FOX SPORTS SENDS CLIPPERS’ ANNOUNCERS TO THE BENCH
During a time of heightened sensitivity as President Obama presses the Iranians to come clean on their nuclear program, two Clippers broadcasters were suspended for a controversial telecast. The suspension was the result of on-air remarks made about Memphis center Hamed Haddadi; the first Iranian to play in the NBA.
I know what you’re thinking, if a tree falls in a forest and nobody hears it, did it actually make a sound? Well, apparently it does. Arya Towfighi, a Clippers season-ticket holder of Iranian decent, is not happy with the Clippers broadcasting duo of Ralph Lawler and Michael Smith. Towfighi filed a complaint with Fox Sports.
Not a shining moment from Lawler and Smith, no question about that. Lawler is one of the most respected play-by-play men in the NBA and hasn’t missed a broadcast in 25 years.
In response, the Clippers are planning an “Iranian Heritage Day” for their home game against the Memphis Grizzlies. They will be selling discounted tickets and featuring performances by the Persian dance academy.
This is a great PR move by an organization that has recently received negative press for discriminating against minorities. Owner Donald Sterling recently agreed to pay nearly $3 million in a settlement for a lawsuit brought against the real estate tycoon for discriminatory practices towards Black, Latinos and families with children at various apartments that Sterling owns in the Los Angeles area.
My question to PR people and sports fan is, how does the NBA draw the line between colourful commentary and offensive racial stereotyping?
December 14, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Unbelievable, good information, without this I wouldn’t of known. Crazy.
December 14, 2009 at 2:23 pm
That is disgusting. All it shows is the ignorance and blatant racism that is rampant in the United States of America on a subconscious level. I am glad that these two actually said what they said on air; as it brings into the open the groundwater racism that minorities are subject to everyday in the USA.
These idiots don’t even know that Borat is not from the middle east, but from Kazakhstan, an ex-soviet state. Whats even more depressing is that other than Iranians, no one else seems to care – these two are just making fun of it more than anything else.
Disgusting. ‘Iranian Heritage Day’ won’t fix the fact that millions of NBA viewers and now non-NBA viewers were exposed to such a thought process.
Imagine if this had happened in Iran, I bet diplomats would’ve been summoned and people expelled. Ridiculous.
December 14, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Comments of such disregard bare a lot of weight as they do not always reflect the thoughts of the masses. Such individuals should receive much harsher punishments and should open their eyes to the real world!! While some players get praised and are held in high regard amongst their respective nations [ie. Yao Ming or even players who came over from the french leagues], others become scrutinized for their countries’ politics and affairs.
December 14, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I’m quite surprised that in this day and age this narrow mindedness is still prominent, especially in areas of professional sports, where different ethnicities are always prevalent. It’s very insensitive, and ignorant that sports broadcasters, regardless of their heritage to the field, or years of commentators would think that such a comment is alright. I agree that the Iranian community has reason to be upset; as I am sure any other race would be as well. Comments like that are completely inappropriate and show that these guys need to get out of the game, if they’re not up with the times. Especially, for this player since he is the only Iranian player in the NBA I’m sure he has his own pressures to deal with on and off the field, so to make fun and single out his ethnicity is very insensitive and shows no tact. Sadly, I’m not really surprised since we are dealing with Fox News. I think the PRs are doing a good job to try and recover the situation, but I think that there is a line between colourful commentary and racial stereotyping, and those commentators hurdled over it.
December 14, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Yes, these comments were offensive—especially the comment regarding Borat’s “older brother.” In some ways, I am almost more embarrassed for them than offended by their witless remarks.
However, I do not think it is fair to paint all Americans with the same brush as AwsumPowers does. There are many well-educated and culturally sensitive Americans who would be ashamed by these comments. Unfortunately, the stereotype of the “ugly American” is hard to overcome when comments like these are made so publicly.
As for the PR aspect, I think it is hard for PR specialists to completely prevent these types of incidents. The important thing is to have a relevant crisis-response plan in place, and it appears that the Clippers have acted swiftly in this regard.
Thanks for the post! I will be sharing it with others!
December 14, 2009 at 8:09 pm
you’re right. It’s not appropriate for people to paint the picture that all Americans feel this way. However, I do feel the NBA should be more proactive in showing that racist comments are not tolerated.
When I was researching to write this post, I spent a lot of time reading comments on various blogs. The general consensus in the blogosphere is that these broadcasters were unfairly suspended and these comments were “no big deal”. People didn’t see the problem with these comments. Actually in some cases there was a lot of hate against Iranians in general.
I’m not saying the NBA didn’t do an effective job in handling the situation. They were quick and developed an appropriate tactic to illustrate they are taking this issue seriously. However, I also think this situation presents a good opportunity for the NBA to take more of a stand against discrimination, especially since they have been criticized in the media recently for similar acts.
December 14, 2009 at 11:54 pm
I think in the moment the comments were most part harmless, but probably the biggest problem is the ignorance behind them. When you dont know anything about others, nor make the effort to know them it makes it so much easier to not empathize with those different than you, which is the real danger as it opens up the road to racism and stereotypes.
December 15, 2009 at 1:52 am
I remember hearing about this when it first happened. I sent out a tweet about it to try to spread the news around to people I know. These two broadcasters are human, and as such, they let their true bias come out. We all remember Don Imus’ “nappy-headed hoes” comment about the predominantly black Rutger’s women’s basketball team. Sometime people just do not know where to draw the line, espically in public. Regardless of how they actually feel (racist or not), discussing this publicly is not acceptable at all. It must be kept in mind that they are protected under the first amendment in the United States, but does this cross the threshold into hate speech? Even a first amendment right doesn’t allow them to publicly voice these views while they are on air representing an organization. “Iranian Heritage Day” is a good attempt by the organization to do some damage control on this issue. It is not going to solve the problem, but it is a step in the right direction.