach and former Panthers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck and CBS golf announcer Ben Wright.
While Snyder, Campanis, Limbaugh and Vanbiesbrouck lost their jobs within four days of their remarks, Wright survived for a while, but CBS dropped him eight months later.
Of the remaining 10 sports figures who made insensitive remarks, one lost a potential job opportunity: Reggie White, who was removed as a candidate for CBS’ pregame show after his remarks about gays and several ethnic groups in a 1998 speech in front of the Wisconsin legislature.
But the remaining nine offenders–Howard Cosell, Bob Knight, Garnett, Seau, Parcells, Stephenson, Fuzzy Zoeller, Jeremy Shockey and Matt Millen–were not disciplined.
Should players or coaches be suspended for insensitive comments?
“Absolutely not,” Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said via e-mail. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion no matter how stupid or insensitive. I personally feel insensitive comments serve a very valuable service. All the media coverage reminds us of the underlying issue and stimulates discussion that re-educates us why the comments are or are not acceptable.”
Dolphins President Eddie Jones said the team never considered fining Seau. “We all make mistakes,” Jones said.
Mandich said: “Remember the `Seinfeld’ episode where he said, `I’m not gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.’? We know what Junior meant. The line is so fine now.”
Most pro teams hold annual media sensitivity training sessions in which players are warned to think before speaking. Tim Donovan, the Miami Heat’s vice president/media relations, said the team advises players “to stay away from politics and religion in interviews and stick to their area of expertise.”
When players do cross the line, they usually swerve into damage control. A contrite Seau blamed the recent incident on a “joke that came out due to my stupidity” and added, “I need to take a class, I really do.”
Infamous remarks Hall of Shame
Al Campanis
What he said: The general manager of the Dodgers at the time, Campanis appeared on ABC’s “Nightline” in 1987 and said blacks “may not have some of the necessities to be, let’s say, a field manager or perhaps a general manager.” He added that blacks are not good swimmers because “they don’t have the buoyancy.”
The aftermath: Campanis was fired by two days later, at 70.
Howard Cosell
What he said: In 1983, the “Monday Night Football” announcer referred to Washington wide receiver Alvin Garrett as “that little monkey” in describing Garrett’s running ability.
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The aftermath: ABC defended Cosell, who said his comment was “not remotely related to racism.” . . . This criticism is the cheapest kind of trash in the world.”
Bob Knight
What he said: In a 1988 interview with NBC, the then-Indiana basketball coach said, “I think if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.”
The aftermath: About 300 people marched on the Indiana campus and demanded an apology. The school did not discipline Knight, who said he was talking about something beyond one’s control, not the act of rape.
John Rocker
What he said: In a January 2000 interview with Sports Illustrated, the former Atlanta Braves pitcher mocked Japanese women and called a black teammate “a fat monkey.” He also said, “You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians, Koreans, Vietnamese, Indians, Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?”
The aftermath: Major League Baseball suspended Rocker for 45 days of spring training in 2000 and the first 28 days of the regular season and fined him $20,000. The penalty was reduced after the players’ union appealed.
Marge Schott
What she said and the aftermath: Schott made a series of offensive remarks. In 1992, she said Adolf Hitler initially was good for Germany, said her use of the n-word was in jest and that she didn’t know why the use of the word “Japs” was offensive. Schott apologized, but MLB suspended her for one year and fined her $25,000. In 1994, Schott said she didn’t want her players to wear earrings because “only fruits wear earrings.” MLB did not discipline her. In 1996, Schott told Sports Illustrated, “I don’t like when high school-aged Asian-Americans come here and stay so long and then outdo our kids. That’s not right.” Less than a month later, MLB’s executive council gave Schott an ultimatum: give up day-to-day operations of the Reds or face a suspension of more than one year. Six days later, she gave up operation of the Reds through 1998 and agreed to sell control in 1999.
Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder
What he said: An NFL commentator for CBS, Snyder appeared on a Washington D.C. television station in 1988 and said black athletes are better than whites because blacks “are bred to be that way because of his thigh size and big size.” Snyder said during the Civil War, “the slave owner would breed his big black with his big woman so that he would have a big black kid. That’s where it all started.” He also said, “If blacks take over coaching jobs like everybody wants them to, there’s not going to be anything left for the white people.”
The aftermath: CBS immediately fired Snyder, who apologized. He later sued CBS for $10 million, claiming the network used the remarks as an excuse to fire him because of his age. The suit was dismissed in 1994.
Reggie White
What he said: Speaking in front of the Wisconsin legislature in 1998, the former Green Bay Packers star and ordained minister said the U.S. “has gotten away from God” in part by allowing homosexuality to “run rampant.” White said whites are good at organization and “do a good job of building businesses and . . . know how to tap into money.” He added, “Hispanics are gifted in family structure. They can put 20, 30 people in one home.” He also said the Japanese and other Asians “are inventive and can turn a television into a watch.”
The aftermath: CBS decided not to hire White as an NFL studio analyst.
Fuzzy Zoeller
What he said: After Tiger Woods’ 1997 Masters win, Zoeller called him “that little boy” and urged him not to request fried chicken and collared greens at the champion’s dinner.
The aftermath: Zoeller lost an endorsement contract but apologized and was not disciplined by the PGA Tour.
— Miami Herald