On Friday night, Houston Dynamo footballer Colin Clark hurled a gay slur at a young ball boy who failed to hurl him the ball. A mic picked up the incident, in which Clark calls the bumbling kid a “f**king’ faggot.”
Clark was quick to tweet his a “sincere apology” once the bullying incident hit the internet: “I’m very sorry for my actions tonight and I would love for you to consider me a #soccerally moving forward.”
The league’s governing org, Major League Soccer, is considering fining Clark.
“We are aware of the incident involving Houston Dynamo midfielder Colin Clark during the game in Seattle Friday night, and his public apology for it,” MLS said in a statement to The Houston Chronicle. “MLS is conducting a thorough review of the facts and examining possible disciplinary action.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Here’s an idea: instead of fining Clark, how about they dock his pay the amount of the fine, and give it to the HRC or GLAAD or the Ali Forney Center? Or make him compete in a stripping competition for charity like a real “#soccerally”—he is pretty cute, after all.
Thanks to the fine creators of Bully, premiering this Friday in select theaters
Photo via Twitter, Houston Dynamos
Stephen
Funny thing is the gay face this guy has is through the roof.
michael
Is this before or after he checked out the ball boy’s ass. The guy looks like a total f#cking f@ggot.
Caleb
Why am I not surprised? Yet another sports star yells a homophobic remark. Let me guess, there will be the Twitter apology, followed by the apology on the star’s personal website, an apology on the team website, a nominal fine by the league with it all ending with a public apology by the sports star to the ball boy on the Today Show. In the meantime, there will be a lot of wasted man-hours of people commenting about this type of incident on various websites like this one.
It’s all to f’ing predictable and sad at the same time because homophobia in sports will NOT change unless a major sports star comes out WHILE he is an active, relevant player. Are you listening to me Tim Tebow???
MEJ
Why doesn’t he publicly apologize to the kid, the way he publicly hurled an anti-gay slur at him?
meh
I like how easy it is for people to yell out “faggot” and then run to twitter begging forgivness. Ally my ass, fucker wouldn’t have yelled it out if he was a real ally.
Ps being pretty doesn’t excuse him for being a dick 😉
Torrie
Damn, he IS cute!! *googles*
pedro
Anyone who gets upset over athletes in the heat of play cussing or saying faggot doesn’t play sports and doesn’t understand the rush of adrenaline and testosterone involved…get over it people!
NateB79
What I love is the “that’s not who I am” spiel. I got some bad news for you sunshine. If you’ll scream slurs at someone just because your’re angry, it’s already in you. You’ve just been better at hiding it up to this point. It doesn’t just come out of nowhere. If it isn’t a word that you use, then it’s not going to be the one that flies out when you’re pissed.
pedro
Anyone who gets upset over an athlete, yelling “f**king fa**ot” in the heat of the game, with heightened levels of adrenaline and testosterone in play, has never played team sports…No amount of fines will stop this behavior, because it isn’t done after much forethought, it’s done in the heat of battle, as it were, get over it!
NateB79
@pedro: Not a bigger load of bullshit was said on the internet. The whole lot of it. Testosterone and adrenaline are not excuses to use hate speech. Ever. I have played on team sports and been involved in them and this is not universal behavior. This is people using the word faggot to emasculate and belittle people as an intimidation move.
SteveC
Pedro – double standards much?
If this player was caught calling a ballboy a ‘f***ing n***er’ he would be sacked.
Immediately.
pedro
@SteveC: I think that would be different. In sports it’s all about strength and being masculine, calling someone a f**king fa**ot in this context is basically calling them weak…There are many black stereotypes, but certainly no one associates black with being physically weak or unathletic…So calling the ball boy a f**king ni**er wouldn’t make any sense other than base racism.
Shannon1981
@pedro: Slurs are an unacceptable form of the expression of frustration in the public sphere.
Not buying this bigoted fucker’s “apology” either.
DAZ
@pedro: If that is what he meant then he should have called him a f**king weakling instead.
Matt
Of course the video would be taken down.
pedro
@DAZ: Ummm…these are athletes, “weakling” isn’t exactly a word in their regular vocabulary…again we’re talking in the heat of the moment here…there are things to be outraged about, this isn’t one of those things…Imho.
michael
Pedro, Wtf kind of crap is that? We should just get over it? Go ahead till and bend over all you want. The rest have already have the balls to do otherwise.
michael
Roll and bend…
JayKay
@Shannon1981:
“Slurs are an unacceptable form of the expression of frustration in the public sphere.”
Only if you’re a whiny, hyper-sensitive liberal snowflake with feelings as fragile as tissue paper who can’t differentiate between something said with genuine malice and something said in the heat of the moment…
Kev C
It’s always the ones trying their hardest to be straight. Video is down.
JayKay
In this context “fucking faggot” carries about as much weight as “you silly goose.”
Get over it you queens.
Rockery
@JayKay:
Is that all it takes to excuse slurs now? It was the “heat of the moment”
I think I’ll use that in the future
Belize
@DAZ @Shannon1981 and @SteveC – I understand where you guys are coming from. But you have to understand that considering the current milieu in the US and in the world, we are not in a time when the word “faggot” is considered as offensive as “nigger.” What I’m trying to say is that there are genuinely people out there who don’t necessarily understand the gravity of that word. That said, there may also be some people who say it without the mindset that being gay, in the strictest sense, is a bad thing. Some people just grew up hearing it and having it embedded in their system–especially those who grew up in the world of sports where there has been a history (hopefully not a sustained one) of sexism (not entirely homophobia.) The word “faggot,” speaking from experience in the world of sports, appears to lean more toward the things that @pedro mentioned other than outright, undeniable homophobia.
I’m not condoning the use of it. Nor am I saying that this person’s apology may be 100 percent true. What I am saying is that there may be some truth to what @pedro was saying. Hopefully, it is something that can be abolished in time. Nevertheless, I highly doubt that our community being excessively vindictive over something like this will not yield good results if we are trying to bridge the gap.
Oh and @DAZ… to be honest, the word “weakling” is not as aurally intense harsh as “faggot” given the “ea” vowels followed by less imposing sounding consonants. Theoretically, that’s the reason as to why you would be hard pressed to find someone who would use “weakling” as an insult in a world as “rough” as sports. A little time playing contact sports would yield this sort of epiphany, I reckon. It’s all terse and rugged in those parts.
Belize
@JayKay: Whiny? Oh you mean someone who knows the constitution well enough to make use of his rights as supposed to someone who just takes things just because that’s “the way things are.” You think you’re being macho just because you’re willing to let certain things slide? Grow some balls, you boring, conservative, I’ll-take-what-I-can-get bitch! Oh I’m sorry. That was rather insensitive. I don’t know what came over me. I guess I just got caught in the “heat of the moment.”
GreatGatsby2011
@pedro: F#cking moron, f#cking loser, f#cking dumb@ss… all of these would have been acceptable “heat of the moment” things for this man to have said and would have been within the extremely limited vocabulary you seem to think athletes have. You are right about one thing though, fines won’t stop behavior like this. Only when homosexuality is longer equated with weakness will this behavior cease. What’s going to help distance the homosexual community the idea of “weakness”? It’s certainly not gay people saying garbage like, “Oh dearie me, that gentleman called that other gentleman a f@ggot. But… it’s okay because he’s not saying that gentleman IS a gay man, he’s just saying that this gentleman is weak and pathetic LIKE a gay man. That’s okay right?” Sorry equating homosexuality to weakness is just as prejudice as equating blacks with agression, latinos with laziness, and asians with bad driving. It’s all garbage, whether it’s said in the heat of the moment or written into a well thought-out speech. Is he deserving of the same vitriol that we save for the likes of Santorum who willfully work to remove our rights? Absolutely not. But was what he said acceptable in a civilized society? Absolutely not, and he should be called on it.
Sabatghzl1098
Ah, soccer in the USA. So insignificant…
Danny
He’s a bigot. No excuse works. Also, he comes across like a closet case who probably thought it was okay to say in the heat of the moment because his self loathing ass says it to himself every time he looks in the mirror. He has no respect for himself why would he have it for others?
Emerald Queen
Sabatghzl1098 said “Ah, soccer in the USA. So insignificant…”
@Sabatghzl1098
So insignificant that 38,000 show up every week in Seattle, you know where incident involving the Seattle ball boy discussed in the story above happened and where it lead all 4 local newscasts after it occurred.
pedro
@GreatGatsby2011: Latinos are stereotypically lazy…Never in my life have I heard that one…Is that a new stereotype?
phil
“Or make him compete in a stripping competition for charity like a real “#soccerally”—he is pretty cute, after all.”
This flippant last sentence completely undermines the rest of the article (and by extension everyone associated with queerty.com), since it (however jokingly) makes light of Clark’s homophobia because he is physically attractive.
Sam
Pedro is being a troll. Anyone who follows soccer knows racial slurs are prevalent in international soccer & gets suspensions & fines–not just apologies. See Luis Sanchez Liverpool fined 62,000 & suspended. All things being equal, which they aren’t, this guy should be fined as well.
GreatGatsby2011
@pedro: I’ve heard it growing up so it’s definitely not new, however it may be regional (I was in Southern California at the time). If you Google “lazy mexican stereotype” you’ll find quite a few hits. I would hazard a guess that it’s based on a misconception of the “siesta”. But that’s just a guess, I don’t really understand the logic behind most stereotypes.
Sam
And he should get suspended as well. That’s the better punishment because players really don’t like to sit out games.
pedro
@Sam: Umm…I’m sure I know a whole lot more about soccer than you do…European soccer isn’t comparable to the U.S soccer league…I would hardly compare calling a ball boy, who fucked up, a f**king f**got to throwing bananas on the field of play towards black players or putting on black face and afros to mock black players…get a grip!
JayKay
@GreatGatsby2011:
Maybe if leftist gays would stop behaving like sensitive little girls, sobbing, crying and demanding vengeance over a harmless insult said in the heat of the moment, fewer people would equate homosexuality with weakness…
Kyle
@pedro: Pedro, why don’t you just admit that gay people are not the same as black people. That gay is not a race. You are desperate to. Be honest.
pedro
@Kyle: Why would I be afraid to state the obvious? Gay is not the same as black…There I said it. What’s your point exactly?
GreatGatsby2011
@JayKay: It seems unlikely the stereotype of “weakness” in homosexuals is attributed to the LGBT community whining about a “harmless insult” (otherwise known as a slur) seeing as how homosexuals were stereotypically weak generations prior to us having enough of a political voice TO “whine”. My best guess is it has something to do with bottoms putting themselves in such a vulnerable (or “weak”) position sexually. Or perhaps it’s because of the LGBT ancestor’s willingness to hide in the shadows of society because the all-mighty church labeled them abominations. But, like I said with pedro, I am just hazarding a guess.
Sam
Pedro –troll behavior continues. You were excusing players for yelling slurs because they’re in heightened levels of testosterone. Saying fines won’t stop behavior. It seems to work perfectly well for nba stars like Kobe & Joakim. You take a stand fine their butts & if they do it again, fine them more. Then they’ll find something else to yell out when they’re under the influence of heightened testosterone levels.
Kyle
@pedro: Thanks for proving my point.
Kyle
@pedro: Don’t equate your sin with my skin!
pedro
@Sam: I never said these guys shouldn’t be fined. I simply stated that I don’t think a fine would stop the practice of “fa**ot” being used as a synonym for weak, nor am I personally offended by athletes, in the heat of a game, using the word in that context! As someone who played football in Highschool, I’d be rich if I got a dollar everytime the word fa**ot was said, in the locker-room, on the football field, on the team bus, at team victory parties, etc…That is sports culture, male athletes use the word constantly, they also use a lot of other un-pc terms…This isn’t going to change.
pedro
@Kyle: You’re not very articulate…
Shannon1981
@JayKay: No, it is people standing up for the fact that bigotry is unacceptable.
pedro
@Palto: How much are you willing to pay me…I’m Latino, but I’m not an illegal immigrant (American born and bred), so you’ll have to do better than slave wages…By the way if that was meant as an insult, it’s not working…I find the stereotype of hard-working immigrant to be one I’d wear proudly…There are worse stereotypes…exploitative gringo willing to exploit Mexico’s desperate poor…now that’s one I’d be ashamed of.
Aric
He apologized for one reason: To lesson disciplinary action.
JayKay
@Shannon1981:
Except there’s no bigotry here, so this is just a bunch of over-sensitive nellies behaving like a bunch of bleeding vaginas over nothing.
Shannon1981
@JayKay: So we are adding misogyny to the lake of homophobia to be filed under acceptable behavior?
JAW
Why is it when we use nasty words against those who are fighting us… it is OK?
The Santorum google comes to mind, as does the nick names for Brian Brown and Maggie Gallagher, religious people… tea party… etc.
HELL… even in this thread people are posting racial slurs and sexual identity slurs.
I hate that he did it… he was quick to say I’m sorry… time to accept it, see if he does it again and if not case closed.
JayKay
@Shannon1981:
Stow the buzzwords, sweetie.
CBRad
Go for it gays! Try to rip that evil mick to shreds.
Shannon1981
@JayKay: Don’t patronize me. I am not your sweetie. Equating periods, a natural occurrence for female bodied human beings (“bleeding vaginas, you called them), with weakness and fragility in the condescending manner in which you just did is most definitely misogyny.
wait what
Ah, the “pussyfication of America” showing itself once again. Fucking get over it.
And that dude is bangin… I’d be his f#ggot ball boy.
James
@pedro: are you dense? He is calling you out for the double-standard that it’s okay to call gays derogatory slurs but not black people because “nobody is born gay” “you can’t choose to be black”. Christ, I have an IQ of 80 an even I can figure that out. You must have an IQ of 70.
Zach
he apologized, i’m over it
James
Gay people need to learn to accept that f@ggot will never be viewed as negative like n!gger or k!ke. Gay people need to accept that discrimination against them, hate, murder, legislation, etc. is also acceptable. And, if you complain about it, you are p-ssies, bellies, whiny, and radical. You need to act subordinate and accept your place, or lack thereof in society!
Erik
When we look at this from a semantic point of view, every single world in existence has a different meaning to every single person on this planet. We can assume, suggest, and try our best to delegate the meanings of words as a common consensus, but it still means nothing. F.a.g.g.e.t. is thrown around my house like nobody’s business… mostly because it has nothing to do with a gay man, but as my mum defines so well, “a spineless man.” I’m not going to insult anybody by saying that some people aren’t tough skinned enough, but maybe perhaps we need to realise that you can’t fully ever understand anybody, and assuming you know the full meaning of somebody else’s words is for lack of a better word, ignorant.
Ruhlmann
Whatever anyone thinks about this slur let’s remember the kid this was directed at. Think of the humiliation and discomfort this abuse subjects a person to. Think of this kid in that moment. The heat of the moment is not an excuse to degrade another human being. Slurs are the first step to abuse and discrimination of any social group. If we let it slide here we let it slide everywhere.
Pedro old son you need some self esteem.
Oh, ok.
I love when white people try to claim that a slur used against their sexual orientation is the exact same as a slur used against people who were used as slaves, seen as lessers, and treated like shit for hundreds of years.
Yes, the exact same.
Oh and lets not forget turning around and pretending that racism is all over when a 17 year old kid was shot and killed last month for being black, wearing a hoodie, and carrying a bag of Skittles. Yeah there’s no racism, only gay people have problems, and white gays have it the worst.
White privilege is a pretty severe mental retardation.
JayKay
@Oh, ok.:
Your anti-white racism is showing.
Oh and that “17 year old kid” was a thug who attacked a man, broke his nose, and was shot dead in self defense. Of course that makes him a perfect folk hero for leftists.
James
The last word Matthew Shepard ever heard was f@ggot as he got his skull bashed in. But, it’s just a word. I see. Well, tell that to the next Matthew Shepard. And, it’ll be just a word then too.
Oh, ok.
@JayKay: Thanks for posting an example of the mental retardation I was speaking of. You are an ASSet to idiots everywhere. Shine on, white knight, shine on.
Sam
Interesting to read today about NOM and their strategies: “…“to drive a wedge between gays and blacks—two key Democratic constituencies. ” From the last few posts, it doesn’t look like it will take much effort.
It’s very simple –once you find a word is offensive to large segments (it doesn’t have to everyone) of certain groups, do your best to stop using it. Because it means something –like someone was shouting it at them while they were getting beaten up or bullied. If you’re a human being then you understand, say you’re sorry & try to do better.
Oh, ok.
@Sam: First I’d like to thank you for making your point without the “Well if it was the N word…”, secondly I’d like to say the only reason “black versus gay”(of which I am both, not either or) started is because some ignorant people can’t stop saying “Well if it was the N word…” or typing the full slur which has a very long history of it’s own that has nothing to do with being gay.
I mean honestly it shouldn’t be so hard for anyone to understand why that would set off anyone who is black. All of the struggles of blacks in America being compared to being white and gay and hearing a slur that upsets you. And this ignores the fact that there are gays of every color, who disproportionately experience discrimination and intolerance for a myriad of reasons beyond just being gay.
So it’s really irritating to hear and see some white gay people ready to bitch nonstop about the slightest little thing and then compare it to the struggle of blacks in America from slavery to the present.
Even though JayKay is an ignorant troll, look at the verbiage he used to describe an unarmed teen walking home to his stepmom’s gated community: “thug”. Without any evidence at all, without any reason to believe anything happened other than some loose cannon security guard murdered a teen he(and many others) have decided this kid was a “thug” because he’s black.
While those who are white and gay only have to be worried about being called a faggot or less than masculine the rest of us have bigger problems…and some of us are gay on top of that.
In Florida at this point in time I can be chased down and murdered. But I’m supposed to care some douche called someone a faggot first? Ok, yeah right.
Oh, ok.
@Sam: First I’d like to thank you for making your point without the “Well if it was the N word…”, secondly I’d like to say the only reason “black versus gay”(of which I am both, not either or) started is because some ignorant people can’t stop saying “Well if it was the N word…” or typing the full slur which has a very long history of it’s own that has nothing to do with being gay.
I mean honestly it shouldn’t be so hard for anyone to understand why that would set off anyone who is black. All of the struggles of blacks in America being compared to being white and gay and hearing a slur that upsets you. And this ignores the fact that there are gays of every color, who disproportionately experience hatred for a myriad of reasons beyond just being gay.
So it’s really irritating to hear and see some white gay people ready to bitch nonstop about the slightest little thing and then compare it to the struggle of blacks in America from slavery to the present.
Even though JayKay is an ignorant troll, look at the verbiage he used to describe an unarmed teen walking home to his stepmom’s gated community: “thug”. Without any evidence at all, without any reason to believe anything happened other than some loose cannon security guard murdered a teen he(and many others) have decided this kid was a “thug” because he’s black.
While those who are white and gay only have to be worried about being called the f word or less than masculine the rest of us have bigger problems…and some of us are gay on top of that.
In Florida at this point in time I can be chased down and murdered. But I’m supposed to care some douche called someone a faggot first? Ok, yeah right.
Johnny
@Sam: First I’d like to thank you for making your point without the “Well if it was the N word…”, secondly I’d like to say the only reason “black versus gay”(of which I am both, not either or) started is because some ignorant people can’t stop saying “Well if it was the N word…” or typing the full slur which has a very long history of it’s own that has nothing to do with being gay.
I mean honestly it shouldn’t be so hard for anyone to understand why that would set off anyone who is black. All of the struggles of blacks in America being compared to being white and gay and hearing a slur that upsets you. And this ignores the fact that there are gays of every color, who disproportionately experience hatred for a myriad of reasons beyond just being gay.
So it’s really irritating to hear and see some white gay people ready to bitch nonstop about the slightest little thing and then compare it to the struggle of blacks in America from slavery to the present.
Even though JayKay is an ignorant troll, look at the verbiage he used to describe an unarmed teen walking home to his stepmom’s gated community: “thug”. Without any evidence at all, without any reason to believe anything happened other than some loose cannon security guard murdered a teen he(and many others) have decided this kid was a “thug” because he’s black.
While those who are white and gay only have to be worried about being called the f word or less than masculine the rest of us have bigger problems…and some of us are gay on top of that.
In Florida at this point in time I can be chased down and murdered. But I’m supposed to care some douche called someone a the f word first? Ok, yeah right.
Shannon1981
Being both black and gay myself, I find both of those words incredibly offensive, especially coming from folks who do not belong to those groups. Their use is never acceptable, ESPECIALLY in the context it was used here.
Oh, ok
Forgive me JayKay, I’m just a self-hating ‘mo who hates so-called “privileged” white gay guys because my own Black family and Black community hates me for being a nelly Afro-American bottom with a crack-ho ex-con white boyfriend who doesn’t love me either. What’s your excuse?
Oh, ok
By the way, I couldn’t be straight anymore than I could be white on demand. I suppose with the right injections, plastic surgery and hair relaxer (like Michael Jackson) I could pass for white, and with a little less swish in my boodie I might pass for a “straight” Afro-Ametrosexual. But, as it is, I am totally black and gay to the bone. “snap, snap”
nikko
@Kyle: KYLE, homosexuality is not a sin- and both homosexuality and race are immutable, you ignorant bigot.
dsp
Effin ,no fine, no supension just fire his ass! There is a need to inform ignorant douchebags that there are consequences!
Ok, ok
@Sam: All things being equal you should be upset at the white people who are refusing to suspend him and not passively-aggressive throwing it at black people by saying “Well if he said X or Y about Z…”.
There’s no need to bring black people or any other people into it.
When the fight for civil rights took place in America black people did not go “You don’t group A this way so you shouldn’t treat us this way either!”, they said “This is wrong, we won’t tolerate it.”.
So time to grow up, put on some big boy pants, and stand up for yourself without riding someone else’s coattails. It’s a large reason why many people of all races including white tune a lot of white gay men out. You are not black, don’t know the black experience, and cannot compare yourself to a black person.
Likewise gay people are made up of all races, classes, and ethnicities so you cannot pick a group to compare to because it is all groups with many varied experiences.
Until you stop trying to use “Gay is the new black.” as an argument you won’t make any progress with most people because black is still black and gay never was. Try using logic and reasoning to make a case for why hate based on sexuality is wrong without trying to equate it to racism, the two are not the same…not even a little.
JTKlaus
@dsp: Of course not, he’s even Whiter than I am.
Trish Jarvis
@JayKay: You’re so dumb! You’re like a hilarious uncultured American stereotype. You must be trolling, although Americans do tend to exhibit shocking levels of stupidity!
Truth B. Told
Actually, it is the height of stupidity and homophobia to try to pretend that bigotry against any person — Black, White, Brown, Albino, Jewish, Gentile, Native American, GLBT, Religiously Affiliated, etc. — is not comparable. It is an utter lie to declare that any other oppressed group, other than Black people, know the full sting and suffering caused by discrimination and bigotry.
Tens of thousands of Gays were sent to the concentration camps in Nazi Germany, thousands ended up in ovens. Centuries earlier, countless thousands more were murdered by both Protestant and Catholic Inquisitions — tortured and burnt at the stake. “Throw another faggot (originally meaning a bundle of sticks) on the fire” is the origin of the word used so casually and derisively today.
Fact: Black people are more homophobic per capita than other American demographics. If only the white vote counted in California, Prop 8 would never have passed — the Black vote was 75% in favor of Prop 8, the White vote was 52% against Prop 8. Thanks for the solidarity. Imagine how Black people would feel if the Gay Vote was the tipping point that put some segregationist law into effect. I doubt that you would feel the love there afterwards between the two communities. How easy it is to forget that many Blacks are GLBT as well.
Also, since some people love to bring up history, remember Black people sold their own people into slavery on the Ivory Coast in Africa in the 16th century to Dutch Traders. For thousands of years Blacks enslaved other Blacks. In fact, Black tribes in Africa to this day still force other African tribes into slavery — without White people’s assistance. In modern Africa in some places they even cannibalize their own kind if they’re born with white skin such as in the case of Albinos.
SEXXYJAMAICAN
@Truth B. Told: Fail.