At the Houston Dynamo’s game at Robertson Stadium on Sunday, D.C. United goalkeeper Louis Crayton was the victim of racist remarks directed toward him by a Houston fan. Robertson Stadium officials have banned the unidentified fan from Dynamo games indefinitely and Major League Soccer may take further action.
Racism has no place in any sport or any facet of society. To insult a player’s nationality, race, religion or sexual orientation goes beyond a cheap shot.
This is the same kind of ignorance displayed by former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker, who insulted immigrants, single mothers, minorities and gays in a Sports Illustrated interview in 1999. Freedom of speech is one thing, but hate speech is another, and people like Rocker and the aforementioned Dynamo fan should keep their bigoted views to themselves.
Preseason Blues
NBA commissioner David Stern announced Monday the league will lay off 9 percent of its workforce. Stern predicts ticket sales will be down because of the economic situation. However, an easy solution would be to mandate team owners to lower ticket prices and make games affordable for everybody.
Captain Canuck
The Vancouver Canucks recently went against tradition and named goaltender, Roberto Luongo, the new team captain. The NHL is generally against having the goaltenders wear the "C," but the Canucks went against the grain.
The gesture has to be an effort to keep Luongo in Vancouver orchestrated by the management, which has watched the team decline and also let Markus Naslund walk away during free agency. The Canucks will have three assistant captains – blossoming forward Ryan Kesler and defensemen Willie Mitchell and Mattias Ohlund – to assist Luongo in leadership.
Hockey mom
Gov. Sarah Palin, the vice-presidential nominee for the Republican Party, dropped the ceremonial puck Saturday in Philadelphia for the Flyers game against the New York Rangers. Flyers central executive officer Ed Snider invited Palin to pay homage to hockey moms across the country. While the gesture seems cute, Snider, a long-time Republic supporter, had to have a political agenda behind the PR stunt.
