After scoring a crucial touchdown in an NFL game, an African-American player runs to the end zone to celebrate with his teammates. Another African-American player approaches him in excitement and says “My nigga!” That player is penalized with 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for saying the n-word.
This hypothetical scenario could become a reality with the proposition of a new rule that attempts to ban the n-word from the football field. But what is so unsportsmanlike about congratulating your teammate for making a winning play? The NFL would penalize a player for being in the moment and expressing his emotion for the game he is passionate about.
The Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation, an alliance with the NFL, proposed a new rule that would penalize a player 15 yards if he says the n-word on the field. “To use it so loosely is a disgrace,” the Alliance said in a news release.
The Fritz Pollard Alliance’s mission is to work with the NFL to promote a more diverse and inclusive league, according to the foundation’s website,
But for this rule to be effective, other things must be done first. The NFL must take a look at itself and set an example for the players, including mandating a name change for the Washington Redskins.
Redskin is a derogatory term toward Native Americans intended to designate ethnic groups based on skin color. So if the NFL wants players to stop using a racial slur, the league must first eliminate its own terms of discrimination.
If the rule attempts to eliminate one racial slur, whether used as a term of endearment or bigotry, it should be written to include all racial slurs and derogatory terms that discriminate players because of race, religion and sexual orientation.
It’s not right that a player could be penalized for saying “nigga” but can still call another player a “coon” or a “faggot.”
While the rule is a positive step in the right direction to promote diversity in the league, the NFL also needs to realize the difficulty it will face trying to eliminate the n-word from players’ vocabularies.
The majority of players in the NFL are African-American, and the reality is the n-word is cultural. Whether a player says it or not, he will not be able to avoid a word deeply rooted in his own culture. It seems like a waste to try to regulate a word that is probably said or heard every day by players.
The n-word has evolved into a casual word that rolls off the tongue more easily than it should. From a player calling his teammate “my nigga” after a good play to calling someone he doesn’t like “a nigga,” or sitting in the locker room listening to music, Biggie Smalls saying the n-word every 10 seconds, this word is part of our generation’s vocabulary, and a 15-yard penalty will not change a generation as easily as the NFL thinks.
And the n-word isn’t only said by African-Americans. I’ve heard people of all races use the term in many different contexts. Admittedly, I say the word, and while it’s not particularly eloquent, I recognize the place and context in which I use it and I know it’s not appropriate all the time. I’m sure other African-Americans can attest to that.
Whether I choose to use it does not negate the fact that it is nearly impossible to avoid daily.
So the NFL has a long road ahead if it believes it can regulate something that is nearly impossible to avoid. The best way for the the NFL to achieve its goal is to ingrain in players’ heads for them to hold one another accountable for what they say on the field. When a teammate calls another out on conduct, it will have a greater effect than the authority figure invoking a penalty.
Aside from the refining that needs to happen to this rule, penalizing a player for his language seems difficult to enforce.
The referee already has the difficult task of regulating gameplay. They have a lot to focus on regulating 22 grown men and a sideline full of people with thousands of screaming fans in the background. They will not be able to catch what every player says.
However unrealistic the expectations, the NFL is getting at something good. But for it to work, they must hold themselves to the same standard as the players.
I commend the NFL for taking a stance on race relations, an issue that has followed Americans for centuries. Despite the impractical nature of enforcing the rule, the league needs to realize it will take more than a 15-yard penalty to achieve a more equal and diverse organization.
Diversity takes time.
Camille Stelly is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from New Orleans.