Andrew Shaw of the Chicago Blackhawks got a little miffed Tuesday night when a referee called a penalty on him and sent him to the box. Shaw clearly disagreed with the call and therefore felt the need to drop a homophobic slur or two on live television.
here is the stuff from the Blues broadcast pic.twitter.com/S5bGm4qVqP
— Stephanie (@myregularface) April 20, 2016
This is nothing new. When it comes to professional sports, racial and homophobic slurs are a common occurrence. They just aren't always caught live. But trying to fix the problem at the professional level is like putting a band-aid on a broken bone. Athletes who go through the high school and college ranks while immersed in this type of homophobic culture means the lack of awareness behind it only gets stronger. By the time they make it to the pros, that type of habitual language and attitude is solidified. And, quite frankly, hard to change.
In order to truly stop the slurs in sports, a culture change is needed at the earliest level.
Kids play sports. Adults who are parents and/or coaches are there, not only to teach kids the rules of the game, but also to help mold young minds. This a key element when it comes to sportsmanship and fairplay. It's also key when it comes to creating sports culture. Kids soak up everything at a young age. If they are taught -- whether by coaches, friends or parents -- that it's okay to use slurs during the heat of a game, then that is what they will absorb. And that's exactly what they will do.
Of course, a lot of kids learn this type of language on the playground and during pick-up street games. If there is no one there to say, "Hey--that's not cool. Don't use that word," then how will they know any better? Most of their friends are using the same language. And on one occasion or another, they might catch a glimpse of a professional athlete using that same exact language on TV and think, "Well, he said it."
I have two brothers. I grew up playing ball with them and their friends at the neighborhood playground, and playing tackle football in a dirt-grass field. Fights and scuffles would inevitably break out. I'd hear the word "faggot" quite regularly, along with a few other distasteful selections. But at the same time, it seemed perfectly normal. No one thought twice about it, even me. It was just the way boys interacted in sports. At least, that's what we all thought. That's what we learned, so that's what we emulated.
That's why the culture change needs to happen sooner. Way sooner. And it needs to happen now. Kids today should be well aware of what's acceptable language and what is not. It's 2016. There's no place for slurs in sports, at any level.