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Loading ...Hawaii coach apologizes for gay slur
07.31.2009 11:00am EDT
(Honolulu) Hawaii coach Greg McMackin apologized Thursday for making a derogatory remark usually directed toward gays while describing Notre Dame’s chant during a dinner banquet leading up to last year’s Hawaii Bowl.
McMackin used the slur during a media briefing at the Western Athletic Conference football preview in Salt Lake City.After the remark, he uttered it two more times while trying to explain himself. After the briefing, McMackin returned to the reporters and apologized for using the “inappropriate” word.
“What I was trying to do was be funny and it wasn’t funny,” he said, according to a recording of the conversation posted on the Idaho Statesman’s Web site. “It’s not funny. Even more, it isn’t funny to me. I was trying to make a joke and it was a bad choice of words. And I really, really feel bad about it. … It was really stupid.”
The school followed up with a formal statement by McMackin.
“I sincerely apologize for the inappropriate words that I used,” he said in the statement. “My comments were out of character and I have no prejudices against anyone. I’m really upset with myself and I’m truly sorry for my remarks.”
WAC commissioner Karl Benson said McMackin’s offensive comments brought negative publicity to the conference, “at an event where the purpose was to promote the WAC in a positive manner.”
“While his comments clearly violate the WAC Code of Conduct, I will wait until the University of Hawaii determines its course of action before determining what sanctions the WAC may impose,” Benson wrote in an e-mail.
The second-year Warriors coach said he has nothing but respect for the Fighting Irish, who routed the Warriors 49-21 for their first postseason victory in 15 years. McMackin called it the worst loss in his 40 years of coaching.
Hawaii athletic director Jim Donovan, who called Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick to apologize on behalf of the university, said he will meet with McMackin on Friday.
“I’ve conveyed my disappointment to him and he has expressed deep regret for showing such poor judgment,” Donovan said. “Aside from today’s inexcusable statement, coach McMackin has been a steadfast ambassador for the university and the state of Hawaii.”
School chancellor Virginia Hinshaw said she also expressed her disappointment to the coach.
“Hurtful language like this has no place in our community, and particularly not among leaders of our … campus,” said Hinshaw, adding “further steps that will be taken to reaffirm his and our commitment to fair and equal treatment of all.”
Before joining the Warriors, McMackin spent three years with the San Francisco 49ers as associate head coach and linebackers coach under Dennis Erickson from 2003-05. He has also served as defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks and several college programs including Texas Tech, Miami, Navy, Utah and Idaho.
The news of the comments spread fast in the islands where McMackin is widely known as a warm and caring leader who often reaches out to the community.
“I’m repulsed,” said Carolyn Golojuch, a UH alumnus and president of the Oahu chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbian and Gays.
She said there’s a larger issue at hand with the “atmosphere of fear” in football.
“This goes on all the time. This is not an isolated incident. Football coaches, not just ours, continue to be abusive,” Golojuch said. “Why do professional football players come out of the closet after they retire? Because of fear.”
This is not the first time a Hawaii athletic figure issued an apology for using insensitive language.
Former athletic director Hugh Yoshida said in 2000 that the reason the university switched from its longtime Rainbow logo was in part due to its connection as a symbol for gays and lesbians.
“That logo really put a stigma on our program at times in regards to it’s part of the gay community, their flags and so forth,” Yoshida said then, a day after the current Polynesian-style “H” logo was unveiled.
Yoshida quickly apologized for his comments.
I agree with the last comment. If you can’t repeat the chant skip the story.
This article is like reading one from the “Daily Prophet” in the Harry Potter books.
Is the word Voldemort? Excuse me, “he who can’t be named?”
What was the comment? What is WAC?
Isn’t one of the rules of journalism don’t assume the reader knows what the story is about? (This is directed toward the AP)
Sorry I got caught up in my rants. Until we correct our own usage of the words and remove the perceived derogatory understanding of others using them .. then we are at a loss. My issue is why are we taking offence to the utterance of the word when we should be taking offence to the context of the use of the word? Why is the ability to use the word so much more powerful than the context of the word?? This I blame on all us, especilly the GLBT media. fag, homo,dyke, pillowbiter ect mean nothing unless we empower them. So if someone in public position uses the words then we should let them know but I do not thik it benefits us if we throw this into the mainstream “hey they slured us”. In my opinion it makes us all look like FAGS( Fag : one who is weak and lacking a backbone 2: a person or group who is helpless and needs public support to gain acceptance. 3: One who wishes they were a lesbian. LMAO this is my webster of FAG
I would give the N.D. a suck my holy rosary on dancing with the stars. So lets get over it.
How many times do we or the rest of our fiends use lesbian/homo/trans/bi/ slurs in your daily conversation huhuhuhuuh? everyone of us . It is so prevelant amoung us “minorities” it is ridiculous. Hey 365 how many times yall staff bloggers use the words while sitting in traffic and also the rest of us come on… be honest and thinking the words counts.. I call my friends a queen,dyke,fag ( I reserve homo and lesbian for those that are above this BS) and such just to say what up. Every negro I know use nigger to their spouse/lover/ partner/ friends in every day conversation…. SO the mistake this coach committed was backing down suggesting that notre dame “dance” was worse than being a fag.”Step Ball Chain Kick Step Ball Chain Kick –SUPERSTAR Hey Coach if a Fag was in charge ND would be a contender every year. OHIO State has the **** dance and even Bob Fosse Couldnt help them… So come on people lets grow up
BTW I love the Word FAG it is so Beowulf in all meanings and DYKE is so commanding
While I don’t like how people use gay slurs in regular speech, I can forgive the guy. This is something that’s hard for me to change, even in my best friends.
He seems truly regretful for what he said. He’ll accept his punishment and move on. That’s OK! If it extends to something more violent then I’ll definitely be ticked off, but as it stands he’s helped highlight another issue when it comes to being gay.
These types of incidents serve a good purpose. While on the public stage, this coach decided to use terms of discrimination. Whether or not he personally has prejudice against gays, or not, he has been “outed” (so to speak). I do believe his use of that word in a public (or private) manner has come to a quick halt. Eyes and ears will now be upon him for a very long time, giving him the opportunity to either reevaluate his true feelings, or at a minimum, use more benign terms when trying to crack a joke.
“The second-year Warriors coach said he has nothing but respect for the Fighting Irish, …”
As Paulied mentioned, why don’t the people involved in this fail to get that it wasn’t Notre Dame who was insulted?
If this characterizing the situation correctly, doesn’t that make it even worse?
Is it just me or is anyone else offended that the UH athletic director apologized to Notre Dame? THEY are the ones who have been insulted?!
I don’t condone the behavior yet at the same time it shows the systemic issue that gay slurs are still not viewed as epitaphs towards us. People say fag or thats so gay all the time and it is tolerated – so the fact that this gets attention now seems to show a shift in attitude towards remarks that can be disparaging. On the other hand, what is with our community for wanting to crucify people who actually do apologize? When we have the DOD referring to us as pedophiles still and never once issuing an apology for it, how do we expect others to not follow that example of disparaging us?
When someone profusely apologizes for their “slip” it only means that their true self was exposed.
I generally agree with everything that’s been said.
But I keep thinking of an exchange I had the other day in the Boston Globe reader comments. We were discussing an op ed piece comparing mixed martial arts with dog fighting. One wag wrote something like, “Given how they’re rolling on top of one another all the time, it should be the official sport of the state of Massachusetts.” (Non MA people love to post on the site to tell us what liberal whack jobs we MA people are.) I responded, “Yeah, it *is* kinda gay, isn’t it!
”
Irony…push macho far enough and it starts to look like gay porn flick.
I find his comment about not having any prejudice a total fraud. How is it that he can utter an anti-gay slur that seems to come to him so naturally if that’s the case? The fact that he asked for cover on his use of the word “faggot” is indeed proof that he is prejudiced, othwerwise, why say it, even in jest? I doubt if he is that sincere.
If sanctions are possible or someone’s coaching career and community reputation are at risk they then she/he will swiftly back down and apologize. Otherwise he/she wouldn’t feel a need to do so and it would be “business as usual” so to speak and the slurs would go on unabated.
I’m not at all surprised by this, or by his attempt to get the media to cover for him. It’s widespread in team sports, which contributes to the fact that we don’t have any outplayers in the NFL or NBA. If the cameras weren’t there, if he were in the lockerroom, he probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it.