Unlike us ‘fags’, this loser is uneducated and has nothing to fall back on outside of football. Notice how well-worded that apology statement is. I seriously doubt he wrote it–I seriously doubt he could write something which is a clear and accurate use of the English language. If he is such a wordsmith, why couldn’t he come up with a better insult than ‘fag’?

There are more pressing things for me to be upset about. Only if I were a Chiefs fan would I be offended.

Again, I wanna know what Johnson actually SAID. We’ve read about some other stuff–his inappropriate behavior toward women in a bar setting, for example. Doesn’t take a genius to see that he’s acting out against women ’cause he thinks he can get away with bullying them. That’s a man?? Shit…that’s a punk bitch is what that is. He’s had a crappy season and he’s reaching for excuses. What’s he doing to amp up his game instead of blaming others? This isn’t anything close to gay hatecrime–but dude DOES need to check himself on how he treats women. You play in the NFL, you’re a modern-day gladiator. A primary definition of a man is a male who keeps himself in check. What kind of gladiator–warrior–can’t keep himself in check? Johnson is starting to be the go-to on that question.

It seems weird and so obvious, but kids (people) really do get the message that if you can’t make slurs in public, it’s also NOT ok to harass, intimidate or beat on that same group.

Can’t use 1st amendment protections to dehumanize others or incite violence against other groups of people.

typhoon: speech, while an outlet, is also a gateway. speech has the power to create a hostile environments. And derogatory language, when allowed to continue, sends the message that we don’t value the target of that language enough to stand up for them. If we don’t value the target, what’s to prevent the bully from taking the next step, getting physical?

example: I teach in a public high school, where sexually charged put-downs and homophobic slurs are the norm. The kids know what words they can “get by with” in certain teacher’s classrooms and which words they can’t.
For example, even the rednecky kids (we live “up north”) would never use the N-word, even though some come from very racist homes. when we went to a zero tolerance stance on that word and insults , we saw drastically reduced racially charged fights as well.

Like I said, when kids know they can use put-downs, that language serves to intimidate\silence the glbt kids in the classroom. when a teacher allows that language, the teacher is basically allowing homophobic behavior in the classroom, sending the mesage that it’s ok to hate this group of people because of who they are. It takes all of 3 seconds with a teacher outside the classroom to go from inappropriate language to shoving a guy, punching him and calling him a “faggot.”
The words set the tone and attitude, and communicate what is accepted or not.
They do lead to action.

Trust me. I’ve seen it spill into my classroom from other parts in the building. This year, our school began cracking down on homophobic slurs in the hallways, and guess what? It has definitely sent the message to the student body that bullying, beating or harassing glbt students is not acceptable.

It seems weird and so obvious, but kids (people) really do get the message that if you can’t make slurs in public it’s also ok not to harass, intimidate or beat on that same group.

We may never change some hearts and minds. But we can send a message that society says disrespecting fellow human beings is NOT acceptable.

When you apologize, you say what you did. “I regret my actions.” What actions? “The words were used by me…” What words? “I didn’t intend to offend…” Sorry, but I’m not buying that at all. The sole purpose of those words is to offend.

Why do we keep accepting this?

The apology SHOULD have said:
“I used words yesterday that are commonly used to disaparage gay people in this country. In my anger, I intended to hurt the people who heard or read them. I apologize for that. I will not use such language again, on or off the field. To make amends, I will make a donation of $10,000 to a LGBT sports charity, and I will have dinner with the individuals I directed those statements to, at a restaurant of their choice, on me.”