The Huffington Post is reporting that a New York Post sportswriter decided to throw a racial slur into a piece he wrote about the new Brooklyn Nets. Since they're co-owned by Jay-Z — a reality that he is evidently not crazy about — he proposed that they should change their name to the "New York N—gers."
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From the Huffington Post:
Phil Mushnick, who writes for the New York Post, has apparently been a long-time critic of the rapper's role in the franchise. In a Friday column, he trashed Jay-Z's choices for the team's new uniforms:
"As long as the Nets are allowing Jay-Z to call their marketing shots — what a shock that he chose black and white as the new team colors to stress, as the Nets explained, their new "urban" home — why not have him apply the full Jay-Z treatment?
Why the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N———s? The cheerleaders could be the Brooklyn B——hes or Hoes. Team logo? A 9 mm with hollow-tip shell casings strewn beneath. Wanna be Jay-Z hip? Then go all the way!"
Sure, there's an argument that Mushnick wasn't launching a racial attack, but simply making a reference to Jay-Z by using a derogatory term that we all know is one of the rapper's favorites (although he uses the "-ga" construction, not the "-ger" one suggested by Mishnick's six dashes).
But context matters, and this is an example of a troubling attitude (where, exactly, was he going with the "urban" bit?), combined with terrible judgment. Never a winning combo. We won't be surprised if the ultimate name change involving this writer turns out to be from "New York Post columnist" to "unemployed."
Read more at the Huffington Post.
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