Chicopee John Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 By Dan Wetzel21 hours agoYahoo Sports · · INDIANAPOLIS – Around the Kentucky program they'll describe Andrew Harrison as uniquely competitive and occasionally emotional, much of which plays out on the court. He can be great. He can be, to put it mildly, a handful. He tends to wear his emotions – good, bad and ugly – on his sleeve for all to see. Racist? No, not that. Capable of doing something really dumb like muttering an expletive and a racial slur directed at Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky into a hot microphone on the dais of a Final Four postgame press conference that is being broadcast live on national television? Yes, that. "First," Harrison stated in a series of tweets early Sunday morning, "I want to apologize for my poor choice of words used in jest towards a player I respect and know. When I realized how this could be perceived I immediately called big Frank to apologize and let him know I didn't mean any disrespect." "He reached out to me," Kaminsky acknowledged Sunday. "We talked about it. It's over. Nothing needs to be made of it." But a little later in the day, Kaminsky elaborated on the situation. View gallery I'm glad he reached out," Kaminsky said. "He's a nice kid. He said he really respects me and he really apologizes for what he said. I could tell he was sincere about it." Let's start with this: Harrison is 20 years old and prone to mistakes, but that doesn't explain or excuse this one. Harrison did not handle the end of Wisconsin 71, Kentucky 64 very well. Not on the court, where his often clutch play in those situations failed him. At one point John Calipari pulled him from the game, sat him on the edge of the raised court and spoke directly to him, in what was an apparent attempt to calm him and remind him of the game plan of getting the ball inside. It didn't get any better when the final buzzer sounded and Harrison, among other Kentucky players, bolted for the locker room, refusing to stick around to shake the Badgers' hands. And not when Harrison and others ignored Kentucky assistant coaches who were chasing them down trying to get them to return and do the sportsmanlike thing instead of just quitting on the entire program. None of that was good. However, none of that compares to what happened at the press conference. It's best to attempt to take race out of the equation here, although considering this is a discussion of race in America, many will struggle with it. Yes, if Kaminsky, who is white, had said the same about Harrison, who is black, then this would have been an even bigger, angrier deal. That's just reality though. Trying to play victim and whining that one group of people doesn't get as condemned as your group of people when saying a bad word is a waste of time. If that's the greatest affront facing your particular social group, then count your blessings. Harrison's comment, while a racial slur, likely wasn't rooted in racial anger anyway. This was immaturity and embarrassment. He wasn't creative enough to put Kaminsky down any other way, so he fell to the lowest rung on the ladder, a rather absurd one too since, as noted, Kaminsky is white. This was about not respecting a guy who just torched your team for 20 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks; this was being bitter about a player who, much to Harrison's chagrin, will go ahead of him in June's NBA draft. This was just being an idiot. You can apologize for Harrison and say, hey, 20-year-olds do stupid things and ask, "didn't you ever say something that dumb or offensive at that age?" Except, other 20-year-olds have never said something like that at an NCAA basketball tournament press conference. This wasn't a microphone shoved in a kids face in the locker room. This wasn't an overheard comment. This was after an NCAA-mandated cooling off period, a cart ride to a big room, a climb up a flight of stairs and a seat under an array of lights staring out at scores of reporters and cameras. The setting changes everything. Yes, Kentucky had a heartbreaking loss that ended their season and the player was upset about it. There are 67 teams each year in the NCAA tournament that will suffer that fate, though. There is a press conference after every single game filled with heartbroken 20-year-olds and no player on any of them has ever said what Andrew Harrison said into that microphone. There was nothing special about Harrison's frustration level. There was nothing particular about the loss. This is all on him. Still, apologies should count, so let that one. If Kaminsky said he's good with it – not that the victim here usually has much choice – then so be it. Turning Harrison into a piñata for varying forces on acceptable racial language doesn't seem reasonable either. This really wasn't about race. This was about a guy who has long believed he has all the answers just not finding out the hard way, in the toughest of moments, that there is a lot more to learn. Maybe this time, for Andrew Harrison, this lesson will finally take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 Another one of these? It isn't a racial slur and wasn't being used as one. N***** is the racial slur. Yes, people would have flipped out if Kaminski said "fuck that nigga", but I'm guessing those involved still wouldn't have seen it as a giant deal. People will continue to make a big deal out of this though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 Typical of the twenty-something generation. They are too full of themselves to notice their shortcomings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 Another one of these? It isn't a racial slur and wasn't being used as one. N***** is the racial slur. Yes, people would have flipped out if Kaminski said "fuck that nigga", but I'm guessing those involved still wouldn't have seen it as a giant deal. People will continue to make a big deal out of this though So then it's perfectly fine for anyone to use the word nigga in any context without fear of repepercussion. Thank you Woody, that information will come in handy. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 So then it's perfectly fine for anyone to use the word nigga in any context without fear of repepercussion. Thank you Woody, that information will come in handy. WSS Woody, next time your visiting go down to E78 and St. Clair and give it a shot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns149 Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 So then it's perfectly fine for anyone to use the word nigga in any context without fear of repepercussion. Thank you Woody, that information will come in handy. WSS Like I said in a different topic, the guys I work with say it all the time to each other, but ,me being white, if I said it to them, I'm pretty sure they would be pissed. Even if I said it with an "A" at the end, or an"ER" at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns149 Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 Woody, next time your visiting go down to E78 and St. Clair and give it a shot! Shot is what he will be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicopee John Posted April 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 So then it's perfectly fine for anyone to use the word nigga in any context without fear of repepercussion. Thank you Woody, that information will come in handy. WSS Not sure of any of you watch Tosh.O. I do and I enjoy the sick and crude sense of comedy. Any way, he once did a 'skit' where a White Man (an Internet video) claimed he wasn't being Racest because he used the term, "Nigga", rather than, "N*****". Very comparable to Woody's position on this. Anyway, Tosh made his point through 'parody' using mini-skits using terms like "JewboyA", "FaggotA", LesboA, etc. I hesitated to post this article because - lately - the tone of this Board has become kind of KKKA and I was trying to make a point. Or, asking a question about use of this term. While some, like Woddy, will claim, "Nigga" and "N*****" are two, very different terms. Regardless use of either terms smacks of being 'less than intelligent'. Can we all agree that Kaminsky has more class than this player will accumulate over the course of his entire life? Of course, I hope he is humbled and is brought to the understanding of what he did and how use of this term - by anybody - damages all people of color, as Obammy likes to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 I don't think this whole episode is a big deal. I don't think nigga is a racial slur. I don't think I was being used in a derogatory way (the first part of his statement, that was) Like I said, people would flip out of Kaminski said it. He never would though because it probably wasn't part of how he was raised. I really don't think this is a big issue, from the race side of things. Feel free to make it one though. Feed the 24 hr news cycle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 I don't think this whole episode is a big deal. I don't think nigga is a racial slur. I don't think I was being used in a derogatory way (the first part of his statement, that was) Like I said, people would flip out of Kaminski said it. He never would though because it probably wasn't part of how he was raised. I really don't think this is a big issue, from the race side of things. Feel free to make it one though. Feed the 24 hr news cycle... Drive to E. 78 and St. Clair and go up to a black guy and say 'hey nigga'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 "Fuck that African American" would have been alright. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicIsForSquares Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 I know that gets some people in a tizzy but it is just acceptable amongst black people to call each other "nigga" and they will certainly be pissed about white people saying it. The UK player wasn't using it with any racial connotation. It was no different than saying"dude". Some white people can complain and yell about it being unfair that some words will give one race more heat than another but it still won't change anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted April 7, 2015 Report Share Posted April 7, 2015 I don't think this whole episode is a big deal. I don't think nigga is a racial slur. I don't think I was being used in a derogatory way (the first part of his statement, that was) Like I said, people would flip out of Kaminski said it. He never would though because it probably wasn't part of how he was raised. I really don't think this is a big issue, from the race side of things. Feel free to make it one though. Feed the 24 hr news cycle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaconHound Posted April 7, 2015 Report Share Posted April 7, 2015 I don't think this whole episode is a big deal. I don't think nigga is a racial slur. I don't think I was being used in a derogatory way (the first part of his statement, that was) Like I said, people would flip out of Kaminski said it. He never would though because it probably wasn't part of how he was raised. I really don't think this is a big issue, from the race side of things. Feel free to make it one though. Feed the 24 hr news cycle... And that is where I have an issue. The word has morphed into a social issue. If it is such a horrible thing for a non-Black American to use it why would Black America want to endorse it's use? I get the feeling it's a reason to be exclusive and use it as a lightning rod. Can't we just get rid of it already. In the 60s Asians were called Buddha Heads but who friggin says that now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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