In the waning minutes of the Suns' 128-105 victory over Golden State last night, Phoenix's umpteenth man Pat Burke was on the floor guarding Ike Diogu. Burke's eyeball bumped into one of Diogu's dagger-elbows and much bloodiness ensued. The Phoenix fans (who had cheered every time Congressman Burke so much as touched the ball) booed with great emotion as the big man headed to the locker room, blood-drenched towel covering his face. Those watching from Golden State land were then accosted with the following remarks from the FSN Bay Area crew (Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett, I believe):
Pat Burke is Irish -- the Irish are tough. He's probably a rugby player. Stitches are no big deal for those guys.
No sympathy at all for my favorite white chocolate brotha! Imagine if the roles had been reversed and Diogu had been the hurt one. "Ike Diogu is Nigerian -- Nigerians are tough ... [insert your own Nigerian jokes here]."
As saddened as I was by the commentary, I was somewhat cheered up by the prospect of adding to my portfolio of NBA bleeders. Although the picture would have been more compelling if Baron Davis had been the one to take Burke down. Boom Dizzle played last night with both wrists taped, in what could only have been some kind of publicity tie-in for the Rocky Balboa movie. The Warriors will do anything for a buck.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Uh, Irish is not a race, but don't let that stop you from throwing some accusations around.
I can't believe they booed Ike Diougu in Phoenix, never thought I'd see this. Pat Burke is obviously blaming the jewish kid with the microphone that keeps hanging around the locker room.
Diogu's so not getting Burke's hair restoration formula!
and Nigerian IS a race Don? you missed the point.
i know pat and his family,his brother was my frat big brother [tke] and i got several points to make here. 1.pat and the irish in general are tougher than nails .adaptation to environment has that effect.2.a tougher sob than pat is his dad .one of the hardest working men ive ever seen.3 theyre toughness is outsized by thier kindness.so if these comments are infact true and pat and the fam arent offended why the hell should any one else.now on the flip. in general the same cant be said about the other race due to the stereotypes[untrue as they are]would make the commentators look like sarcastic racists.as an indian american [dotheads as some would use to describe]i see this as a good case of a pc double standard that renders the producers of said commentsNOT GUILTY
Um, Fitzgerald is Irish; the name kind of gives it away.
First and foremost, racial or ethnic stereotypes have different histories and cannot be judged in the same light. Racial stereotypes have had huge consequences for racial minorities (case in point, President Wilson found the film Birth of a Nation exemplary of how African Americans actually were and justified Jim Crow segregation in the South) in much different ways to say "tough Irish" or "fighting Irish," I don't think that connotes meanings of inferiority...Besides, people of color have endured tons of hardships, but you don't hear us being described in the similar language. Instead, you hear the same things being repeated over and over..
As far as the comment goes by Fitz, I don't think its a racist comment. I think what -- in part -- separates genearlization from something racist in whether there is some fort of advantage or disadvantage
Ike Diogu is a fine young man, extremely articulate and well-spoken. always has a smile on his face, is very close to his mother and gives back to his community---unlike those tough Irish guys!