But..but...did they shake hands after

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Whitecaps+Nguyen+apologizes+homophobic+slur/6147165/story.html

woops?...

VANCOUVER — Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Lee Nguyen apologized Monday for using a homophobic slur in what was meant to be a humourous tweet to teammate Brad Knighton.

Nguyen called Knighton a “fagggggggg” on Twitter and followed that up with a tweet that said he was only joking.

“haha jk jk guyssss,” he tweeted. “#butthurt for sure. BFF for life.”

Many Twitter followers were outraged by the remarks – as were Whitecaps officials – and he quickly deleted the messages and offered a more sincere apology.

“Sorry guys if I offended anybody,” he tweeted. “It really wasn't meant in that way. Apologies to everyone who took offense. #oneLove”

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Whitecaps+Nguyen+apologizes+homophobic+slur/6147165/story.html#ixzz1mJxPCT5q

A fag in England still means cigarette

i think theres a southpark episode about this.....

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_F_Word_(South_Park)

*edited to let southpark be the offensive one...lol...

Either way, twitter messages as a public figure should always be screened before they hit enter! Had to learn the hard way :)

just as well he doesn't play for liverpool he'd have a 8 game ban now.

A lot of Englanders enjoy a fag once in a while. Some even do 20 a day.
Ask for a rubber in England sometime. You won't be putting in on :)

/sarc

Sweep it under the rug? I think you mean "acknowledge it and move on".

I don't think Nguyen had any malice/hatred in the use of the word. Sadly, it's a term that's thrown around constantly by the youngsters.

Rather than the club formally warning the players and issuing a short/terse press release, I think it would have been better if Nguyen became the club's ambassador against homophobia.

The way the club handled things, it sounds like they just want the matter to go away (but the problem hasn't been solved), and that they're too fearful of alienating "customers" to actively launch a campaign against homophobia. A tad disappointing. I expected a much more imaginative and legacy-creating solution to today's events.

"Sorry" and "Sorry - this club doesn't tolerate homophobia" are two very different things.

If clubs like St. Pauli can be openly against homophobia, why can't the Whitecaps? Is the club too corporate to take a stand?

piltdownman said: I for one think they did the right thing. Both the player and the club reacted swiftly, apologized and are moving on.

A lesson was learned by all the players, and it didn't drag out.

Bang on.

I would say the lesson is that homophobic remarks are offensive and not acceptable in our society even in cases where they are said jokingly and without malice.

Brenton said:

piltdownman said: A lesson was learned by all the players, and it didn't drag out.

VanCityVilla said: Exactly how I feel about the situation.

Montana said: Bang on.

What lesson did all the players learn? To not tweet homophobic remarks? Hardly an optimal outcome.

We (rightly) have limits on our freedom of speech, as shown here. To go further is to ask for limits on freedom of thought. Its not the club's job to make players (or fans or anyone else) good people. It is their job to keep expressions of opinion in line. That's not to say that it wouldn't be great if they did a soccer-against-homophobia night or somesuch, but that is going beyond their responsibility, not meeting it.

Blue_and_White_Army said: "Sorry" and "Sorry - this club doesn't tolerate homophobia" are two very different things.

If clubs like St. Pauli can be openly against homophobia, why can't the Whitecaps? Is the club too corporate to take a stand?

Wow. Now there is an overreaction.

He used an off colour common colloquialism in an public forum where he meant no ill will.

He didn't beat up a gay guy outside a bar. Why make it a bigger deal than it is?

piltdownman said: I would say the lesson is that homophobic remarks are offensive and not acceptable in our society even in cases where they are said jokingly and without malice.

That's gotta be the fastest life lesson ever learned.

Jim: "Hey, fuck off you fag"
Phil: "Don't say fag, it's offensive to gay people, and has been for about two decades now."
Jim: "Oh, sorry, #butthurt"
Phil: "Hey, no worries, lesson learned, I'm happy."

cixceven said: We (rightly) have limits on our freedom of speech, as shown here. To go further is to ask for limits on freedom of thought. Its not the club's job to make players (or fans or anyone else) good people. It is their job to keep expressions of opinion in line. That's not to say that it wouldn't be great if they did a soccer-against-homophobia night or somesuch, but that is going beyond their responsibility, not meeting it.

I'm not sure that I suggested the club needs to do or say anything more than it did.

Brenton said:

Lord_Bob said: So are you saying that the evidence suggests Lee Nguyen hates gay people? Or that there's some serious problem besides using a bad work in a friendly context with a teammate?

I'm saying nothing of the sort. Read into what I wrote whatever you want, I suppose.

It was a genuine question. When you said that Nguyen not Tweeting such things in the future is "not an optimal outcome", I was wondering if you were saying something more serious was at work here.

My immediate reaction when I saw Nguyen's apology was "yes, you're sorry you offended people, but do you actually understand why people were offended?" I'm not convinced he does, but I wouldn't label him a homophobe. In any event, this was basically my first impression of him, and it wasn't positive. Disappointing.

I have a problem when people say, "But I/he/she didn't mean it that way." How many ways are there to mean it? If you take a word that is a label for a person or group, and use it in a derogatory fashion, you are showing hate towards that group.

Just because something is commonly used doesn't make it ok, times change. It used to be common to slap your wife and kids around to get them to tow the line, or use racist terms, times have moved on.

EDIT: which is not to say I think he's a homophobe, he obviously didn't know any better.

morbital said: So the next time a player swears will there be this reaction? How about the next time a player uses the lords name in vain and offends Christians... I highly doubt anyone will care at the F.O. The player made an off-colour joke and were meant to believe its a hate crime, pathetic... over-reaction to an innocent mistake IMO

No one is saying he should be fined/cut/drawn and quartered, but it is a little more than an off colour joke or swear word. It's passive aggressive gay bashing, and it's fair to want to explain WHY what he said was wrong, rather than just swipe it under the carpet. It's like saying ridiculous instead of retarded- if there is an identifiable group that can be offended, you shouldn't use that term to tease someone, particularly if you're a recognizable personality in a public forum.

And using the lords name in vain isn't a passive aggressive way of disrespecting Christians and their values? It's the same thing, it's just we live in a society that is sooooo obsessed with being PC but fail to apply it to everything equally. It offends me when people say "Jesus Christ" for example when they are reacting to something, I will often add "loves you" to jolt them back to reality. They do not intend to offend, it bothers me, but I know that it was an innocent mistake on their part. And that's just it, an innocent mistake. Why do we need to have press releases for it, a discussion topic, etc, etc. Because we live in a society that cant breathe without offending someone and were scared shitless of being offensive. I say its high time everyone just grew up a little bit, it wasn't homophobic, it was what he grew up with, right or wrong, so lets cut him a little slack.

One other thing, and I don't want to get into a long drawn out moral debate, but I believe homosexuality is wrong, among many other sins. This is my right, it's written in my bible. I have been labled a homophobe because of it, which in itself is demeaning to my beliefs. This is the society we live in though, where any thought of being in disagreement with homosexuality is unfathomable to many. It's funny how much we promote free speech and free religion, and freedom of ideas, equality, etc. yet when someone has a differing opinion, they're a "homophobe" or a "bigot"

I accept homosexuality, it's written in Canadian law. case closed. It doesnt mean I'm required to agree with it though, and that's where the message is missed among the proponents of political correctness.

Food for thought

You have a point.. I hear ya & agree. Nyugen just slipped and made a mistake and shouldn't have said it. I dont think he needs to be considered a bigot.. Thats a bit extreme.

Im against hate speech of any kind or discrimination,.. but I do agree with you that we aren't all required to agree with it. That is not being a bigot. Its a right as a Canadian citizen as long as you're not promoting hate speech or discrimination.

Anyways,.. I thought this forum was for football...

morbital said: One other thing, and I don't want to get into a long drawn out moral debate, but I believe homosexuality is wrong, among many other sins. This is my right, it's written in my bible. I have been labled a homophobe because of it, which in itself is demeaning to my beliefs. This is the society we live in though, where any thought of being in disagreement with homosexuality is unfathomable to many. It's funny how much we promote free speech and free religion, and freedom of ideas, equality, etc. yet when someone has a differing opinion, they're a "homophobe" or a "bigot"

I accept homosexuality, it's written in Canadian law. case closed. It doesnt mean I'm required to agree with it though, and that's where the message is missed among the proponents of political correctness.

Food for thought