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."
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."
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Read more at the Huffington Post.
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