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April 15, 2007
Post-Imus Reign of PC Terror Targets High School Baseball Coach
Heads will roll in the aftermath of Don Imus' trip to the guillotine for calling some basketball players "nappy headed ho's." One example is Dave Austin, formerly the baseball coach for Putnam High School in Connecticut.
In an attempt to motivate his players after a particularly lame practice session, Austin singled out certain players, even comparing the play of one of them to that of girls and — brace yourself — using a homosexual slur.
As with Imus, he was first told he was suspended, then that he was fired, though Principal Bill Barry claims Austin actually "decided to resign."
His resignation is reminiscent of the suicides of party officials under Stalin — the kind where someone falls out of Uncle Joe's favor and gets so broken up about it as to empty a revolver into his own head. Austin puts it frankly:
I was forced to resign. I did not quit.
He's not the only one who isn't happy about it. Sue Gardner, a parent of one of the players, says of the team:
Their loyalty is and probably always will be to Dave. He has done nothing but good for these kids.
Says Chris Roberts, a senior and fan of the team:
The situation is pretty bad right now. A lot of us think it's pretty messed up that the school just threw (Austin) out and didn't give him another chance.
The situation is bad all right — and steadily getting worse. Freedom of speech isn't guaranteed by our Constitution so much as by our national character, which has been so severely eroded by moonbattery that we now have to live in terror of accidentally offending politically privileged groups like blacks and homosexuals.
As for Putnam High's baseball team, it has a new interim coach, who we can be confident will never offend any homosexuals — or win many ballgames. Barry himself has taken over the team.
On a tip from Wiggins.
Posted by Van Helsing at April 15, 2007 10:41 AM
Comments
Let me get this straight. The 'terror' you cite refers to the consequences that comes with saying something offensive? These people don't have tourette syndrome, do they? I mean, it is possible for normal people to restrain oneself and use common sense while in the presence of other people's kids, right?
Good grief.
BTW- I noticed you didn't reprint what he said. Why don't you stab 'terror' in the eye and print it in big bold letters?
Posted by: ChenZhen at April 15, 2007 11:54 AM
Chen Zhen, in this day of the "professionally offended" let's just make sure that we keep everyone guessing about what actually IS offensive. It's OK for rappers to use the "N" word and speak of 'ho's" and glorify anal rape. It's OK for homosexuals to have "Queer Nation" and "Dykes on Bikes" but if anyone else even refers to these terms, they are being "offensive" and must be made to "pay consequences".
Sure sounds like freedom of speech is really on track, all right. If anyone thinks that forcing people to be quiet will actually change their thinking, you are sadly mistaken because if it does, it will not change it for the better.
Posted by: m griffin at April 15, 2007 12:43 PM
ChenZhen
Look at Barry's picture: he's SHOUTING at them! That is also politicly incorrect and "offencive". So let's hear YOU cry for HIS "resignation", you PC wuss.
Posted by: KHarn at April 15, 2007 12:45 PM
Oh, the humanity! If only Imus had said "downy scalped intimacy services providers" all this social turmoil wouldn't be taking place. Quick, somebody blow up a building full of people and distract the MSM from this PC thuggery.
Posted by: the paperboy at April 15, 2007 12:53 PM
This isn't really about freedom of speech. Freedom of sppech means that you won't go to jail for saying something, and even that isn't absolute. What you guys are talking about is some quest for a utopian fantasy world where you can just insult people with inpunity, free from any kind of negative reaction. Sorry, but that won't ever exist. But, most people manage to go most of their lives without pissing too many people off, and that's because your average person knows what tends to offend people and where. Sure, there are all kinds of double-standards. That's life. But are you really going to sit there and whine about how you're losing your right to use phrases like 'nappy headed hos' and 'bull dyke' whenever you want to? Please. But by all means, go for it.
BTW- This door swings both ways. Bill Maher got canned for saying something politically incorrect, on a show called Politically Incorrect for crying out loud. More recently, I've seen plenty of calls for Rosie's head out there in the rightosphere as well.
PC wussies, all.
Posted by: ChenZhen at April 15, 2007 2:02 PM
BTW- I noticed you didn't reprint what he said. Why don't you stab 'terror' in the eye and print it in big bold letters?
ChenZhen, here are some big bold letters for you: BECAUSE THE ARTICLE DOESN'T QUOTE THE COACH'S EXACT WORDS, BUT ONLY SAYS HE (GASP) UTTERED A HOMOSEXUAL SLUR.
That reporter was such a fag. Happy now?
Posted by: Jay Guevara at April 15, 2007 2:41 PM
>>>But are you really going to sit there and whine about how you're losing your right to use phrases like 'nappy headed hos' and 'bull dyke' whenever you want to? Please. But by all means, go for it.
And just WHEN have I or anyone who responded to this artical used such words?
Posted by: KHarn at April 15, 2007 5:48 PM
Posted by: Jay Guevara at April 15, 2007 02:41 PM
ChenZhen, here are some big bold letters for you: BECAUSE THE ARTICLE DOESN'T QUOTE THE COACH'S EXACT WORDS, BUT ONLY SAYS HE (GASP) UTTERED A HOMOSEXUAL SLUR.That reporter was such a fag. Happy now?
That was the point. It obviously ain't fit to print (we'll use fag though). These were high schoolers, right? I mean, what if the teacher was saying 'fag' in the classroom? I don't know where you work, but there are many occupations that adhere to a certain level of professionalism. There are plenty of jobs out there where one can expect to get fired for using that kind of language. It's up to the employer.
Posted by: ChenZhen at April 15, 2007 11:29 PM
You're right, of course. For a Supreme Court Justice to use derogatory slang in public would be hopelessly unprofessional, and he should be held accountable.
On the other hand, for the supervisor of longshoremen, not so much, and for a standup comic, it was de rigeur, if a bit mild. Conclusion: context matters. A lot.
For a coach, in an all-male environment that is traditionally a bit rough and ready, a raised eyebrow and a private word with the coach should suffice. (My problem lies with his management style rather than his language. Publicly disparaging athletes for poor performance does not motivate them; criticism is only appropriate for poor effort, something the athlete can control.)
The raised eyebrow/private rebuke approach is the one I would advocate for almost all employment situations apart from Supreme Court Justices and others in similar positions.
Posted by: Jay Guevara at April 16, 2007 10:36 AM
I'll tell you one thing, Chen. After looking at the new coach's photo, the ballplayers had better feather the fat jokes.
Posted by: Jay Guevara at April 16, 2007 1:53 PM
