But What Did He Say?

I came across this article about the Sooner’s coach Larry Cochell and the mysterious racial slur that he used in an interview, and I have to say I’m a bit confused. The only quote the article mentions is that he called a player “a good black kid.” So I’m reading the article going, okaaaayy… aaand? I mean was there something else? I get the feeling there was something else the way the article was worded but that’s all they mention. I mean they don’t even throw you a bone like he used the “n” word to help solidify your outrage. So what the hell did he say? Did he use the “n” word? Or some other “n-ish” like word?

Don’t get me wrong. The statement “he’s a good black kid” is disgustingly backhanded and carries with it a rather obvious condescension. It can easily be read as saying “he’s a good black kid, which is rare cause most black kids are criminally inclined/lazy/stupid/insert negative stereotype.” That’s if you are being especially sensitive and you think the speaker is an ass. But at best you think “well if he’s a good kid/player why can’t you just say that? What does his race have to do with anything?” so it feels condescending.

However, if that’s the ONLY thing this coach (who I never heard of, and could otherwise really care less about) said then, why is he losing his job over this? I mean come on! I have very little tolerance for out and out racists. But you have to allow for people’s natural ignorance. I mean some people just weren’t raised right. So sometimes they say dumb things, but you know, you can talk to them. If somebody makes an ignorant comment because they are too comfortable with their own way of thinking and they say something that can be taken as an insult. Or if they have ingrained stereotypes that they’ve just never stopped to evaluate, you know, you could try to get them to look at things differently. Educate them about behaviors that you find offensive, or about what’s acceptable and what’s not. Maybe they'll change and maybe they won't but at least give them a shot. Jeez! After all if you slam people on every little thing you pretty much shut them out of the growth process and polarize your community even more. Let the punishment fit the crime, so to speak. That’s my thinking anyway.

Now if he was going off on some kind of rant about “darkies, jungle bunnies and neeegras” then I say fire his ass, cause he clearly lacks common sense in addition to being a bigot. But seriously if he all he did was call a black kid a black kid, I’m sorry but as a black woman, I’m at a loss.

Personally I refrain from using “African American” if I can. Whenever possible, I say "black." And when I hear other people (of any color) use "African American" I either feel sorry for them because they seam so overburdened by all the syllables or I stifle a giggle because they sound so formal and stiff.

So please, anybody! Tell me what he said! I tried to find another article with more details. The most I found was a reference to slurs he made against both blacks and whites, but nothing verbatim. Did he just say “black kids” and “white kids”? Did he declare one group physically superior and the other intellectually superior? What did he say to justify his firing? Tell me. I really want to know. My curiosity is killing me.