GarageGabs

Wow, you’ve got to love the internet. Shortly after top ranked UNC was defeated 82-80 by Marland on national television Saturday, several rival message boards began to float the idea that they had heard a racial slur as Maryland walked off the court. Soon after that, thanks to the modern miracle that is YouTube the slur was brought to life. As Maryland walks off the court you can clearly hear someone sitting in the stands yell “Go back to the ghetto”. Now, it was already embarrassing enough for the Heels that all the sorority type girls were crying on TV over a regular season loss, but this only adds insult to injury. A couple of assumptions to note:

1. The fan that made the comment can not be seen, so, one can only assume that a UNC fan said it. Assumptions probably won’t hold up in court, but in the world of common sense they work just fine. First of all, Maryland players were leaving Chapel Hill, so they would be the only ones being told to go back anywhere. Secondly, at the time, they were walking by the UNC student section, so take that for what it’s worth.

2. The word ghetto. Yeah, it can have many meanings and be interpreted in many different ways. Not necessarily a racial slur. Again, I’m going with common sense here. I’m just guessing that a young girl upset at her beloved Heels losing a basketball game didn’t tell the other team to return to a section of the city where Jews likely live. I’m going out on a limb and guessing that she was referring to race and or socio-economic restrictions. Just a guess.

Anyway, here it is for your viewing and listening pleasure.

Now, I’m sure you’re thinking, “big deal, one fan in 20,000 said something a bit out of line”. I happen to agree with you on that. I’ve heard FAR worse things said (and done) at sporting events. However, it really isn’t UNC athletics, the institution, or even the student body that I want to take to task here. It’s the media, local and national.

Ya see, a couple of years ago current NBA star Chris Paul was making his rounds in the ACC. Paul & his Demon Deacons made a visit to North Carolina State. Reportedly, a few State fans made some comments about Chris Paul’s deceased grandfather. The problem this time was that a local opinion writer named Barry Saunders decided to print this story and call for North Carolina State to officially apologize for the incident. Basically, Saunders was offended by this type of behavior and felt the university should apologize for the actions of a few fans. State fans quickly called Saunders on his bluff, noting that he was exaggerating his material. It was later learned that only 3-4 fans were yelling at Paul and they were actually being reprimanded by other students. Didn’t matter though, the damage had been done. Local & national radio ran with the story & spun it as Pack fans were upset at being called out on their ignorance. Fine, it happened. Given, it was an isolated incident, but it did happen.

Here is the News and Observers reply to the article: ” Taunting Coverage Angers State Fans “

Get where I’m going with this? Fast forward to this weekend. Here we are, just 2 days before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and we have a UNC fan yelling “go back to the ghetto” on NATIONAL television. Local media? Mum. Barry Saunders? Nothing. Local paper? The News and observer ran an article noting that there is “Still More to Do” in regard to racial equality in North Carolina but not a peep about daddy’s girl telling Maryland to go back to the ghetto. I mean, that’s what this reeks of right? Since she was bold enough to put Maryland’s basketball team in a ghetto we might as well theorize that this girl is a spoiled white girl going to UNC on daddy’s dime….correct? Where is the out-cry? Where is the condemnation of this remark? Why doesn’t the school apologize? Am I to make another assumption? Should I assume that this type of behavior is ok?

I know, this is such a petty non-issue. But we live in a society where people get taken to task for minute levels of non political correctness. If you’re going to take one to task, you take them all to task. You do not show favoritism. One person isn’t let “slide”. You don’t look at the context of a situation, rules are freaking rules. Does Barry Saunders know this happened? You can bet he does, rival fans have probably flooded his in-box. In fact, when this is all said and done, that might be the only response you get out of Saunders or any other media. They’ll probably say “rival fans are upset” but never actually touch on the issue at hand. When you don’t want to talk about it……..spin it.

The Long Version Of The Video

*UPDATE* 1/22/08

WRAL, the local news affiliate which is basically located on NCSU’s campus ran this story today-

Tech’s Hewitt Puts RBC Center Incident Behind Him

Go figure, they take the time to drudge up a nearly 2 year old story with still no mention of the UNC comment.

Even More Updates:  A few local blogs are catching on to this “non-story”

UNC Girl Celebrates MLK Day In Style    ( 850 the buzz blog)

 

Tears In, Class Out In Chapel Hill  (ACC Now Blog)