Hawaii Fag-O

University of Hawaii football coach, Greg McMackin, fumbled on Thursday when he described the Notre Dame football players engaging in a “little faggot dance” the night before Notre Dame demolished Hawaii last December in the Hawaii Bowl.

The Hawaii athletic department is no stranger to controversy. In 2000, some of the athletic teams dropped the team "Rainbow Warriors" to simply "Warriors." GLBT groups complained that the athletic department was doing this in response to homophobic remarks players were receiving when traveling. At the time, it was agreed that members of the athletic department would engage in sensitivity training and other programs intended to increase awareness about GLBT issues.

Given the latest situation, it would seem that another round of trainings might be necessary. Coach McMackin has been "suspended" without pay for 30 days and has voluntarily taken a pay cut. In addition, he will work with local GLBT organizations to educate others on GLBT issues. Full details can be seen here.

The NCAA currently has inclusivity statements that member organizations ascribe to, but has no real power to enforce other than support and guidance. It will be interesting to see if the NCAA has any reaction to this, given that it recently hosted a conference on how to support GLBT athletes and issues.

What do you all think? Was the punishment enough or has the gay community overreacted?
 

Comments

[JD]

I think the punishment fits the crime. But.....I think the NCAA needs to ban this "HAKA" dance. BYU does it each game and Hawaii followed. It has nothing to do with playing a football game, and is simply a dumb ritual. In the MWC,all games that BYU plays in, a fight breaks out before kick off as the opposing teams try to stop the ridiculous dance. It needs to be banned.