The Harrison brothers are once again in the media spotlight. This time, however, it isn't for Aaron's game winning shot over Wisconsin last season. It is for Andrew's racist slur directed toward Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky following UK's loss in the Final Four this past weekend. During the post game press conference, Harrison was caught on a live microphone saying "F--- that n----" after a question about Kaminsky was asked to a Wildcat teammate. Harrison apologized on Twitter after speaking with Kaminsky.
Kaminsky said he is over the incident. Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said, "In this day and age, it always reminds all of us whatever we say can and will be heard ... The teaching moment is the individual himself learned from it obviously by reaching out to Frank, so we'll leave it at that" (Brown, 2015, para 8).
Kentucky head coach John Calipari said that Harrison will not be disciplined for his comment. I agree with this decision because this is a case where a sophomore in college had a lapse in judgment. He apologized privately to Kaminsky and publicly via twitter. Aside from there, there really isn't much else to do. From listening to sports talk shows and sports news the last few days, I think everyone agrees that this young man made a mistake and let his emotions get the best of him after a tough loss.
References:
Brown, C.L. Frank Kaminsky on slur: 'Over It'. (2015, April 6). ESPN.com. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/2015/story/_/id/12623587/frank-kaminsky-wisconsin-badgers-ready-move-racial-slur-used-andrew-harrison-kentucky-wildcats
Malloy, D.C., Ross, S., & Zakus, D.H. (2003). Introduction to ethics. In Sport ethics: Concepts and cases in sport and recreation (2nd ed.) (pp. 53-68). Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing.
Alexx,
ReplyDeleteYou raised good questions to think about in the aftermath of this incident. Given that the microphones picked up what Harrison said, it is likely an incident that he will forever regret. However, what could John Calipari really do? Since Harrison is going in to the draft, there is no penalty that he can impose. I think the question of authenticity could be addressed when thinking about who can 'say' the n-word. Was Harrison being 'authentic' in the sense of 'keeping it real,' whereas it might not have been perceived as 'authentic' if Kaminsky had made the same reference? I think it is an important conversation to have. For that reason, I would have liked to see such a dialogue emerge from this situation.
Dr. Spencer