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Phil Jackson (ahem)
'gets his ass handed to him'
By
Cyd Zeigler jr.
Outsports.com
In the
latest example that the collective "gay community" has
completely lost its sense of humor, Lakers coach Phil Jackson is
being called on the carpet for an hysterical comment he made
after his team got beaten by the San Antonio Spurs, 107-92. The
Spurs had hit 13 three-pointers, and Jackson was asked if the
Spurs' penetration was leading to their open outside shots.
Jackson
replied: "We call this a Brokeback Mountain game, because
there's so much penetration and kickouts."
I don’t know
about the kickouts part, but it’s funny, right? Something you’d
hear just about any gay guy say, yeah? Substitute Brokeback
for American Pie 3 and it’s the same joke? Not so fast,
says some of the gay powers-that-be.
“Phil
Jackson’s been coaching long enough that he should be able to
talk about the Lakers’ performance without resorting to cheap
gay jokes,”
GLAAD President Neil Giuliano said in a statement.
Knowing GLAAD
and other gay activists would start lining up to take shots at
Jackson, the Lakers and the NBA, the Association quickly slapped
Jackson on the wrist. "The remarks are in poor taste, and the
Lakers have assured us such remarks will not occur in the
future," league spokesman Brian McIntyre said.
Why is it in
poor taste? Because some gay people have lost their sense of
humor? I can assure them that many of us have not. The joke
wasn’t cheap or in poor taste, it was hysterical! I laughed out
loud when I first read it. When I read the Jackson quote to Jim
Buzinski, the other half of Outsports, he laughed too and said
it wasn’t offensive.
The worst
part about what will now become a saga isn’t Jackson’s joke,
it’s the reaction some gays are putting out there to it. What
that reaction is generating is negative feelings from straight
people who have heard jokes about their sex lives for their
entire adult life and are wondering why some gay people, who say
they want “equality,” are getting their panties in a bunch:
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From a
blog called, “The
Finish Line”: If gay people want equal rights and all
the things it entails, all the things that I am in full
favor of them having, and if they are trying to convince the
world that gay people are exactly the same as straight
people, maybe they should learn to take a joke like a
straight person.
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From the
blog “From
First 2 Third”: I would have made the same comment had
my team let Cal State Fullerton alum Bruce Bowen hit six
3-pointers against them. How does that guy outscore Kobe
Bryant?”
Too many gay
people seem to want to have it both ways. They wanted
Brokeback Mountain recognized by straight people as a
mainstream film whose audience wasn’t just defined by its sexual
orientation. They want to be treated just like straight people.
And that’s exactly what Jackson did; he treated the one-time
Best Picture front-runner as any other subject. Sexual double
entendres are cleverly thrown around sports, and in particular
the locker room (where Jackson was interviewed) all the time.
This wasn’t a “gay” joke, it was a “sex” joke. That a man of
Jackson’s caliber, who’s won more NBA titles than everyone but
the great Red Auerbach, would use that isn’t insulting or
offensive, it’s rewarding and reflective of the hard work GLAAD
and others have done to bring gay people to an equal playing
field. He could have just as easily said there was as much
penetration as a “Ron Jeremy movie,” but he used a gay movie
instead. That’s progress.
I suppose
next we’ll get gay people releasing angry statements because
people in sports use terms like, “he got his ass handed to him,”
or, “did you see him blow his coverage?” And let’s not even get
into the idea of “hitting his tight end in the hole.”
This wasn’t
Jeremy Shockey saying he wouldn’t play on a team with a gay
person. This wasn’t Tim Hardaway saying he hates gays. This was
one of the most decorated coaches in the history of professional
sports making a funny, witty, joke. And I’m glad he did.
The reaction
reminds me of a story I learned when I was a kid about a young
boy who kept yelling “wolf” . . . .
It was a
great comment by Jackson. Witty, poignant, descriptive, and
gay-inclusive. Hopefully more gays will stop over-reacting to
funny comments like this, because I don’t want to see the
fall-out when Bill Belichick starts talking about going all
“Starbooty” on the Steelers.
At least
Jackson has a sense of humor and handled his apology in kind. As
he said Wednesday night before the Lakers game against the
Rockets: “If
I’ve offended any horses, Texans, cowboys or gays, I apologize.”
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Nov. 15, 2007
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