TCU football coach Gary Patterson, who is white, issued an apology Tuesday because he scolded mixed-race outside linebacker Dylan Jordan for repeatedly using the n-word.
Patterson, like most rational people, abhors the n-word and would prefer that the word not be used by anyone.
“I met with our Seniors and Leadership Council last night about how we move forward as a team, together,” Patterson wrote on Twitter. “We are committed as individuals and as a program to fighting racial injustice of any kind. I apologize for the use of a word that, in any context, is unacceptable. I have always encouraged our players to do better and be better and I must live by the same standards.”
Patterson did not call Jordan the n-word. He used the word in an attempt to explain to Jordan he was disappointed that Jordan used it in a team meeting.
Before I continue, let me state that I do not know Gary Patterson. I’ve never talked to him. No one connected to Patterson or TCU contacted me about this incident. The absurdity of the Patterson-Jordan controversy caught my attention. For years I have advocated that black people, white people, mixed-race people, rappers and everyone should abstain from using the n-word.
Nothing good comes from the word. It was a label placed on black slaves to ease the psychological burden on both the owners of black slaves and the slaves themselves. Nigger and nigga equal less than human. The words reduce black people to pets/animals. Slave owners saw black people as less than and wanted black people to see themselves as less than.
The n-word, with an “er” or “a” ending, has worked perfectly for hundreds of years. The word has never been more powerful than it is today, now that it has been “claimed” by black people.
We see ourselves as less than. Why do I say that?
Because the prevailing sentiment is that our behavior and how we view ourselves are irrelevant. Only the behavior and opinion of white people matter. If a black man kills a black man, it doesn’t matter nearly as much as when a white man kills a black. If black people think of themselves as n-words, it’s irrelevant. It only matters how white people view us.
We don’t matter. We are not responsible for or in control of our own welfare or destiny. George Floyd had multiple opportunities to remove himself from harm’s way. Police suspected him of using a counterfeit $20 bill and operating a vehicle under the influence of narcotics. Had he complied with multiple requests to sit in the backseat of a police vehicle, George Floyd would be alive today. He repeatedly resisted.
Did he deserve to die? No. Did former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin make a critical mistake keeping his knee on Floyd’s neck and shoulder for more than eight minutes? Absolutely.
But a grown man is responsible for taking steps to protect his own life. If you see me risking my life inside a McDonald’s when I should be inside a 24-Hour Fitness, blame me long before you blame Ronald McDonald.
My Decisions Matter. I’m not a pet.
We’re not abandoned pets in need of saving by white liberals. I’m sorry if that offends. But I reject the racist view that my success in life is dependent on the benevolence of white people.
Gary Patterson thinks the way that I do. He believes that how Dylan Jordan defines himself is more important than how others define Dylan Jordan. Patterson wants Jordan and TCU’s other black players to reject the n-word label. It’s a crippling characterization and mindset.
Our adoption of the word as some sort of sacred privilege is the ultimate example of Stockholm Syndrome, a victim sympathizing with his captor. If you enslave the mind, enslaving the body becomes unnecessary.
Our minds are enslaved. We’ve adopted the language and behavior of the KKK. We’ve normalized and accepted terror attacks by black street gangs. We value the actions and opinions of white people above our own. We enforce intellectual restrictions on each other. We use anecdotal examples of negative behavior to make broad, racist generalizations about groups of people.
BLM is the black sister organization of the KKK.
When Dylan Jordan complained over Twitter that Gary Patterson used the n-word, he slapped a #BLM hashtag on his post. Jordan’s initial post unintentionally created the impression that Patterson called him the n-word. Jordan and several of his teammates skipped Monday’s practice in protest of Patterson’s use of the word.
Some people now consider it racist for a white person to ask a black person not to use the word nigga.
Some black people, like members of the KKK, take enormous pride, satisfaction and delight in their use of the n-word. It’s very similar to the pride, satisfaction and delight many black gang members and rappers take in bragging about killing niggas.
Football coaches across America, never again apologize for standing against the n-word. You’re doing God’s work.
If you want Jason Whitlock for your TV or radio show or podcast, contact gary@outkick.com.