Payton should make a public apology and be suspended from NBA TV

[indeedproceed]

Payton's comment about Matt Bonner after joking he thought it was Scalabrine:

"They all look alike."

Not cool. He even repeated the comment a few times. I actually don't really care about the comment. But imagine Walton or Van Gundy making that kind of comment about a black player. Imagine the protests and outrage.

It is one thing to joke about red heads, which is already in poor taste. Payton went well beyond the line.

So you're upset about it not because you're offended, but because you feel like other people would be upset about if a white announcer did it in reference to black players?

That makes absolutely no sense.

Your view point basically states "Im offended because if Bill Walton said it in regards to a black player, then he would be suspended, so I want Gary Payton suspended."

  Being against double standards makes no sense?

Not when there is more at play. Matt Bonner and Brian Scalabrine do kinda look alike.



Im kidding. No, I agree double standards aren't a good thing but I mean really? You wanna spend your time clamoring for Payton's suspension on this small little thing? Are you (not you personally Tim, but you in the everyone sense) personally offended, or are you offended that if a white person said it he'd have repercussions? If you're just offended because its a double standard it just looks seems petty. If you're legitimately offended because you think Gary Payton believes all white people look alike and don't merit distinction of an identity thats a horse of a different color.

Personally I couldn't care less and Payton is kind of an idiot at this.

[GroverTheClover]

The racial tit for tat that occurs in this country is absolutely-freaking-hilarious.

When a white person says anything remotely tinged with race about a black person, all the black people, white people with "white guilt", and PC police feign outrage over something trivial.

When a black person says anything remotely tinged with race about a white person, all the white people who are sick and tired of Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson's BS jump on it because finally, it's their turn to feel "oppressed" and "outraged".

The best part about it, those of you who are "offended" by Payton's comments would be the first to ignore it and call it a non-issue if it was a white person saying it. On the other hand, those of you who are glossing over this incident, would be outraged along with the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons and demanding public apology.

Here's an idea, instead of making a huge fuss and bringing up the past, why don't we just look to the future? The majority of us have already learned from the past. If someone wants to say something incredibly ignorant, let them. Rather than getting butt hurt and calling one another out, how about we just ignore the "offending" person and move on?

Oh the hilarity of American race relations...

Who the *bleep* cares about what Gary Payton says anyways?

/thread

[Andrew Celtic Nation]

I hate Gary Payton but I heard the comments and it was pretty obvious he was referring to red-heads to me. I was more taken aback by him mocking the Spanish language on last night's telecast.

[fairweatherfan]

I agree this would be a much bigger issues if a white journalist said it about a couple of black players.  But I also think it shouldn't be a big deal either way, because that statement is pretty harmless, and because oodles of research shows that people DO see folks not of their own race as looking similar to one another.  So anything that leans toward not creating a huge fuss over this stuff is fine with me - in other words, I'd prefer this half of the double standard to be universally applied than the other half.

[BballTim]

Im kidding. No, I agree double standards aren't a good thing but I mean really? You wanna spend your time clamoring for Payton's suspension on this small little thing? Are you (not you personally Tim, but you in the everyone sense) personally offended, or are you offended that if a white person said it he'd have repercussions? If you're just offended because its a double standard it just looks seems petty. If you're legitimately offended because you think Gary Payton believes all white people look alike and don't merit distinction of an identity thats a horse of a different color.

  Sorry if you think it's petty. I'm not offended about comments about redheads. I'm offended that people who are fine with comments complain about the same thing when a different group is the "target". I'm offended by people who claim moral outrage for political gain or as a weapon to attack people. It's extremely disingenuous.

[jambr380]

Yeah, this just seems to be ridiculous. We have become way oversensitive about everyone and their feelings nowadays. He wasn't saying it to be mean, so I really have no problem with it. I would honestly think the same thing if a white guy said two black dudes [that sorta resembled each other] looked alike. It is really pretty irrelevant. I hate how people freak out over the smallest things. As much as I am not a fan of Payton, I really don't see how this particular instance should go as a negative mark on his character.

Unless someone is truly being mean spirited about something, it shouldn't matter what race someone is when they make this kind of remark. In this case, he was trying to be funny- although he didn't really succeed. Basically, people need to chill out!

[BballTim]

The racial tit for tat that occurs in this country is absolutely-freaking-hilarious.

When a white person says anything remotely tinged with race about a black person, all the black people, white people with "white guilt", and PC police feign outrage over something trivial.

When a black person says anything remotely tinged with race about a white person, all the white people who are sick and tired of Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson's BS jump on it because finally, it's their turn to feel "oppressed" and "outraged".

  No, it's their turn to demonstrate that the people who are "outraged" about remarks with possible racial overtones aren't concerned about it because they are opposed to racial behavior, but are simply opportunists who exploit the situation to advance their cause or attack their enemies. As far as I'm concerned if you claim that there's nothing wrong with what Payton said (which is different from not commenting on the issue) then you relinquish your ability to claim the moral high ground when the positions are reversed. If you didn't comment on it but complain when the positions are reversed then "why didn't you complain about Payton" is a legitimate question.

[Andy Jick]

when i'm out walking in my yard i always have this thought...

[fairweatherfan]

The racial tit for tat that occurs in this country is absolutely-freaking-hilarious.

When a white person says anything remotely tinged with race about a black person, all the black people, white people with "white guilt", and PC police feign outrage over something trivial.

When a black person says anything remotely tinged with race about a white person, all the white people who are sick and tired of Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson's BS jump on it because finally, it's their turn to feel "oppressed" and "outraged".

  No, it's their turn to demonstrate that the people who are "outraged" about remarks with possible racial overtones aren't concerned about it because they are opposed to racial behavior, but are simply opportunists who exploit the situation to advance their cause or attack their enemies. As far as I'm concerned if you claim that there's nothing wrong with what Payton said (which is different from not commenting on the issue) then you relinquish your ability to claim the moral high ground when the positions are reversed. If you didn't comment on it but complain when the positions are reversed then "why didn't you complain about Payton" is a legitimate question.

I don't think there's anything terribly wrong with what Payton said.  I don't think it would be wrong if say Bill Walton said the same thing about two black players either.  From the sound of your posts, you agree with both of these statements. 

I understand where you're coming from, but if you demand Payton be shamed and punished, you're basically saying you're ok with those who demand the same thing in the opposite situation, as long as it goes both ways.  Grover summed it up very well (TP for you Grover) - matching their manufactured outrage with manufactured outrage of your own just perpetuates the problem.  If you believe the other side are "opportunists who exploit the situation to advance their cause or attack their enemies", how is mirroring what they're doing any different?

I don't like the double standards we have about race in this country either, but I think the only way to fix it in the long run is by saying, loudly and often, that neither type of statement should be an issue (which is what I think we both believe), instead of demanding equal amounts of phony, exaggerated offense when a black person does it.

[GroverTheClover]

The racial tit for tat that occurs in this country is absolutely-freaking-hilarious.

When a white person says anything remotely tinged with race about a black person, all the black people, white people with "white guilt", and PC police feign outrage over something trivial.

When a black person says anything remotely tinged with race about a white person, all the white people who are sick and tired of Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson's BS jump on it because finally, it's their turn to feel "oppressed" and "outraged".

  No, it's their turn to demonstrate that the people who are "outraged" about remarks with possible racial overtones aren't concerned about it because they are opposed to racial behavior, but are simply opportunists who exploit the situation to advance their cause or attack their enemies.

I thought I addressed this with the mention of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

[StartOrien]

Cheel Ouuuuut

[BballTim]

The racial tit for tat that occurs in this country is absolutely-freaking-hilarious.

When a white person says anything remotely tinged with race about a black person, all the black people, white people with "white guilt", and PC police feign outrage over something trivial.

When a black person says anything remotely tinged with race about a white person, all the white people who are sick and tired of Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson's BS jump on it because finally, it's their turn to feel "oppressed" and "outraged".

  No, it's their turn to demonstrate that the people who are "outraged" about remarks with possible racial overtones aren't concerned about it because they are opposed to racial behavior, but are simply opportunists who exploit the situation to advance their cause or attack their enemies. As far as I'm concerned if you claim that there's nothing wrong with what Payton said (which is different from not commenting on the issue) then you relinquish your ability to claim the moral high ground when the positions are reversed. If you didn't comment on it but complain when the positions are reversed then "why didn't you complain about Payton" is a legitimate question.

I don't think there's anything terribly wrong with what Payton said.  I don't think it would be wrong if say Bill Walton said the same thing about two black players either.  From the sound of your posts, you agree with both of these statements. 

I understand where you're coming from, but if you demand Payton be shamed and punished, you're basically saying you're ok with those who demand the same thing in the opposite situation, as long as it goes both ways.  Grover summed it up very well (TP for you Grover) - matching their manufactured outrage with manufactured outrage of your own just perpetuates the problem.  If you believe the other side are "opportunists who exploit the situation to advance their cause or attack their enemies", how is mirroring what they're doing any different?

I don't like the double standards we have about race in this country either, but I think the only way to fix it in the long run is by saying, loudly and often, that neither type of statement should be an issue (which is what I think we both believe), instead of demanding equal amounts of phony, exaggerated offense when a black person does it.

  I don't think that I said in any of my posts that I was offended by Payton or wanted him to be punished. I might have even said the opposite.

[BballTim]

The racial tit for tat that occurs in this country is absolutely-freaking-hilarious.

When a white person says anything remotely tinged with race about a black person, all the black people, white people with "white guilt", and PC police feign outrage over something trivial.

When a black person says anything remotely tinged with race about a white person, all the white people who are sick and tired of Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson's BS jump on it because finally, it's their turn to feel "oppressed" and "outraged".

  No, it's their turn to demonstrate that the people who are "outraged" about remarks with possible racial overtones aren't concerned about it because they are opposed to racial behavior, but are simply opportunists who exploit the situation to advance their cause or attack their enemies.

I thought I addressed this with the mention of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

  You're claiming that people are complaining about Payton's comment because they're "oppressed" or "outraged" by the remark. My point was that most of the complaints in the thread aren't by people who are upset that he said that, but by people who are complaining about the (expected) lack of outrage by people who will grab a reporter to watch them organize a boycott if the races involved are reversed.

[RAcker]

when i'm out walking in my yard i always have this thought...

Time to whip out the weed killer.

[bdm860]

I don't know man, they all look alike to me