I've written a column on the whole way athletes and others apologize these days for comments they make. Pegged to the Matt Millen "faggot" comment. Would love to know what others think on this issue.

His explaination of wanting to express "frustration and disappointment" by directing a vile slur toward someone is a poor excuse to say the least. The statement "I apologize if I offended anyone" isn't an apology specifically to Morton. That seems to be the standard today. Bad behavior and judgement is excused by carefully worded press releases and blanket statements of apology.

[ December 17, 2003, 04:21 AM: Message edited by: WestMass ]

Jim,

Excellent piece. These kinds of "apologies" have long irked me and it's time that someone gets taken to task. Do you know if SI or any other sports media has addressed this?

Thank you for your efforts.

gj

I read Sports Illustrated every week, and I notice that homophobic comments are addressed, but typically buried within the magazine. The long article on Jeremy Shockey was written in an August issue made him sound like this poor, misunderstood, Oklahoma boy that was deserted by his father. That gives him carte blanche to be a bigot? I know other people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds that don't make blatantly insensitive comments. Regarding the Matt Millen situation, I was listening to talk radio today, and they were discussing that if he was to be fired, it would be more for the Lions ineptitude than any comments he would have made. Nevertheless, this was an excellent piece by Jim!

Maybe I've missed something:

A stupid cell phone call, that doesn't even antagonize anyone, gets you fined $30k.

Calling someone a faggot gets you nothing.

We really do have a long way to go. He'd have been in so much trouble if he'd used the N word.

Trevor

Salon's King Kaufman makes the same point as Trevor in his article today.

Mr Paul J Tagliabue, Commissioner
National Football League
280 Park Ave
New York, NY 10027

Jim great article! I appreciated you adding Garrison Hearst's sincere appology! There are some good guys out there who can admit to their mistakes! Again thanks for the gr8 article!

Exactly, Trevor!

And bingo, Jim! Great column!

I guess "faggot" must the last "acceptable" term we can call anyone of any race and get away with it..it confirmed my thinking of what a great world we live in - what if he called something else coupled with faggot..must be a tad uncomforable with his own sexuality..makes me thinking of something an elementary kid would say..Matt GROW UP.. :confused:

Check out CBS pregame show with Boomer citing Detroit GLAAD vis-a-vis Matt Millen [consensus Dead Duck], and Deion saving the day with a light Rupaul reference - love Deion!

I saw the brief discussion on HBO's "Inside the NFL" in which Collinsworth and Marino essentially said that Millen's comments were wrong and that he represents the NFL and the Lions, etc. Cris Carter didn't say a word, which made me wonder why he didn't participate.

Just saw an interesting and promising poll on FOX's pregame show wherein the question was "Should Matt Millen have been fined for his comments last week?" and by a 2-1 margin the answer was YES. So at least the general public would seem to be getting it, at least a little bit.

Excellent article that goes beyond the world of sports. Because the apology is so widely used today to fix all public boo boos, it is important that people remember what an apology really means. Many children are being taught that saying sorry, even with IFs, fixes everything.
I'm not a regular reader of Outsports or any other jock lit. I was surprised to find an article on language usage and one so well thought out. Congratulations.

Very enjoyable and interesting topic. But I cannot but help think of Clinton as I read it (and I'm a Clinton supporter!). To go public and try to save your ass once you know you are caught is lame in itself. I understand the non-apology apology, but I'm wondering when we will look at people and say, "f**k your apology, change your asinine behavior."

Jim,

An excellent article. I agree, we seem to be living in the age of the non-apology apology. It does extend past the sports world into everyday life. We seem to accept this form of apology and hold no one accountable for their actions. We in fact seem to "just let it slide" and try to put a good face on it instead of calling it what it is, a "I have to say something or everyone will think that I really believe what I said (even though I really do believe it)" statement.

[ December 28, 2003, 12:18 PM: Message edited by: LagunaSurf ]

I posted a response to the debate in Non-Sports Related Topics forum, over calling someone a "faggot" because I didn't really understand how it came to be that a man could be called a "faggot". It's the second link I followed to find the origin of the word. it's interesting.

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfaggot.html

It also describes the yiddish word, faygeleh, which means "little bird".

MUNDAY ON MONDAY
(a weekly poem by Kansas City Star's Don Munday)

A Public Apology*
You thought me regretful,
remorseful, contrite;
Believed that my penitence
echoed my plight;
Of crocodile tears there is nary
a whiff
...As long as apology tempers
in “if.”
If anyone's bothered, in which
case, I'm sad;
If wrongs were committed, thus
making you mad;
If somehow my conduct was thus
misconstrued;
If no exit possible, sorrow is cued.
Accept this apology (such as it is);
The question of heartfelt is none
of your biz!
So listen quite closely and you'll
hear my sniff...
I tell you sincerely, I'm sorry,
just if.