What is it about ESPN and racist jerks?

[CatWoman]

ESPN Co-Host Apologizes For "Martin Luther Coon" Gaffe

Tuesday, Jan 19, 2010 @10:21am CST

ESPN broadcaster Mike Greenberg is apologizing for saying the words "Martin Luther Coon" on his morning radio show.

The words were spoken on Martin Luther King Day.

The SportsCenter anchor and Mike and Mike in the Morning co-host says he was "talking too fast -- and slurring my words" when he committed the gaffe on the radio Monday.

Greenberg issued an online apology stating "I would never say anything like that, not in public, or in private, or in the silence of my own mind." He said he felt "horrible" about the words.


http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=130622
　

[SpiralHawk]

1. "You racist republicon jagoffs can go crap in your diapers." - The Coons

[CatWoman]

12. they are just so cute

:)

[asdjrocky]

2. Remember the jocks in high school?

What were they like?

It always surprises me when people are shocked at the behavior of athletes. I played ball all the way through school, and it sometimes surprised even me at what I could get away with.

[GreenMetalFlake]

7. yes - absolute douchebaggery, which is why so many wanted to be a part of that climate

[PVnRT]

13. Mike Greenburg was never a jock

In fact, he gets made fun of on that show for being "metrosexual."

[GreenMetalFlake]

15. it speaks to those who aspire to a particular mentality

[joeybee12]

3. Pretty amazing...I wouldn't expect it of him...some of the others, sure...

...but this is a shocker.

[S_E_Fudd]

4. Listen before you judge...

He clearly stumbled over his words. I listen to this show daily and there is no way on God's green earth Mike Greenberg is a racist or meant to say coon

[timeforpeace]

5. That's sucks. And Mike Greenberg is anything but a right winger. He should be fired.

[BeyondGeography]

6. Here's the video...it comes across like a slip of the tongue

Incredible that he would do that, but he immediately corrected:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/2010/01/debate_rages_over_mike_mikes_m.html

[S_E_Fudd]

9. It was a slip of the tongue...this is a non-story!!

[Rebubula]

20. Slip of the tongue

Uh-huh...you know...to make that error, the thought must have been in his head. You just do not mispronounce or misspeak KING for COON.

Guess as long as they take our side most of the time, we can forgive this kind of douchebaggery. :eyes:

[S_E_Fudd]

25. Bullshit...

Did you even bother to listen to the tape?

[KamaAina]

45. You mean like "Barney Fag"?

:sarcasm:

[S_E_Fudd]

47. Not even close...

The person who uttered that slur was a pig as you know...with a well documented disgust for gays...

Mike Greenberg is far from being racist, in fact is quite liberal in his political outlook...and clearly simply stumbled over his words...

That some have decided he is a racist based on this are diminishing the actual racism that is going on...

[bobburgster]

48. Most definitely seems like an accident!

Jeez, The thread made it sound like a premeditated Rush type statement. We always run into trouble when we jump the gun...start sounding more extreme than the wackos.

[Doctor_J]

8. This must have been a slip. Greenberg is one of about 3-4 libs

in all of sports broadcasting. Most of the other slip in ads for Limpballs, Palin, etc. This is strange.

[S_E_Fudd]

10. Exactly...it was a slip of the tongue...

Clearly stumbled over "King" and "Junior"

[CBR]

11. You are right... Greenie is on the Lib side. nt

[JVS]

14. He'll be able to write a sequel to his book at least

[Bitwit1234]

16. Sports jocks think it is macho to

be racist...they must all be republicans.

[terryg11]

61. only prob.. greenie isnt a jock!!!!

duh

[JVS]

17. Mike Golic better start looking for another Mike

[Ganja Ninja]

18. I don't think he said coon intentionally.

The guy doesn't strike me as a racist. I believe he's sincerely embarrassed by it and that he's telling the truth when he says it was a verbal trip of the tongue. This guy is not Rush Limbaugh.

[S_E_Fudd]

19. One of a few liberal radio sports personalities...

It was an obvious slip of the tongue!!!

[soleft]

21. Is he the one who had the Chad Pennington man crush?

I hope it was a slip. But - Freud looms.

[RaleighNCDUer]

42. Freud looms - but since Freud has been proved wrong on 90% of

his theories I wouldn't put much stock in this one, either.

The poster above who pointed out that slurring King and Junior together could produce this result (particularly, as stopping as soon as it is started - realizing what was coming out - would end the syllable before the 'r' sounded)is, I think, on the money. Since there is no prior history of any such thing from this guy, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

[chemenger]

22. If its not in your mind or heart or spirit then it wouldn't come out of your mouth.

Can't slur the word King and get coon no matter how hard you try.

[S_E_Fudd]

23. Ridiculous

Say "King" and Junior" fast a few times and it is very easy...

[Rebubula]

27. I just said it 20 times....

...never once did King become Coon

Keep trying, though...

[S_E_Fudd]

29. Right...

So the thing to assume is Mike Greenberg is a racist...have you once listened to his show or know anything about him...

[Rebubula]

32. No assumption here...

..just the fact that this is just another time some announcer has done the Coon-King crap.

Seriously....I am sure that he did not mean to say that. However, this is NOT an innocent slip of the tongue...it was in his head and the wrong words came out.

[S_E_Fudd]

37. No...it is an innocent slip of the tongue...

Which is crystal clear from the tape...

I am quite familiar with Mike Greenberg's work...not only is he not a racist...he is quiote liberal in his political outlook...that he has any though of MLK being a coon is stupid in the extreme...

Have you once listened to his program?

[Rebubula]

24. Preach on, brother

Lot of apologists in this thread.

[chemenger]

43. It's the strangest thing. I've been around a hell of a lot of people

who never utter a racial slur through the year. And then around MLK's holiday I start to hear little 'slips of the tongue' from these very same people. Must be something in the air this time of year. :shrug:

[JetCityLiberal]

58. Well said. I completely agree chemenger

Hope all is well with you!

Paul

[DefenseLawyer]

26. If a guy gets fired for something that was totally unintentional

we would really be missing the point of why we "punish" racial insensitivity in the media. That's like expelling a child for using a cough drop under a school's "zero tolerance" drug policy.

[dorkulon]

28. Listen to the audio before judging.

This guy clearly just had a marble-mouth moment. If he is fired for this, it just contributes to the nation's fear of ever addressing racial issues.

[S_E_Fudd]

30. +1

[Rebubula]

31. OK....

...have YOU ever made that mistake? Saying Martin Luther Coon? Coon does not rhyme with King...unless you have heard it in your mind over and over.

This is NOT a new 'joke' - it has been done many times over the years by many people. I do not think that he should be fired, but to brush it off as an innocent mistake is simply myopic.

[S_E_Fudd]

34. This is possibly the most moronic thing I have seen...

King and jUNior...yes it is a very simple slip of the tongue and is exactly what happened...

You clearly have some kind of moronic agenda that doesn't allow you to see the truth of the matter

[Rebubula]

38. I am sorry...

...that you feel so strongly about this that you are turning to insults.

I disagree with you but will cease discussion.

[S_E_Fudd]

39. Excellent idea...I suggest you tune in ESPN radio weekday mornings...

eom

[S_E_Fudd]

41. I'm sorry if you feel I insulted you...

There is so much actual racism going that to pick this for criticism makes my blood boil....

[dorkulon]

36. Well, this is pure speculation, but

King, Junior. Joonior. That's where the ooo sound came from IMHO. It's a simple malapropism, and it happens.

You are assuming quite a lot in your psychoanalysis here. I once accidentally said "testicles" instead of "tentacles" when reading aloud in Bio class in high school. Does that make me gay?

(Yes, much laughter was had by all).

[Greybnk48]

44. "coonior" rhymes with "junior".

I can't believe that a sportscaster would be so stupid as to say something like this intentionally when the majority of our premier atheletes are Black?

I would like to add, I had never heard this "joke" before, but if someone in the media can still make a "joke" like that on the air (in 2010) and get away with it, then I'm speechless. If this was intentional, and he was confident enough to say it, I have no words.

[Johonny]

40. but it's so much easier to judge people

out of context. Context makes everything boring. Look at the posts that clearly show people have never listen to him before, have no idea of the content of the show and clearly have never broadcast live before. ESPN has it's share of liberals on the air and their reaction will no doubt be a better sign of how Greenie is off set.

Keep *ing that chicken.

[Still Blue in PDX]

33. He just misplaced his vowels.

I've heard it happen to many radio people but without such horrible consequences.

As fast as that guy was spitting the words out, with the "U" in both Luther and Junior it's perfectly understandable.

[Octafish]

35. ''Mid-Level'' Reagan White House staffers openly used that despicable phrase...

My source: Terrell Bell, Reagan's Secretary of Education

[bluedeminredstate]

46. I have no idea who this dude is

so I can't attest to his liberal cred, but having listened to the offending blurb it sure sounds like a slip of the tongue. Just watching his body language when he said it, there doesn't seem to be any intent whatsoever to be clever or cute - it looks and sounds like he tripped over his words. I hope this goes away quickly for this guy because it sure seems totally innocent.

[Chiyo-chichi]

49. This is an example of what speechwriter/scholar Max Atkinson calls a "sound-formed error."

See here: http://maxatkinson.blogspot.com/2008/12/gordon-browns-gaffe-shows-what-gail.html
(Scroll down a bit to the post about Gordon Brown.)

Not only does the "oo" sound in the word "coon" appear in the word "Junior," it also appears in the word "Luther," which he had just said.

Greenberg is a good guy. I think his apology is sincere. This was a sound-formed error of the sort that can happen to anyone who talks for a living.

[a la izquierda]

50. Uh, ESPN has lots of liberal hosts.

My cousin, who'll remain nameless, is one of them. There are others. Just because one likes sports doesn't make one a knuckle-dragger. I was a female "jock" in high school and I'm pretty much the farthest thing from a right-winger.
I'm not sure why Martin Luther King, and coon would even remotely be in the same sentence, but people do make slips of the tongue. It happens and I really don't think Greenberg meant any kind of ethnic slur by it.

Hell, I've accidentally called President Obama "Osama" if I use only the President's last name. It's embarassing as hell, and luckily I've only done it in the privacy of my own house.:blush: I blame it on an overactive mouth and an underactive brain.

[Doctor_J]

56. Oh, stop it.

Jeebus. Cowherd, Golic, LeBetard, Davis, Patrick (no longer on ESPN), Kuselius (sp?) are outspoken Repukes. Holtz is a regular on Hannity's show. In Chicago, WSCR had the good sense to fire their hate radio AM hosts after 10 damn years, and as soon as they were gone, replaced with sports talk, the Score overtook the competition.

Sports radio isn't quite as one-sided as the rest of AM radio, but it's heavily overrun with wingers.

[RagAss]

60. Well they did have KO.

[MadBadger]

62. You named like eight people out of a cast of many.

[a la izquierda]

64. I don't know about sports radio...

I'm talking about TV. I didn't designate that, but you don't have to get your knickers in a twist. I know *for a fact* that ESPN has liberal. TV. hosts. I've met them. I'm blood-related to one of them.

I live in Oklahoma, so of course everyone on the radio is conservative.

[shawcomm]

51. How in the world do you misspeak that?

In that manner?

[Chiyo-chichi]

53. "Sound-formed error."

He just spoke an "oo" sound in "Luther," his brain was thinking ahead to the "oo" sound in the next word, "Junior," and his mouth makes the "K" sound in "King" but substitutes another "oo" sound.

Sound-formed error is a phenomenon documented by scholars who study human speech. It does happen. See post 49.

[shawcomm]

63. Ahh, ty. Never heard about that.

[Blue_Tires]

52. wow...I would have bet any amount those words came from Cowherd's mouth

[Baclava]

55. Poor Greenie - a slip of the tongue - he must be horror-struck

You'd have to know him - he's the most inoffensive, PC sports guy out there.

He was so excited and babbling about his Jets for 4 hrs - no wonder.

[Aviation Pro]

54. Hey Greenberg....

....slow the fuck down then and think before you open your shithole.

[Uzybone]

57. Much ado about nothing

a slip of the tongue and nothing more. We have real racism to worry about, not innocent verbal mistakes.

[terryg11]

59. non story

slip of the tongue. good grief

[marmar]

67. King and Coon? They're not even phonetically close.

nt

[Stinky The Clown]

65. If he said that, he needs to be fired. No mercy.

[marmar]

66. I hate that show.....Mike Greenberg is a pompous ass....and Mike Golic's a complete idiot.

Now I have yet another reason to hate it.

[newtothegame]

68. Wow, desperate for contreversy much?

Did you even read the article? "Talking too fast...slurring my words."

Have you even listened to it? Did he really say "coon," or did he stumble on his words and people were desperate to find some bigotry in the garbled text?