Even though the family involved in this instance might not have been offended, many parents of minority players would hesitate to entrust their son to this coach when he so flippantly uses this term. As a white person you would probably think twice to send your kid to play for a black coach who said a player was “one of the good whites.”

I don’t claim to know Cochell, I would probably like him, but then again I am white and there is nothing threatening to me in his statement. Bottom line is that he was employed by a public university and when his comments portray that institution as negatively as this one did he deserved to be fired.

I’ll go back to what I said before. Cochell was a hell of a coach. To be that, you have to identify with kids. I have no doubt that he had great relationships with those players and their families. But he didn’t use that word in discussing them. He used that word in discussing members of a subculture (your word). I still find that offensive and inexcusable.

And yes, I’d rather be told to eff off than hear a racial slur. One is personal; the other is categorical. I’d rather the people who insult me know me well enough to make it personal.

You’re twisting the comments around anyway. I never said the word wasn’t offensive to many people; it is. I don’t like to hear it, and I don’t say it - because I know what it means to most people. Most people are offended by the word, just like most people are offended by “Fuck off”.
Cochell admitted as much; that’s why he said it was a mistake to say that to them (the reporters he did not know).

Too many of you people (whiners & racists) have been brainwashed into playing everything into the race card. The man is not a racist; he doesn’t like people who sag & rap & jive & look like thugs - just like most people (white or black) in his generation. Do you think he would like coaching Eminem? No, b/c he dislikes the CULTURE, not the color.

Cochell tried to explain himself at the time, but it was too late –you people (whiners & racists, not blacks) had already blown it up and wanted him lynched.

The truth is, using the word around people he didn’t know wasn’t Cochell’s sin. Being surprised when a black man doesn’t “act black” shows ignorance and poor judgement. When you’ve shown that you’re the person who finds it remarkable, you don’t deserve a big paycheck from a university anymore.

It’s amazing to me that Cochell said what he said and the only black people involved (Dunnegin, his dad, and Chuckie and his dad) did not care and said publicly that the only problem they had with it was the flippant use of the word. Imagine that - the 4 black men who were actually part of the situation understood what he meant and know he’s not a racist. BUT…a bunch of white liberal pansies and militant racists (who have never talked to Cochell, the kids or parents) have a knee-jerk hissy fit over something run up the flagpole by a couple of 50-cent journalists (read: prostitutes).
It was stupid to use the word around people he didn’t know.