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Billy
Packer "fags out" on Charlie Rose
By
Cyd Zeigler jr.
CBS
college basketball announcer Billy Packer used the term "fag out" in
an interview with Charlie Rose on Friday, March 30. He says
he would do it again.
 The
exchange between the two came at the end of Rose's interview
of Packer in Atlanta that revolved mostly around the men's Final Four.
"Do you
need a runner this Final Four?" Rose asked, "because I could
jump on a plane and I could be there."
"You always
fag out on that one for me, you know," Packer responded,
laughing. "You always say, oh yeah, I'm gonna be the runner,
then you never show up. But I’m sure they can find a place
for ya. You've got all the connections in the world. You can
go ahead and be a runner anyplace you want to."
Days after
the story became public, Packer is sticking to his guns. "I
said he fagged out on me and it had nothing to do with
sexual connotation," Packer told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
"I got to know Charlie a number of years ago and have great
admiration for his program and intellect. He is a big Dukie,
and he has been talking a number of years about coming to
the Final Four to be a runner."
Packer said
by "fag out," he meant the Dictionary.com definition, "to
tire or weary by labor; exhaust."
"The term
has nothing to do with sexuality," Packer said. "I think he
is the most eligible bachelor. It's about a guy too lazy to
get the work. ...
I can assure you I will use that phrase again and I won't
think twice about it. My meaning is genuine."
The term
"fag out" is listed in many online dictionaries, all
offering similar definitions.
Urban Dictionary lists the definition, used in this
context, as: "To bail on something, 'pussy out'."
The site
does not point to a directly homophobic derivation for the
term, though the implication does seem clear.
WordWebOnline.com lists the origin as British and
defines the term as: "Exhaust or get tired through overuse
or great strain or stress."
Openly gay former NBA player
John Amaechi, who is British, told Outsports: "I
can honestly say I have never heard that phrase used that
way. Not in my entire life."
Vice-president of Communications for CBS Sports LeslieAnne
Wade told Outsports, "I know he wasn't meaning to be
insensitive at all.
"While it
is a term that is in the dictionary, it was still a poor
choice of words," Wade said. "I'm confident that he would
agree that it was a bad choice of words."
Packer has been a part of
men's college basketball tournament broadcasts since 1974.
His words have, however, gotten him into trouble in the
past. In 1996, he referred to then-Georgetown player Allen
Iverson as a "tough monkey."
In 2000, Packer apologized for allegedly saying to female
Duke students who asked to see his press pass before
allowing him entrance to a Duke basketball game,
"Since when do we let women control who
gets into a men's basketball game? Why don't you go find a
women's game to let people into?"
Blogger Andy Towle of
Towleroad.com can understand making a poor choice of
words. But he still sees the societal dangers of having
anti-gay terms in the general lexicon.
"[Packer]
may not see it or intend it as offensive," Towle told
Outsports. "However it is the casual usage of derogatory
phrases like this and 'that's so gay' that just chip, chip,
chip away and should not be tolerated, particularly in
professional settings."
Before the
age of Youtube and similar services, passing comments like
this came and went. Initial reports to Outsports over the
weekend were unsure of whether Packer said "fag" or not.
However, the posting of the
video at GoodAsYou.org offers a definitive answer.
Discuss this story
Thanks
to Don Rumgay Jr. for pointing Outsports to this story.
Story
updated April 5 to include Packer's comments.
April 3,
2007 |
