Iowa announcer suspended for season for referring to Bruno Fernando as King Kong

This is what is discouraging for sensible people.

In a general statement, I suggest that offensive language shouldn’t be determined the out-group, but rather by the potentially offended.

Yet you disagree.




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As a person that some people label me as black, i take no offense to the King Kong reference. We were raised by bohemian intellectuals who taught us what determined skin color, pigmentation and evolution. Always thought of my self as darker than some, lighter than some and that it never had anything to do with what kind of a person i am. All kind and thoughtful humans are loved in my life. Identity politics is disgraceful. The worst modern racists i see in the country outside of extremists of all kinds are those that coddle minorities. I have heard for years the idea that blacks and immigrants should be able to vote without ID because they do not know how to get a ID or pay for it. Who is the racist now ! Thinking a group of people can not take care of themselves, can not learn is the greatest handicap we can ever put on someone. No matter your skin color families have to make school , elementary school the top priority in all of their lives. Quit labeling, quit enabling. Learn to laugh over funny things and for me, to not take everything so sensatively. When i think of King Kong , it has zero inference to color, only size and strength.
 

The guy is trying to keep up with a fast moving sport and be reasonably interesting. It's absurd to expect every last thing out of someone's mouth to be checked for how someone could possibly find it offensive. This isn't a national ad campaign where everything has months to be scrutinized for context by a team of people. I say "quit monkeying around" all the time. Most of the time it's pointed at whites, because that's who is around me.

Where's the women complaining that King Kong promotes violent oppression and kidnapping of women by males? If you dig far enough on anything, one can find a way to spin it to be offensive.
 

I think Iowa wanted this guy out. He gave them a sliver and they are taking the entire pie. He’ll be fired for conduct after the season. The other suspension he received was worse than this.
 

A sociology professor at California State.................why of course!

"Ad hominem attacks can take the form of ... subtly casting doubt on their character or personal attributes as a way to discredit their argument. The result of an ad hom attack can be to undermine someone's case without actually having to engage with it."

>>>>>>

I guess the Washington Post is your bible, but you should be open to counterpoint and not dismiss new information simply because it doesn't confirm your point of view. To me a truer test of your conviction, is not an anonymous internet post, but an action. Write a letter to the editor - or an email to all your work colleagues -- calling a Native American Redskin. Then tell us how that goes.

Short of that, tell us if you had a Native American colleague that you'd confidently call them redskin because you know that wouldn't bother them and it wouldn't bother others either.
 



If the player were Caucasian and the announcer said he’s like King Kong this wouldn’t even be a story. Drops mic!
 

"Ad hominem attacks can take the form of ... subtly casting doubt on their character or personal attributes as a way to discredit their argument. The result of an ad hom attack can be to undermine someone's case without actually having to engage with it."

>>>>>>

I guess the Washington Post is your bible, but you should be open to counterpoint and not dismiss new information simply because it doesn't confirm your point of view. To me a truer test of your conviction, is not an anonymous internet post, but an action. Write a letter to the editor - or an email to all your work colleagues -- calling a Native American Redskin. Then tell us how that goes.

Short of that, tell us if you had a Native American colleague that you'd confidently call them redskin because you know that wouldn't bother them and it wouldn't bother others either.

the washington post is like all the others....a liberal rag, so no, it's not my bible. You know the post would love to get rid of the name, so I will accept their facts. The sociology guy hates the name. I don't even need to look him up. He hates the name and somehow found some numbers to back that up. Call me flipping shocked.

And no, I don't think I'd call them a Redskin, but I don't think I'd call someone a fighting Irish, or call someone a Celtic, or call someone a Viking either. The reason I wouldn't call someone those, is it isn't real world. I'm from the real world.
 

I'm sorry that some folks on here are so aggrieved that the announcer has been suspended for the last couple of games of the season for comparing a black player to an ape monster. There are a million ways that he could have described the player's dominant performance that would not have carried historic racial undertones. As a couple of other posters have referenced, would he have referred to a large, dominant white player in the same way? I've never heard it. At best, he was lazy. People who label the response as "PC" are lazy. Words do matter. Given the historic racist connotations, comparing African Americans to apes or monkeys straight up pisses a lot of people off and it's a ridiculously easy thing to avoid if someone is halfway trying.

A three game suspension seems proportionate.

Tons of large white dominant players are described the same way.

Darren "the Gorilla" Till
King Kong Giorgio Chiellini
King Kong Bundy

There are also tons of African American athletes who choose similar nicknames.

Yawn.
 

As a person that some people label me as black, i take no offense to the King Kong reference. We were raised by bohemian intellectuals who taught us what determined skin color, pigmentation and evolution. Always thought of my self as darker than some, lighter than some and that it never had anything to do with what kind of a person i am. All kind and thoughtful humans are loved in my life. Identity politics is disgraceful. The worst modern racists i see in the country outside of extremists of all kinds are those that coddle minorities. I have heard for years the idea that blacks and immigrants should be able to vote without ID because they do not know how to get a ID or pay for it. Who is the racist now ! Thinking a group of people can not take care of themselves, can not learn is the greatest handicap we can ever put on someone. No matter your skin color families have to make school , elementary school the top priority in all of their lives. Quit labeling, quit enabling. Learn to laugh over funny things and for me, to not take everything so sensatively. When i think of King Kong , it has zero inference to color, only size and strength.

Appreciate and respect perspective. Your philosophy seems pretty solid.


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As a person that some people label me as black, i take no offense to the King Kong reference. We were raised by bohemian intellectuals who taught us what determined skin color, pigmentation and evolution. Always thought of my self as darker than some, lighter than some and that it never had anything to do with what kind of a person i am. All kind and thoughtful humans are loved in my life. Identity politics is disgraceful. The worst modern racists i see in the country outside of extremists of all kinds are those that coddle minorities. I have heard for years the idea that blacks and immigrants should be able to vote without ID because they do not know how to get a ID or pay for it. Who is the racist now ! Thinking a group of people can not take care of themselves, can not learn is the greatest handicap we can ever put on someone. No matter your skin color families have to make school , elementary school the top priority in all of their lives. Quit labeling, quit enabling. Learn to laugh over funny things and for me, to not take everything so sensatively. When i think of King Kong , it has zero inference to color, only size and strength.
In other words, what I think you are saying is:

 

I'm questioning why a guy being complimenting someone's play is in the wrong and in hot water.

Here's a guy going to be shamed and lose paychecks for saying a guy plays like King Kong.

As I said earlier, I'm surrounded by stupidity, and expect it, but still.

I'm just bored with all the made up racist stuff. It's 200 times a day.

You must really seek it out then.
 

Sure just like using the word Savage to refer to someone's play now a days would almost always be understood to express that they are destroying the opposition, crushing the opponent etc. but...if it's never used to refer to anyone until it happens to be a native american player its hard maintain it's innocence. King-Kong isn't used to refer to white players ever.

Saying facetious things about lines on the court. I'll just laugh and agree yea that probably is extreme, don't really think anyone believes that though.

Dave Kingman's nickname was King Kong because he was big and hit long homeruns.

I was a little surprised by this because growing up we would always say things like "he's going King Kong (or Godzilla) on him/them" to reference when someone was dominating. And that could mean one of my friends dunking on someone on the nerf hoop in the basement on up to professional athletes.
 




Tons of large white dominant players are described the same way.

Darren "the Gorilla" Till
King Kong Giorgio Chiellini
King Kong Bundy

There are also tons of African American athletes who choose similar nicknames.

Yawn.

Add in Iowa's own Al "The Vanilla Gorilla" Lorenzen.
 

Tons of large white dominant players are described the same way.

Darren "the Gorilla" Till
King Kong Giorgio Chiellini
King Kong Bundy

There are also tons of African American athletes who choose similar nicknames.

Yawn.

I was curious because I had never heard of these guys, so I looked them up. Darren Till is an MMA fighter from England. A different country with a different racial history. I couldn't find a reference to the nickname. Bundy was a "pro" wrestler, which isn't a sport. Chiellini is an Italian soccer player. Again, different country with a different racial history. I couldn't find his nickname either.

I'm not aware of any AA athletes with similar nicknames, but I'll take your word for it.
 

As a person that some people label me as black, i take no offense to the King Kong reference. We were raised by bohemian intellectuals who taught us what determined skin color, pigmentation and evolution. Always thought of my self as darker than some, lighter than some and that it never had anything to do with what kind of a person i am. All kind and thoughtful humans are loved in my life. Identity politics is disgraceful. The worst modern racists i see in the country outside of extremists of all kinds are those that coddle minorities. I have heard for years the idea that blacks and immigrants should be able to vote without ID because they do not know how to get a ID or pay for it. Who is the racist now ! Thinking a group of people can not take care of themselves, can not learn is the greatest handicap we can ever put on someone. No matter your skin color families have to make school , elementary school the top priority in all of their lives. Quit labeling, quit enabling. Learn to laugh over funny things and for me, to not take everything so sensatively. When i think of King Kong , it has zero inference to color, only size and strength.

So in your opinion those that 'coddle' minorities (whatever that actually means), are more racist than those that actually kill them. And those that enable those things. That's a wild take. One I've heard before, but a wild one still.
 

So in your opinion those that 'coddle' minorities (whatever that actually means), are more racist than those that actually kill them. And those that enable those things. That's a wild take. One I've heard before, but a wild one still.

As a minority i am more than aware on minority killing but the fact is that more black on black murders dominate every category. In the case of hate and racism killing i think it is worse than my example but not in volume. Naturally i am biased as in my life we stressed education, critical thinking, empathy and all our generations were taught that way. Finding your best self and helping others truly in need. The tragic consequences of helping those not in need results in ignorance and a abused welfare state. It is a horrible method to provide fish for someone that could be taught to fish, reading to them if they are able to learn to read and to work for them if they are taught a skill. This is not aimed at anyone who truly needs help. This is for those that can learn to get a ID, to get educated, to stand for themselves and their families. After decades of mentoring our youth i have seen it bring so much that is good to so many. Watching someone grow with the confidence that they can grow is very gratifying. Giving people rights without following rules lessens the rights we have.
 

As a minority i am more than aware on minority killing but the fact is that more black on black murders dominate every category. In the case of hate and racism killing i think it is worse than my example but not in volume. Naturally i am biased as in my life we stressed education, critical thinking, empathy and all our generations were taught that way. Finding your best self and helping others truly in need. The tragic consequences of helping those not in need results in ignorance and a abused welfare state. It is a horrible method to provide fish for someone that could be taught to fish, reading to them if they are able to learn to read and to work for them if they are taught a skill. This is not aimed at anyone who truly needs help. This is for those that can learn to get a ID, to get educated, to stand for themselves and their families. After decades of mentoring our youth i have seen it bring so much that is good to so many. Watching someone grow with the confidence that they can grow is very gratifying. Giving people rights without following rules lessens the rights we have.


Powerful stuff, thanks. These waters are always tricky to navigate, it seems. Never quite sure if my own views on these issues are correct.
 


As a person that some people label me as black, i take no offense to the King Kong reference. We were raised by bohemian intellectuals who taught us what determined skin color, pigmentation and evolution. Always thought of my self as darker than some, lighter than some and that it never had anything to do with what kind of a person i am. All kind and thoughtful humans are loved in my life. Identity politics is disgraceful. The worst modern racists i see in the country outside of extremists of all kinds are those that coddle minorities. I have heard for years the idea that blacks and immigrants should be able to vote without ID because they do not know how to get a ID or pay for it. Who is the racist now ! Thinking a group of people can not take care of themselves, can not learn is the greatest handicap we can ever put on someone. No matter your skin color families have to make school , elementary school the top priority in all of their lives. Quit labeling, quit enabling. Learn to laugh over funny things and for me, to not take everything so sensatively. When i think of King Kong , it has zero inference to color, only size and strength.

Well I am black (I don't require someone else to label me as such as I know who I am) and I am offended by the King Kong reference. Calling black men out of their names has been a sign of disrespect for centuries in this country. I'm not claiming that the announcer is some Klan member or anything, but he should be suspended and apologize as there is a nasty history in this country of blacks being called monkey, apes, and gorillas out of pure racism. As I've stated before, would he have called a similar white player King Kong? No, of course not.

What the hell does this have to do with voter ID? There are poor people who can't afford an ID. They can be black or white. If the state requires a photo ID to vote, then they should provide them for free. Being poor shouldn't prohibit you from voting. I'm not sure why you're conflating these issues.
 
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Who knew Dolphins lived in Iowa? Maybe this climate change stuff is legit.
 

Well I am black (I don't require someone else to label me as such as I know who I am) and I am offended by the King Kong reference. Calling black men out of their names has been a sign of disrespect for centuries in this country. I'm not claiming that the announcer is some Klan member or anything, but he should be suspended and apologize as there is a nasty history in this country of blacks being called monkey, apes, and gorillas out of pure racism. As I've stated before, would he have called a similar white player King Kong? No, of course not.

What the hell does this have to do with voter ID? There are poor people who can't afford an ID. They can be black or white. If the state requires a photo ID to vote, then they should provide them for free. Being poor shouldn't prohibit you from voting. I'm not sure why you're conflating these issues.

Well said. It’s amazing to me that so many people on a Big Ten college basketball board have a hard time acknowledging this was not an okay thing to say.
 

Well, one thing is for sure......the makers of Gorilla Glue are going to be getting a stern letter from me later this afternoon!
 

As a minority i am more than aware on minority killing but the fact is that more black on black murders dominate every category. In the case of hate and racism killing i think it is worse than my example but not in volume. Naturally i am biased as in my life we stressed education, critical thinking, empathy and all our generations were taught that way. Finding your best self and helping others truly in need. The tragic consequences of helping those not in need results in ignorance and a abused welfare state. It is a horrible method to provide fish for someone that could be taught to fish, reading to them if they are able to learn to read and to work for them if they are taught a skill. This is not aimed at anyone who truly needs help. This is for those that can learn to get a ID, to get educated, to stand for themselves and their families. After decades of mentoring our youth i have seen it bring so much that is good to so many. Watching someone grow with the confidence that they can grow is very gratifying. Giving people rights without following rules lessens the rights we have.

The post is not directly related to the original post in this thread, but it is very well said. Dependency is not a good thing for human beings and can happen pretty easily. Also somewhat related to what you posted (in regards to critical thinking and empathy), it is much, much harder for us to be critical of ourselves than to be critical of others. We all have areas in which we can improve, but there seem to be quite a few people that lack this awareness.
 

I was curious because I had never heard of these guys, so I looked them up. Darren Till is an MMA fighter from England. A different country with a different racial history. I couldn't find a reference to the nickname. Bundy was a "pro" wrestler, which isn't a sport. Chiellini is an Italian soccer player. Again, different country with a different racial history. I couldn't find his nickname either.

I'm not aware of any AA athletes with similar nicknames, but I'll take your word for it.

Trent Williams - OL asked Roger Goodell to call him the Silverback. It's a self-appointed nickname.
Luis Ortiz - Luis "King Kong" Ortiz (he's not American but neither is Bruno Fernando)
 

Well I am black (I don't require someone else to label me as such as I know who I am) and I am offended by the King Kong reference. Calling black men out of their names has been a sign of disrespect for centuries in this country. I'm not claiming that the announcer is some Klan member or anything, but he should be suspended and apologize as there is a nasty history in this country of blacks being called monkey, apes, and gorillas out of pure racism. As I've stated before, would he have called a similar white player King Kong? No, of course not.

What the hell does this have to do with voter ID? There are poor people who can't afford an ID. They can be black or white. If the state requires a photo ID to vote, then they should provide them for free. Being poor shouldn't prohibit you from voting. I'm not sure why you're conflating these issues.

Just in this thread there have been a bunch of examples of white athletes having the same or a similar nickname.
 

Well I am black (I don't require someone else to label me as such as I know who I am) and I am offended by the King Kong reference. Calling black men out of their names has been a sign of disrespect for centuries in this country. I'm not claiming that the announcer is some Klan member or anything, but he should be suspended and apologize as there is a nasty history in this country of blacks being called monkey, apes, and gorillas out of pure racism. As I've stated before, would he have called a similar white player King Kong? No, of course not.

What the hell does this have to do with voter ID? There are poor people who can't afford an ID. They can be black or white. If the state requires a photo ID to vote, then they should provide them for free. Being poor shouldn't prohibit you from voting. I'm not sure why you're conflating these issues.

Most states will allow homeless people to get IDs for free if they are certified by a qualified social worker. But I agree that it has nothing to do with this convo.

As to your point, I am not minimizing the impact of calling people names (any names) out of disrespect. This clearly was not the case here. He was an announcer complimenting a rugged/aggressive player. Announcers have been calling athletes nicknames for centuries out of respect.

There are numerous white athletes with similar nicknames.
 

Kong got the hot chick and didn't have to pay to get to the observatory on the top of the Empire State building.
 




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