Former NBA All-Star, current NBA analyst, and future Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O'Neal has run into some hot water of late due to the fact he mocked a man with ectodermal dysplasia via a picture on Twitter. Of course, O'Neal wasn't aware of this at the time due to his ignorance on the condition, and has since apologized to the man he was mocking - Jahmel Binion.
After he apologized, O'Neal said, "Made a new friend today when I called and apologized to Jahmel Binion. Great dude."
Once this story broke, a line of Donald Sterling defenders rushed to the scene, and said, "He (Shaq) should be banned from the NBA for life and fined $2.5 million for his comments (mockery)! Let's see how hypocritical Adam Silver is! Both Sterling and Shaq made derogatory comments against people! They did the exact same thing!"
Others even pulled out the race card and said that Shaq, like other African-Americans, was getting a free pass, which wasn't fair, because Sterling is white and as usual, wasn't getting a free pass.
I won't even bother responding to the "blacks-get-free-passes-and-whites-don't" comment, because that's so beyond ridiculous, it has left me speechless. Well, I will utter one word - slavery. There we go.
As for the other bit, that is what we in the fallacy world like to call a faulty comparison. While Shaq's actions were insensitive, vile, and crude, they were out of ignorance, he fessed up to the mistake, and apologized afterward. While I'd like to see him go a step further and perhaps donate some money for further researching the condition or something of the sort, so long as he never does this again, I'm willing to forgive him, as I'm sure Mr. Binion will as well. I have battled epilepsy all my life, and like with many other conditions, there's a certain stigma attached to epilepsy. I've heard jokes told directly in front of me about the condition, yet once they learned that I had been battling it for many years and became more educated on the actual condition, they stopped spewing such drivel. No person is educated about everything. Once ignorance in a certain area gets the best of a person, so long as he or she makes it a point to become better educated about it so the same mishap doesn't occur again in the future, then they will be a better person because of it. Hopefully that is the case with Shaq.
Donald Sterling has had a history of racism. The recent comments he uttered wasn't a shock to many people whom have followed the NBA, and in particular, the Los Angeles Clippers, for many years. However, as the saying goes, it was the "final straw." Mr. Sterling owns a team with mostly African-American players (employees), yet he has called out and insulted blacks - basically saying that he doesn't want certain people to be seen with them or for them to come to their games - to not promote them and their way of life. Over three-quarters of the NBA is black. Not only did Donald Sterling insult the majority of his own team, he insulted a large majority of the entire league. While racism can often times stem from ignorance, unlike O'Neil's mockery, Sterling's trend of derogatory actions and commentary weren't/aren't just due to ignorance. He appears to have a genuine dislike for African-Americans, many of whom are under contract to play for this man - which many are struggling to do at this very moment.
Shaquille O'Neal is not an owner of an NBA team. He didn't come forward as an owner of a mostly white team (and league) and insult them. He ignorantly mocked a man with ectodermal dysplasia, and has since apologized for it. O'Neal is no longer in the league. Commissioner Adam Silver can't really do anything because of this. O'Neal can get fired as an analyst for his actions, but that's as far as the punishment will go. If O'Neal had still been in the league, chances are he'd be forced to pay a hefty fine. If he had been an owner of a team, a suspension would likely have been added to that fine. But, let's not act like the two men, their current positions, and the two scenarios are even remotely similar.
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/shaq-apologizes-man-mocked-instagram-post-23538314
After he apologized, O'Neal said, "Made a new friend today when I called and apologized to Jahmel Binion. Great dude."
Once this story broke, a line of Donald Sterling defenders rushed to the scene, and said, "He (Shaq) should be banned from the NBA for life and fined $2.5 million for his comments (mockery)! Let's see how hypocritical Adam Silver is! Both Sterling and Shaq made derogatory comments against people! They did the exact same thing!"
Others even pulled out the race card and said that Shaq, like other African-Americans, was getting a free pass, which wasn't fair, because Sterling is white and as usual, wasn't getting a free pass.
I won't even bother responding to the "blacks-get-free-passes-and-whites-don't" comment, because that's so beyond ridiculous, it has left me speechless. Well, I will utter one word - slavery. There we go.
As for the other bit, that is what we in the fallacy world like to call a faulty comparison. While Shaq's actions were insensitive, vile, and crude, they were out of ignorance, he fessed up to the mistake, and apologized afterward. While I'd like to see him go a step further and perhaps donate some money for further researching the condition or something of the sort, so long as he never does this again, I'm willing to forgive him, as I'm sure Mr. Binion will as well. I have battled epilepsy all my life, and like with many other conditions, there's a certain stigma attached to epilepsy. I've heard jokes told directly in front of me about the condition, yet once they learned that I had been battling it for many years and became more educated on the actual condition, they stopped spewing such drivel. No person is educated about everything. Once ignorance in a certain area gets the best of a person, so long as he or she makes it a point to become better educated about it so the same mishap doesn't occur again in the future, then they will be a better person because of it. Hopefully that is the case with Shaq.
Donald Sterling has had a history of racism. The recent comments he uttered wasn't a shock to many people whom have followed the NBA, and in particular, the Los Angeles Clippers, for many years. However, as the saying goes, it was the "final straw." Mr. Sterling owns a team with mostly African-American players (employees), yet he has called out and insulted blacks - basically saying that he doesn't want certain people to be seen with them or for them to come to their games - to not promote them and their way of life. Over three-quarters of the NBA is black. Not only did Donald Sterling insult the majority of his own team, he insulted a large majority of the entire league. While racism can often times stem from ignorance, unlike O'Neil's mockery, Sterling's trend of derogatory actions and commentary weren't/aren't just due to ignorance. He appears to have a genuine dislike for African-Americans, many of whom are under contract to play for this man - which many are struggling to do at this very moment.
Shaquille O'Neal is not an owner of an NBA team. He didn't come forward as an owner of a mostly white team (and league) and insult them. He ignorantly mocked a man with ectodermal dysplasia, and has since apologized for it. O'Neal is no longer in the league. Commissioner Adam Silver can't really do anything because of this. O'Neal can get fired as an analyst for his actions, but that's as far as the punishment will go. If O'Neal had still been in the league, chances are he'd be forced to pay a hefty fine. If he had been an owner of a team, a suspension would likely have been added to that fine. But, let's not act like the two men, their current positions, and the two scenarios are even remotely similar.
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/shaq-apologizes-man-mocked-instagram-post-23538314
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