Joakim Noah's homophobic slur is obviously one of the NBA's hottest topics, and viewed in the larger context of gay rights efforts and the sports world's lurching progress in that realm, it's disappointing both as an individual act and a sign that prejudice isn't so easily cordoned off.
Noah's reputation as one of the NBA's more thoughtful, open-minded players precedes him, and the unstated subtext of that and his multicultural New York City upbringing is that he's one of the more liberal NBA players. So when f----t comes out of Noah's mouth, it comes as a shock: supposedly enlightened players aren't supposed to be tossing out the same slurs that renowned jerks Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant did. And that should prompt questions about whether the problem of anti-gay language extends beyond just the NBA's jerks.
But ESPN's announcing crew for last night's Game 4 between the Mavericks and Thunder — play-by-play man Mike Breen and color commentators Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy — was so ill-equipped to discuss Noah's slur, they failed to even mention the sort of slur it was more than once, instead criticizing almost everyone but Noah for their role in the incident.
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Complete article at SB Nation : http://sbn.to/mkJvSN
