Chris Bosh was asked about the NFL’s consideration to penalize and fine its players for saying the N-word on the field. When discussing the rule’s potential in the NBA, Bosh says all slurs should be banned. Per the Palm Beach Post:
”I’m OK with penalties, but then it gets tricky,” he said. “What if I say this? There’s a bunch of things I could say and not get a penalty. If you’re gonna bring one thing in, you gotta put them all in the hat. That’ll work out a lot better.”
In other words, a slur against African-Americans should not be treated differently than other slurs.
“If that’s the case they should ban all slur words,” he said.
“The arena of professional sports is highly, highly, highly emotional,” Shane Battier said. “There are a lot of things I’m ashamed I said, but I probably can’t say them in this interview. At the same time, we are a league that is in the public view and we sell ourselves as a family entertainment business. There are a lot of kids, and whether we like it or not, we are role models for millions of kids out there. To at least address the issue is responsible by the league.
“With basketball, we’ve tried to clean up the game with the respect for the game rules, the quick technicals for things that take away from basketball. I think language falls right in the code of conduct. It’s not a bad thing to address.”
“All of the sudden you’re asking our referees to be grammar judges when reffing an NBA basketball game is hard enough,” he said. “Ask any of them.”
