There was a fracas today at the Illinois State - Norfolk State game when apparently an ISU fan sitting courtside called an NSU player a racial slur. The NSU players stopped the game to ask for the fan to be ejected. The NSU coach went onto the court to yell at the fan, at which point Pedon started animatedly screaming at the NSU coach and kept going even after he explained the situation, which led to a minor scuffle and technicals on both coaches. Apparently it continued in the postgame handshake line. Pedon refused to apologize in his postgame press conference.
Oops. That one gets elevated beyond the AD.
https://twitter.com/NBSSportsHour/status/1733709733658349846?t=7Mifzk_mzZQAH8EoV4xuTw&s=19
https://twitter.com/RWatkinsSports/status/1733693842556170353?t=QUIpWfOaytlsc8X1Fr9H2A&s=19
https://twitter.com/NSUCoachJones/status/1733691644271051108?t=vbvGq67BSOIlI_UvTCDIeQ&s=19
I am going to weigh in here. I can’t speak to the Illinois State situation, as I wasn’t there. But if I were the home team coach and a fan did that, called a player a racial or religious slur, I would pull my team from the floor until the fan was removed. Period. This is the pinned tweet on my Twitter page and has been since I tweeted it on 2/12/18:
“Hate speech is speech that offends, threatens, or insults groups, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits. Should hate speech be discouraged? The answer is easy—of course!”
1 Like
Interesting choice of words. Not sure I’d call going chest-to-chest with an opposing coach who had a player called a racial slur a “competitive edge.”
Unless you’re competing against logic, maturity, and civility - then maybe it’s a “competitive edge.”
1 Like