Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
A high school basketball announcer was caught on a live microphone uttering a racial slur about the girls of the Norman basketball team, who had taken a knee during the national anthem.
“They’re kneeling? F*** them,” one of the men said. “I hope Norman gets their ass kicked … I hope they lose … They’re gonna kneel like that? Hell no … F*****g [“n”-word]s.”
Someone captured the video and posted it to Twitter [NSFW].
The network that broadcast the event later issued this statement in which it apologized and confirmed that it had “immediately cut ties with the third-party production crew that was involved.”
The Superintendent of the Norman School also issued a statement in which he condemned the “hate speech” as having “no place in our society” while offering full “support [for] our students’ right to freedom of expression.”
The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association promised that announcing crew “will not be doing any more games for the remainder of our championships.”
I assume by “our championships,” the OSSAA meant to say “their lives on earth.” At least that’s how I would handle the person who made the offensive comments.
So, why did he do it?
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Ok, now are you ready for your jaw to hit the floor?
You can read the Oklahoma announcer’s statement for yourself, but pay particular attention to the final paragraph, which I’ll quote below:
“I will state that I suffer Type 1 Diabetes and during the game by sugar was spiking. While not excusing my remarks, it is not unusual when my sugar spikes that I become disoriented and often say things that are not appropriate as well as hurtful. I do not believe that I would have made such horrible statements absent my sugar spiking.”
I’m not a diabetic. And I’m no expert on diabetes. So, let’s check WebMD to see if “accidental racism” is listed as a symptom of Type 1 Diabetes.
I see “confusion” and “fruity smell to your breath,” but nothing about calling high school girls the n-word.
Well, medicine be damned. Maybe courts have recognized the “Type 1 Diabetes” hostile work environment defense. Hold on, I’ll check.
Yeah, sorry, no.
Remember a few years ago when Roseanne Barr blamed a racist tweet on Ambien? Well, the Oklahoma high school basketball announcer has guaranteed first prize in this year’s competition for “Worst Excuses for a Racist Outburst.”
Oh and P.S., the Norman girls high school basketball team went on to win the state championship!