Comments on: Hawaii coach replies to gay athlete’s e-mail

By: Joe Guckin

Joe Guckin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:03:14 +0000

He may be sincerely sorry and wanting to make this an educational opportunity and so on, but this statement: “I was as shocked as anyone to hear that term come out of my mouth” — is the biggest bullshit line I’ve heard in years.

By: sportyjoe

sportyjoe — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:54:34 +0000

COACH MCMAKIN’S REPLY TO MY LETTER. GOOD FOR HIM.

Joe,

Thank you for your email. I believe everyone should be treated with dignity and respect and that is what I teach my team and my family. I was as shocked as anyone to hear that term come out of my mouth. This painful and unfortunate situation will be used as an educational opportunity to promote better understanding of all people and emphasize the importance of words and the harm they can do.

I am sure your dad is proud of both his sons. Thank you for your consideration in writing.

Sincerely,

Greg McMackin

To: mcmackin@hawaii.edu

Coach McMackin,

My dad was an All-American High School coach (after he was an All-State athlete in three sports) who ended up having two gay sons, and he, too, ended up changing his perspective on gay people. I appreciate your apology and statement saying that your words do not match your life’s work of coaching.

We all have our prejudices and this incident reminds me of some of the words that I use that might be offensive to others.

All the best,

Joe

By: Biff Baxter

Biff Baxter — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:09:22 +0000

No harm in his comment? Really? How ’bout if he had called it a little jiggaboo strut? How would that go over?

By: AngryFag

AngryFag — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:27:00 +0000

He said it. The room laughed. He said it again. The room laughed some more.

The part that seems insincere is he says “I am sorry for the mistake I made as it does not reflect the way I live my life. I believe everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. ”

Obviously before he got caught making these comments, he DID live his life failing to treat everyone with dignity and respect.

I’ll cut him slack if he were to say, “Yeah, I said those bad things. Now after all this hullabaloo, to keep my job, I’m keeping my eyes open and ya know…I think i see it *NOW*”

By denying that he could ever intentionally say something demeaning is….as Judge Judy puts it…”Pissing on my leg & telling me it’s raining”

By: ossurworld

ossurworld — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:28:26 +0000

I love sports apologies. Mostly all are written by lawyers or public relations experts.

By: Jill

Jill — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 15:21:45 +0000

At first I believed and accepted the apology, but I just listened to the actual recording and don’t believe for one second that apology is sincere. He is sorry he got caught. Listen to the recording, he thought it was the funniest thing ever, and kept repeating it to get a laugh. You were at a MEDIA event, of course it would be reported. If that is your best behavior while speaking to the media, what is your worst? Get a clue, you have embarassed your school and your players. You are a joke, and probably only got caught because you were attempting to slur ND, who like them or not, cream of the crop.

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:34:56 +0000

That response seemed like a contrived public relations stunt.
Sure he made a mistake and apologized but come on, lets call it what it really is; a ploy so he can keep his job.

By: boomer

boomer — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 04:45:12 +0000

OK yar, you convinced me. Because of your brilliant blog post, I have decided to abstain from gay sex for life.

By: yar2009

yar2009 — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 03:24:31 +0000

The Coach, as he said, should not have used that expression. People ought not to be demeaned for any disability they might have. Homosexuality is such a disability and homosexuals should not be mocked. But homosexual behavior should not have society’s approval.

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:51:28 +0000

I find it interesting that Matt does not state in his e-mail his orientation. Those of us who read outsports may recognize your name, but I expect the coach didn’t. I think that A) there is no need to state one’s orientation, and B) I’m curious if that would have affected the answer. I expect not.