[CHRON] Speaking of N-word, stop using it now (quotes from Rockets)

Seeing the forum is a little slow today, maybe this will spark some discussion.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/lopez/4384933.html

John P. Lopez



Dec. 7, 2006, 12:26AM
Speaking of N-word, stop using it now


By JOHN P. LOPEZ
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle


It can be a term of endearment and affection.

It can be the ultimate sign of oneness, a devotion of sorts to the brotherly love shared by those who also share a locker room, a goal and the unity of a team.

Yet outside the sacred walls of a gym or dressing room, it can be the most despicable thing a person can say to a person of African-American descent.

The N-word has somehow woven itself into the sports culture, particularly basketball, as much as wristbands and crossover dribbles.

And from casual references among friends of the same culture, entertainers have taken the word and tossed it into rap lyrics. Comedians use it, sometimes to their own demise, as in the case of Michael Richards.

In certain settings, the word is used interracially, with white players calling blacks by the name and vice versa. Players compliment opponents with it. It can be neither age-specific nor an idiom specific to one culture.

Click on the myspace.com or facebook.com page of a young athlete — any athlete of any color. Chances are in their profile, no matter their race, they use the word, in a complimentary tone, to describe themselves or a friend.

This is where sports is failing a generation.

"Growing up, I thought it was bad, but at the same time it became a part of our language, a part of our culture," Rockets guard Rafer Alston said. "Over the years, we've gotten away from understanding and knowing the word and what it really means."

You won't find a more sincere or thoughtful NBA player than Alston. Yet he admits, regrettably, that when he is back on the New York blacktops in the offseason, putting on his "Skip To My Lou" persona and playing the street game, he still falls into the habit of using the term.

"From my generation on down, it's used in some contexts more than any other word there is," Alston said. "It's almost in every sentence. I tell people, 'Don't use it,' but it's hard to get through, especially depending on where you're from and where you come up. If you're brought up in the inner city, then you're going to hear it so much, some probably can't help but use it."

Inner-city kids aren't alone. Some young athletes from suburbs and country towns have grown so accustomed to the word that it has become a part of every level of the sporting culture.

Sports has perpetuated acceptance of the word so much that there clearly has been a desensitizing of its history and true meaning. It is hateful and demeaning, but somewhere, somehow, it became acceptable if used among friends.

If that's where the desensitizing began, then that's where change and propriety must return.

The biggest issue NBA commissioner David Stern thinks he faces today is getting a grip on the slippery ball his league now uses. What about the sticky situation that goes on every day in numerous NBA, college, high school and youth locker rooms?

When it comes to image, Stern has issued edicts to clubs about which headband is acceptable and how players can wear their socks and shorts. How about what they say, even among one another?

America's youths emulate everything their heroes do. They buy their shoes, mimic their moves, wear their jerseys. Of course they know the basketball culture — what is acceptable and what is said.

"I think now it is (used) more by players because of the hip-hop culture," said longtime Rockets trainer Keith Jones. "I have a buddy in New York — a big, white Russian guy, a basketball guy. He uses it. I say, 'Hey, kid. Don't do it.'

"It's become culture, but it's sad. You're putting yourself in a position back to where you had nothing. You had no rights. You were an animal, completely downgraded. By using it, you're downgrading yourself."

Setting an example must begin with the heroes — the NBA, NFL and major league baseball stars. But understanding that even in an affectionate way the word has no place in sports trickles down to college, high school and summer league coaches.

Too often, coaches allow the word to be used inside the locker room, believing it's just kids being kids. Too often, summer league coaches drive the bus or van, listening to exchanges and accepting the word because its usage is not intended in a demeaning way.

"To be honest, when I was a teenager, being called a (expletive) or having the N-word associated with you was part of it," Rice coach Willis Wilson said. "It was a label of affection. But there comes a point when you should learn that it is offensive in any context.

"There are things that some within the culture are afraid to talk about. I think there's an education process that society has abandoned. If there's something with which some are not familiar, people can be afraid to address it with young people."

Wilson says he does not allow the word to be used in any context in his program. Nor does he allow loud music or players to sag their pants.

"If it's disrespectful outside (the locker room)," Wilson said, "it's disrespectful inside."

Calling for "dignity over degradation," Jesse Jackson recently implored the entertainment industry to cease in using the N-word. As NBA commissioner, Stern should follow suit in his domain, perhaps with a public-service campaign or a memo to players that truly would change the way kids look at their stars.

And it cannot end there. Every coach and every player on every level who thinks it is OK to use the word because it's just basketball culture must break down the walls. Treat the word the same inside and outside the locker room.

"I don't care if it's between black people, if it's a term degrading women, degrading Hispanics, that stuff just brings people down," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "I don't care about the context. No one calls me that. I would never call that to somebody else.

"There is a way you could handle it. If someone said that to me, I would look at them and say, 'Come on, man.' "

Said Alston, who grew up tossing the word around like no-look passes: "Lately, I don't use that word. I understand."

Every player should. Every parent and coach, too.

john.lopez@chron.com