Mike Greenberg's slip of the tongue gets him in hot water

[JMS]

Slip of the tongue. Nothing in the context to think that it meant anything.

On a related note, back when I was in college, I was watching a basketball game in the student lounge. Notre Dame was playing, and I have always rooted against Notre Dame. The Irish coach at that time was Digger Phelps. (see if you can guess where this is going).

Phelps did something, I don't remember what, and I yelled at the TV: "Sitdown! Jeez I hate that goddamned Digger!" but it came out as "Sitdown! Jeez I hate that goddamn N*****!" 30 faces turned toward me, every one of them raising the Spock eyebrow. You know....

Plausible deniability, Digger Phelps was a white dude....

I had a similar experience. I made a comment in a national football forum when stationed in Michigan, there were too many "spooks" hanging around the Vienna Inn in N Virginia. Spook meaning intelligence professionals, but it wasn't taken that way on the news group. I got roundly flamed until Northern Virginia people spoke up on my behalf.

At the time I didn't even know there was another meaning of the word spook, other than CIA case officer. Idiot me.

[blue collar]

the smart ones?

how is hip hop one of the worst things to happen to blacks???

Let me ask you this. Do you have any involvement with teens and young adults? I've seen it with my own eyes, many of them imulate and act out the lyrics of hip hop. Way too many carry that old "I don't give a damn" attitude. How far do you think that will get them in life?

[NewRegime]

It may have been an accident - but that is BAD.

[KDawg]

This thread is interesting, to say the least.

People saying it's obvious that Greenberg just had a slip of the tongue and then turning around and saying he should be fired anyways.

Hope you never slip up. At all. Doing anything.

Then I see people saying, "Because he said it, he must have heard it before!"

Since when does that make him a bad guy, or racist? I've heard a ton of things I've never said. Does that make me guilty?

Strange logic, to say the least.

[sly]

Greeny should be removed from the show, and new programming should take its slot.

Wow. Do you work for NBC?

[McD5]

Should the next person who says "honkey" on tv be fired as well?

[4thStBully]

Let me ask you this. Do you have any involvement with teens and young adults? I've seen it with my own eyes, many of them imulate and act out the lyrics of hip hop. Way too many carry that old "I don't give a damn" attitude. How far do you think that will get them in life?

well, i have a 15 year old son, and i work with juvenile and adult offenders in the district of columbia.

i agree that there are many negative aspects to hip hop, i also agree that many misguided youths may look at these rappers as role models. but your argument is comparable to other negative images in our culture, movies, video games, pro athletes, etc.

i think your statement is way off however. hip hop has many aspects to it, not just negative. i grew up in NY in the 70's and 80's...i am hip hop.

but back to the matter of hand, greenberg may have made a mistake, but he should be at the least suspended, because if it was anyone else that would be the minimum punishment.

[4thStBully]

Should the next person who says "honkey" on tv be fired as well?

of course.

example: if shannon sharpe refers to a white player, as honkey, he should be fired, no question.

[sly]

I see some people comparing his punishment to those who make inappropriate jokes. It was an unfortunate slip up. That's it. Bunch of sensitive weirdos in this thread....

[Predicto]

There is a huge difference between a slip of the tongue and deliberately saying something that you meant to say that is racially insensitive.

What Harry Reid said was not a slip of the tongue. He actually meant to say what he said, just the way he said it. Now he has to dance around and dodge the heat.

Calling someone a "Macaca" was not a slip of the tongue. George Allen meant to insult the guy using a racial term, and then he compounded his problem by lying about what he meant.

Saying that the country would have been better off if we had elected Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrat party into power was not a slip of the tongue. Trent Lott may have meant only to honor old Strom, but it was horribly insensitive when you think about the only thing that Strom stood for when he ran for President - racial segregation.

This is nothing in comparison.

[MattFancy]

well, i have a 15 year old son, and i work with juvenile and adult offenders in the district of columbia.

i agree that there are many negative aspects to hip hop, i also agree that many misguided youths may look at these rappers as role models. but your argument is comparable to other negative images in our culture, movies, video games, pro athletes, etc.

i think your statement is way off however. hip hop has many aspects to it, not just negative. i grew up in NY in the 70's and 80's...i am hip hop.

but back to the matter of hand, greenberg may have made a mistake, but he should be at the least suspended, because if it was anyone else that would be the minimum punishment.

I don't think anything should happen. You can tell he was talking too fast and had put King and Junior together and stopped himself before he said Kounior. This is getting blown way out of proportion.

[blue collar]

well, i have a 15 year old son, and i work with juvenile and adult offenders in the district of columbia.

i agree that there are many negative aspects to hip hop, i also agree that many misguided youths may look at these rappers as role models. but your argument is comparable to other negative images in our culture, movies, video games, pro athletes, etc.

i think your statement is way off however. hip hop has many aspects to it, not just negative. i grew up in NY in the 70's and 80's...i am hip hop.

but back to the matter of hand, greenberg may have made a mistake, but he should be at the least suspended, because if it was anyone else that would be the minimum punishment.

I agree. I'm not saying all of them emulate hip hop, but too many for my taste do. I don't know if you're familiar with the show Boondocks. But there's a MLK episode where he comes back to life and see the world as it is today. Very funny, but it makes a very good point.

[4thStBully]

i saw that episode of the boondocks, it was great.

i think the issue with the youth is a lack of parenting and solid role models, but not hip hop. but its cool, i understand your argument.

in regards to the topic of greenberg, people pay for mistakes everyday, i'll leave it at that.

[Popeman38]

There is a huge difference between a slip of the tongue and deliberately saying something that you meant to say that is racially insensitive.

What Harry Reid said was not a slip of the tongue. He actually meant to say what he said, just the way he said it. Now he has to dance around and dodge the heat.

Calling someone a "Macaca" was not a slip of the tongue. George Allen meant to insult the guy using a racial term, and then he compounded his problem by lying about what he meant.

Saying that the country would have been better off if we had elected Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrat party into power was not a slip of the tongue. Trent Lott may have meant only to honor old Strom, but it was horribly insensitive when you think about the only thing that Strom stood for when he ran for President - racial segregation.

This is nothing in comparison.

Seconded.

[Dan T.]

This is nothing more than a mashing of the words "king and junior" that produced a sound that happens to correspond to a racist term. It was NOTHING MORE THAN THAT. If he had uttered "jing" instead of "coo" this wouldn't have even been a blip on the radar. It's so clear from listening to the audio. I question whether he even voiced the n sound at the end of the utterance before he corrected himself.

[Skins-Canes-Mounties]

Wow. Do you work for NBC?

haha - No, I just believe that he's tarnished the Mike and Mike brand. Regardless of intent, he said what he said, and certain persons are offended. Time to start again with a clean slate. Sports talk is an easy format to program. There are a number of persons that they could plug into the slot, very quickly, and at little cost.

[Ghost of]

It sounds like he meant to say King Junior and combined them into "coon". Makes sense when someone is talking fast.

This is my feeling. For one' date=' I don't think a New York born Jew is going around calling black people "coons." It's not even a particularly popular epithet compared to what you might actually hear (if you ever hear it.) Hell, even the YouTube racist factions don't use the word "coon" so I don't really think that's at play here. I don't know, maybe that's just me.

I find the constant addition of "Jr" to the name to be a little annoying anyway, as I'm sure he loved his father but MLK is the one whom [i']everyone knows. [/i]No need to distinguish between he and his dad, so just leave that out. Might save some big headaches.

[blue collar]

This is my feeling. For one, I don't think a New York born Jew is going around calling black people "coons." It's not even a particularly popular epithet compared to what you might actually hear (if you ever hear it.) Hell, even the YouTube racist factions don't use the word "coon" so I don't really think that's at play here. I don't know, maybe that's just me.

I find the constant addition of "Jr" to the name to be a little annoying anyway, as I'm sure he loved his father but MLK is the one whom everyone knows. No need to distinguish between he and his dad, so just leave that out. Might save some big headaches.

He has been known as Martin Luther King Jr forever. That will never change.

[jthor99]

I listen to a lot of sports radio. Personally, can't stand Mike & Mike but I also would hate to see Greenberg lose his job (and possibly ruin his career in some regard) with an accidental slip like this.

My guess is Van Pelt will get moved to the morning with Golic if anything were to transpire.

[4thStBully]

i pride myself on being fair, so dont take this question the wrong way, its just a question. here goes...

is it ever ok to say "Martin Luther C**n"???

i ask because i have shared this story with a few friends (black) and they are all up in arms, saying thats not a slip of the tongue. what say you?

[Sweet Sassy Molassy]

It doesn't represent the smart ones. It represents the weak minded. I said it years ago and I'll say it again, hip hop was one of the worst things to happen to blacks.

I take issue with this statement, because I don't view mainstream rap as a part of the "real" hip-hop. Much like I woudln't consider emo a part of true rock. So when you say hip-hop is the worst thing that has happened to blacks, I take major offense to it, only because the hip-hop that I know and love has had a much more inspiring and positive influence on me than the mainstream crap that I feel you're referencing.

Not trying to derail the thread, I just saw that statement and had to say something about it, because too many people lump it all together giving hip-hop a terrible name. It's a shame really.

Anyway, to the point of this thread I listened to the clip and it was obviously a slip of the tongue. He's definitely going to get some flak for it, because Coon being a slur against blacks combined with the fact MLK is an icon for many blacks, people are going to be a bit more sensitive to it. Not much he can do, hopefully it's not blown out of proportion.

[MattFancy]

I hope some of you in hear never slip up while you're at work...

[blue collar]

I take issue with this statement, because I don't view mainstream rap as a part of the "real" hip-hop. Much like I woudln't consider emo a part of true rock. So when you say hip-hop is the worst thing that has happened to blacks, I take major offense to it, only because the hip-hop that I know and love has had a much more inspiring and positive influence on me than the mainstream crap that I feel you're referencing.

Not trying to derail the thread, I just saw that statement and had to say something about it, because too many people lump it all together giving hip-hop a terrible name. It's a shame really.

Anyway, to the point of this thread I listened to the clip and it was obviously a slip of the tongue. He's definitely going to get some flak for it, because Coon being a slur against blacks combined with the fact MLK is an icon for many blacks, people are going to be a bit more sensitive to it. Not much he can do, hopefully it's not blown out of proportion.

Most of the hip hop most kids listen too IS NOT positive. You can admit that, right. Most of these teens and young adults isn't trying to listen to anything positive. The hip hop that turns most of them on is "I don't give a damn, womanizing, pimping, F society, you mess with me and me and my boys will put a cap in yo arse."

[Predicto]

i pride myself on being fair, so dont take this question the wrong way, its just a question. here goes...

is it ever ok to say "Martin Luther C**n"???

i ask because i have shared this story with a few friends (black) and they are all up in arms, saying thats not a slip of the tongue. what say you?

Of course it's not "OK," especially not for a radio personality.

The question is whether you really meant to do it or not. If it was a slip of the tongue by someone with no history of racial animus, then you let it go.

[Ghost of]

He has been known as Martin Luther King Jr forever. That will never change.

Nonsense, I've heard him referred to as Dr. King, Martin Luther King, MLK plenty of times. I'm not saying inscriptions or biographical data should leave out the junior, I'm saying I would not include it---now that we see what can happen, I'm just saying.

BTW, I can't recall specifics but I've heard people slip up like this by combining words or just sounding strange (not offensive) because they skipped ahead in their mind and began saying a word that was meant for 1 second later. It seems pretty clear that this was a mistake.