http://www.nba.com/2009/news/11/20/clippers.suspensions/

WTF!?!?!?!? Is this country sooooo freakin’ shackled by political incorrectness? I find nothing wrong with that exchange! Granted I’m not Iranian, but anyone who follows these Clippers know they don’t mean anything mean-spirited about this!!! This country bowing down to political incorrectness is getting ridiculous and if this bleeds into sports, then someone is REALLY gonna get ticked off!!!!

Its not like they said anything that is really denegrading (like what Don Imus said with the women basketball team). One guy complained and this happens….

FREAKIN’ EH!!!!

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/2009/11/ralph_lawler_mike_smith_suspen.html

Seriously…everyone IN AMERICA pronounces Iran and Eye-ran…….foreigners and immigrants and all. This is not worth getting suspended for! Apology yes….but suspension???? Seriously!!!

One guy complains and it ruins everything for everyone else!

…heck, they don’t even show freakin’ Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes cartoons anymore!!!!

But in all seriousness, an apology is fine…suspension is ridiculous. Its like the network BOWING to political correctness!

Sports is the only A-Political venue out there….and it will definitely pi$$$$ me off if all of a sudden broadcasters are put on a leash in case they slip and say something inappropriate. I understand if a comment is insensitive like Don Imus, but WTF is wrong with what Lawyer/Smith said? Maybe they should have said EEEEEEEEEEEE-RUN!

maybe I"m going a bit overboard….but I am really mad about this. I have a lot of persian friends, indian friends, mexican friends, asians, blacks, etc. I’m sure even they will agree with me!

Seriously. Better they just don’t all.

I heard once that Lawler pronounced Missouri, rather than Mizz-ur-ah. I think he should be suspended.

everybody knows Ralph and Mike are two of the nicest people on the planet. that rat deserves to be stoned to death. fuc$in gay shit.

Yeah, the suspension looks silly and unnecessary, but it makes a nice statement. It shows that Milph are a classy pair, who can admit mistakes and don’t intend to be ignorant or prejudiced. It makes the apology a little more meaningful and sincere. Why not take the high road?

The exchange, when I heard it, was odd. It wasn’t offensive at first, and seemed like just another routine mispronunciation, and as others above have said, it’s a fairly common and relatively inoffensive and inconsequential mistake. But part two, with Ralph suggesting ironically that “Persians can’t ball” (credit to Polish Rifle) and MS playing the Borat card, was an unfortunate misstep and worthy of the mild censure that occurred. It just wasn’t appropriate humor for a broadcast. Best to apologize, take the hit, and move on. Why fight for the privilege of making minor mistakes, and ones that are made out of ignorance? Milph are the kind of guys who seem to learn from their foibles and they wouldn’t do the same thing again after getting the information. They wouldn’t react to the appearance on the floor of a player, especially one who is a pioneering international player in the league, with the same time of humor. They’re respectful in the right situations.

Another issue is the Persian population in LA and DTSterling’s home base of Beverly Hills. This is where it gets strange, of course, because DTS is so horrifying. But he gets millions of dollars from Persian tenants, some of whom might have been watching the game not because they’re Clipper fans, but because they’re basketball fans and excited about Hadadi’s career (is that his name? I haven’t looked it up again—interesting how it hasn’t been mentioned so far in this thread). Persians, I assume, are valued customers of DTS, and his blatant and gruesome racism probably doesn’t apply to them. At any rate, it seems best for Milph to stay away from any association with DTS racism.

And what about the difference between Fox Sports and Faux News? That seems fairly amusing, I must say.

This is all an unfortunate circumstance. SP is probably going to have to move in and lay out the boundaries for the discussion somehow, and we’ll all move on soon enough.