A reader writes about a segment he saw on ESPN earlier today in which they talked about a football player getting into trouble for using the word “fag.” So how did ESPN handle it? Let our reader explain:
I don’t know what the show was — I’m on the west coast, so it’s a 3:48 timeslot PT. Three guys were reporting Larry Johnson’s gay slur and the apology that made it worse. The question — should he be suspended.
So the three guys talking included one who was dressed in a “flamboyant” (nudge nudge) neckscarf over his sports coat and tie, and opened the segment talking about competing for the “male model” award.
Frat boy humor skating on this side of naming what they’re doing. But in essence, doing what Johnson did, without the slur. (Johnson’s slurs were “fag” and later, “faggot” as an adjective.) It’s obviously a thing with Johnson when he’s pissed. I don’t think that Johnson is homophobic in the full sense — he’s homophobic in the sense that “gay” is a slur for “bad”. ESPN, on the other hand, is homophobic in the full, conscious sense — currying (ratings) favor from manly sports fans by ridiculing (supposedly) gay mannerisms. Disgusting.
Someone really ought to go after ESPN for this.
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