Former Clemson Player Saying Dabo Dropped N Bomb in Locker Room
Outrage culture is definitely a thing, but to suggest it's why people are upset over race relations is weak. Try working in a field where you see black people and white people treated differently every day by the law (cops, prosecutors, judges, pardon and parole, and even the law itself). You'd at least have a better understanding of why people are so pissed off. So maybe just let people who haven't felt like they've had a platform to be heard regarding things they feel are discriminatory have that platform instead of marginalizing it as outrage culture. What you're doing is part of the problem.
username checks...uhhh, damn, hmm...interesting.
edited because I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved in these pointless conversations here.
Dang, you had us until "Swinney is one of the finest men I know"
Well played!
I agree with you but I also think outrage culture plays the role of influence.
This guy will be the only one that remembers it. Everyone else will close ranks, even if it's true, and deny it. Dabo has been far too successful to be hung out to dry.
$1 says Dabo mentions his faith when he denys it.
Nah his new move is to have Trevor Lawrence do his PR for him
Saying you don’t want music playing that is saying the N-word, which is considered offensive, is not the same as saying the N-word. Unless, of course, the music didn’t say the N-word and that was just Dabo’s description of it. Then he said the N-word.
Gotta be honest here, I don't think a coach saying he doesn't want to hear the "n" word being thrown around in his locker room tops the list of things I need to be outraged about today.
With that said, there's something a little off-putting about the dynamics of a white dude telling black men that he has authority over that he doesn't want to hear the word. And of course, it isn't that hard to just say "'n' word" instead of quoting what was said verbatim. But all things considered, I'm not sure why this has made any news outside of Clemson. It probably doesn't crack the Top 1,000 list of racist things occurring in South Carolina this week.
I can't stand Dabo and think his whole televangelist persona is self-righteous and comes off disingenuous. Now, would he pepper spray protesters and use an historic church and hold an upside down bible as a photo op?, probably not, and he probably has actually read the actual book before, But I digress.
If Dabo actually finds the music offensive because of the N word, he definitely has the right to not want it in the locker room - There are black, white, hispanic players in that space. I don't know what's in his heart and he should have said "N word", not the actual word, but not wanting that word permeating the culture of your program - so that whites and others on the team start throwing it around, is actually the right approach. Many of these teammates are good friends and of many different races, and if they start saying things like "my N word" back and forth to each other, it can quickly become the norm within the team culture.
Most of you who play sports know that curse words and the N word are thrown around a lot within many teams when players address one another. I play on a competitive basketball team and get called the N word (ending in a) a lot, by black and white guys as a term of endearment or praise all time. The team is a group of some best friends (which I'm guessing college football locker rooms often are) and when a white guy walks up to a black guy on our team and hugs him and says great game my N, nobody thinks twice and it has become the norm of back and forth conversation within the team. This doesn't make it right, but it is a reality that has been accepted by both sides.
I never use the word because I have for years found it uncomfortable, offensive, and loaded with history - it could simply be replaced by "my man" or "my brother" on our team, but I'm not in a place to tell all my friends how to refer to one another. Dabo, however, is in a position to tell players not to be throwing that word around if indeed he finds it offensive.
TLDR - Can't stand Dabo and his Jesus act, but this hardly feels like racism directed at someone and perhaps an attempt to keep the word from becoming part of the team culture. He shouldn't, however, have used the actual word and could have just said "N-word". I think we have much bigger, more obvious and more immediate issues to worry about in race relations - and this feels a bit like a "gotcha", let's try to crucify you now situation instead of a genuine racist act deserving of character condemnation.
Maybe he meant to say slugs.
It seems to me that every post today seems to be political. If one doesn't think the posts for cops the anti cops the dredging up of racist remarks from 15 years ago is not political I think they are naive.Can we get back to sports
There’s like no sports nowadays besides recruiting. And if the mods refuse to do their job, then it’s all fair game
The mods suck. Left has free game to post anything they want. Right will be banned.
So lefts are right... and rights are A-hole dbags?
I’ll admit it’s curious how a whole political ideology gets summarized. I wonder if anyone ever stopped to think there are right leaning ripple who just don’t like big taxes and big government telling them how to be and what to think all the time, rather than those rolls being racists.
I have an honest question for those of you who are white males and between the ages of 15 and 25, especially if you played ball. (I'm an old fart, so I am slightly clueless.)
My now 18 year old son, when he was probably 14 - 16, used the word "Ni***" somewhat affectionately in his posse of friends, many of whom he played ball with. (I don't think I ever heard "Ni**ger,", only "Ni**a.") When the word was used, it was pretty much only just when with friends, hanging out, playing video games, doing teen stupid stuff. I never heard him use the word among adults or authority figures. (On the occasions I heard the word, it was overheard. Once I was clearly in the space, the word wasn't used.) I don't use either word, have never called anyone of any race either word, and the word is not used in our home. Have other boys / teens used the word in this context, when in their safe space and with friends?
As an admittedly weak analogy, I also don't use the "F" word at all. But it seems that in some circles, the word is used all the time, and is almost a meaningless modifier. (The movies "Good Will Hunting" or "The Wolf of Wall Street" or "Goodfellas" are some numerous examples of this.) The younger generation especially seems to use the "F" world liberally and with impunity.
Is the slang use of the N word common among some high school friends, especially guys on a team playing ball? And do such groups ever use the word amongst themselves even when the group is mixed racially? I could easily imagine someone in such a context saying, "Hey N****, throw me that towel" or "N****, gimme a coke."
I am not saying any of this to excuse the use of the word. It was never used in any context among my set of friends in high school or at Michigan. But I'm wondering if the word has been so normalized that there needs to be a deliberate effort to stamp it out and make it illegal and offensive in all contexts.
Addendum: for a truly offensive use of the word, my grandfather, who immigrated from Germany in the 1920's, apparently had a black Lab in rural Texas whose name was "N***er." How times have changed. For the better.
I share your confusion. As someone who still plays baseball with younger guys (25+) which include black and Hispanic players, there appears to be a set of rules who can and cannot use the term Ni**a/Ni**er. For example, the group of younger guys on one team, ages 27 to 30 hang out together quite a bit like a "posse" I would say. They use the name interchangeably with one another all the time -- black, white, and Hispanic. My assumption, and not one that I would ever test, is that if one of the older guys used the term, the black players would be offended. When the word is thrown around so loosely in music and other cultural venues and amongst smaller groups where it has been deemed acceptable, it does blur the lines as to its use. If it really offends people of color, why do they use it so much themselves and selectively allow its use by some, but not others? Shouldn't they lead by example? That is, hold yourself to the same standard you expect others to live by. These "rules" create a lot of confusion due to what I observe as an overt double-standard.
If you are not black don’t use the word. Also never call a woman the C-word. It isn’t confusing.
My mother in law is the c-word.
If you knew her, you wouldn't be confused. She treats her daughter (my wife) like garbage, is controlling, manipulative, and has used the 'N' word when referring to our last president.
For white kids to say that, that’s pretty weird and not normal
I think it's more of a testament to how the word itself (and language) is changing over time. We've seen for sometime now (at least as far back as the 90's if not the 80's) that the word was starting to be used with a certain connotation within some communities (similar to the term "homie"). It's not a surprise to see it jump (in the context) to other social groups - usually in youth who maybe do not know (or care) about past connotation.
My now 18 year old son, when he was probably 14 - 16, used the word "Ni***" somewhat affectionately in his posse of friends
Why?
Just don't use it. Nothing good can come from it. Even if it's his friends and they are okay with it.
Fast forward 15 years and what if he's in a setting where he thinks it's okay but it's not? Could ruin his life.
Wow. This is a stretch. Dabo saying he doesn’t want to hear the word is now being turned against him. What the hell is happening??
It’s definitely not as bad as calling someone the N word but just don’t use the word. It’s not that hard. Don’t say the N word. Full stop.
Yeah, I don’t for one second think that Dabo was saying this as an anti racist.
What's happening is he's a successful white, christian man so leftwing radicals hate him no matter what he says.
Brilliant nuanced analysis there.
I work in a predominantly black work environment. The word is common although less than it used to be. I don’t concern myself with hypocrisy of it being used because I really hate the word. I understand fully what it signifies.
It is irrelevant to me if black people use the word or not.
Do other folks have a problem with Dabo simply saying the word he doesn't want to hear? Repeating something someone else said and saying he doesn't want to hear that word used is a whole lot different than using it himself. While he's better off not using the word at all, I don't see the problem here. Him wearing a "Football Matters" shirt on the other hand is quite insensitive to the Black Lives Matter issue going on.
Are you insinuating that he doesn’t know the difference? Because I’m here to tell you if he addressed it in a man to man fashion, there wouldn’t be a person actually taking time out to rekindle this ($?&
Sounds like a story wanting to happen.
Calling someone the N word and saying something is “N word music” is not the same but still pretty bad. Just don’t say the word. It’s not that hard
What you are saying is fine... but that is not what the tweet in the OP is describing (the one from Williams directly).
Rut Roh!!!
man. the gymnastics some of you white people will go through to minimize another white guy’s use of that word.
And you know they/we are white how?
you forgot the 'sarcasm' tag.
Under no circumstances should a white person use the word, or any of its variables, even when referring to music or art.
Also, the word has been redefined by some in the black community through its use, as a way to reassign its history, and now, in many ways, is a term of endearment. But again, white people shouldn’t use it, ever, in any context.
I still don’t know why it’s that difficult to understand.
exactly. this, a thousand times. i don't understand why we're even having this conversation. don't use this word. ever. ever, ever ever.
Guys, he could have easily told them to stop playing the "N-word" music without actually saying the N-word. That's the issue here. There is never any justification to use that word as a non black person. It doesn't matter how normalized it is in black music/culture. He shouldn't have said the word. Period.
Former Clemson TE Brandon Ford (@BruceLeroy80 on Twitter) is denying Swinney ever said it.
Looks like a case of a disgruntled former player (Haamid Williams) trying to slander a coach he disliked.
Now that’s something that I can believe and I still would disagree that he would be ok with addressing the young men in the manner in which he was accused! I’d be glad if,”it was a fabricated story!” I hope he didn’t do it. And I could care less about Clemson or Dabo.
Reading the above responses it almost seems like people will have individualized responses to something that may be and may not be interpreted as offensive
There are ramifications behind enforcing different social rules for interaction between two racial groups that jeopardize the future existence of a multiracial society.
If you're trying to condemn him for being mad about having to listen to racism, you will probably hate him no matter what he does. He did nothing wrong here.
I have zero problem with what he said. Would I have said it, no. If used in a non derogatory fashion to describe a situation, I’m going to assume it’s used without malice. Intent matters.
besides, there are a million other reasons to hate dabo. I do not need another one.
All it’s going to take is allegations from now on.
My take on this is that apparently, that was not the first time that the players were listening to that choice of music. They probably listened to it all the time but was never confronted about it until that one particular day. The good Christian coach who had company was embarrassed so he came in blurting out the said statement instead of just telling them to turn off the music.
This isn't quite as bad as the headline suggests. Having said that, it's still inappropriate. There is no context in which it's okay for a non-Black person to use that word. Period. And I believe that Dabo said it because it sounds like something he would say. He tends to be pretty clueless and dense on racial issues.