The Minnesota legislator whose tweet about the NBA aroused cries of racism is known as a feisty lawmaker who has long enjoyed ribbing his liberal counterparts.
Rep. Pat Garofalo, a fifth-term Republican from Farmington, has faced an avalanche of criticism for suggesting this weekend that pro basketball players had criminal tendencies, but didn't back down from the statement Monday.
"Let's be honest, 70% of teams in NBA could fold tomorrow + nobody would notice a difference w/ possible exception of increase in streetcrime," Garofalo tweeted Sunday night. About three-fourths of the NBA's players are black, according to a 2013 report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.
His post has drawn hundreds of comments - some branding him a racist and others using statistics to rebut the idea of rampant violations in the NBA compared to American society in general - and been retweeted more than 1,100 times. Ken Martin, chairman of the Minnesota Democratic Party, took to his own Twitter account to call Garofalo's post "incredibly racist."
Garofalo, 42, declined a request for an interview Monday but didn't back down in text message to The Associated Press.
"Pro sports leagues have a problem with some of their athletes obeying the law," Garofalo wrote in the text message. "This problem transcends race and is a symptom of the value athletes believe society puts on their athletic talent."
The blunt commentary is nothing new for Garofalo, who regularly makes sharp-tongued speeches on the Minnesota House floor and even edgier remarks online.
Garofalo's Twitter feed is typically a mix of sarcastic takes on politics, pop culture and sports. During football and NASCAR seasons, he offers his predictions via his pet whom he dubs "Buddy The Sports Gambling Dog."
"If the bird watching, hippy, tofu-eating vegan liberals in Minneapolis had their way, the Iron Range never would have mined taconite either," he tweeted last month, referring to a statewide debate over a copper-nickel mine project proposed for northern Minnesota.
Garofalo represents a district south of the Twin Cities and is seeking a sixth term in the fall.
Despite his tendency for partisan rhetoric, Garofalo isn't a no-holds-barred ideologue. Last year, he was one of four House Republicans who voted in favor of legalizing gay marriage.
That vote complicated the re-election campaigns of the other Republicans he joined in support of same-sex marriage, and two are no longer seeking to return to the Legislature. But Garofalo won his local GOP endorsement last month and has plenty of money banked for his race.
He also backs stadium initiatives for the Twin Cities' professional sports teams, voting in favor of both the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins stadium bills. The Vikings bill also gave the city of Minneapolis clearance to upgrade the arena where the state's NBA team - the Minnesota Timberwolves - play.
The last time a Timberwolves player ran into legal trouble was in 2010, when Michael Beasley, who's now with the Miami Heat, was ticketed for speeding and possessing marijuana in a Twin Cities suburb.
Garofalo is the second Minnesota legislator in the last year whose tweets attracted national attention and accusations of racism. In June, Democratic Rep. Ryan Winkler of Golden Valley apologized and deleted a tweet that referred to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as "Uncle Thomas" following a major ruling on the nation's landmark voting rights law.
Rep. Dan Schoen, a Democrat, said he's heard nothing in Garofalo's past public or private remarks that could be regarded as racist.
"It was the wrong thing to tweet," Schoen said. "Do I think Pat is a racist? No I don't think that.
"Sometimes people forget when they are in certain positions what they say can have a lasting effect of people's impression upon them and the rest of legislators they serve with."
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
Comments
Sometimes people are afraid
Sometimes people are afraid of the truth. Many NBA players ascend from troubled neighborhoods because of their athletic gifts, but do the athletes lose behaviors that they learned from growing up with their troubled peers?
I don't think what Garofalo said is racist, in fact I support what he said. Do we now live in a society where you will be attacked for speaking the truth? Sometimes people are afraid of the truth, and I think that is what the black population is representing when they call Garofalo's comments racist.
I agree. Although 75% of the
I agree. Although 75% of the NBA is black, the other 25% are not. I don't think his comment was racist, but he probably still shouldn't have tweeted it. Because there are studies supporting his statement, it is interesting that many people assume that he is only talking about the black basketball players. The other 25% could also play a role in crimes.
But if Garofalo himself doesn
But if Garofalo himself doesn't suggest he is only referring to the blacks in the league, would that make those who assume he is the racists?
But if Garofalo himself doesn
But if Garofalo himself doesn't suggest he is only referring to the blacks in the league, would that make those who assume he is the racists?
I agree with your position on
I agree with your position on truth. Its almost as if society can turn anything into a bias view, even if it has nothing to do with that...it was simply stating the truth. I'm not sure how ever if I believe it was racist or not. Seeing as 75% of the players are people of color, I can see how that might come off as racist.
I agree with your position on
I agree with your position on truth. Its almost as if society can turn anything into a bias view, even if it has nothing to do with that...it was simply stating the truth. I'm not sure how ever if I believe it was racist or not. Seeing as 75% of the players are people of color, I can see how that might come off as racist.
Not racist... just thoughtless
Garofalo's comment was not racist. It is a stretch to assume that he was only referring to African-Americans. The NBA (and many other athletic organizations) have a track record of crime. As he clarified, this "transcends race." Now, whatever amount of truth is in the statement, it should not have been said... especially in a tweet! Social media is never a place to handle confrontation, make edgy comments, or share emotionally strong opinions. By the looks of it, Garofalo is a witty loudmouth who needs to learn to be careful with his typed and spoken words.
And, no, PARKS2014-06... this does not make anyone a racist. It doesn't even make those who assume he's being racist guilty of racism either. Hypersensitive? Maybe. Racist? No.
I agree that the
I agree that the interpretations of Garofalo's comment have been kind of stretched as people did not have any more information. They basically assumed. To a certain point, I think this is understandable since discrimination is still among us and Garofalo himself is not exactly known for keeping quite, He rather comments in a way that might suit everyone.
I think a lot of people are
I think a lot of people are hypersensitive these days.
I agree with the comments
I agree with the comments above that Garofalo's tweet was not necessarily racist. People are sensitive to comments that may show (little) remarks about racism. I can understand why people related Garofalo's comment to racism and it is unfortunate that he himself refused the interview. That way, he could have clear out any misunderstandings and we could judge his comment on more background facts and his intentions.
I agree. People are very
I agree. People are very sensitive and many people took his comment as racist. It would have been better for him to explain himself in an interview.
Just because people are
Just because people are sensitive towards a topic, it doesn't make the comment racist. People are sensitive towards a lot of topics, but most of them need to be spoken about. The comment was just not very well thought out and was probably too large of a thought for an 160 character tweet.
i think there should not ne
i think there should not ne biasness that can cause people to think that there is racism exist...in sports because in the absence of that biasness there should not be something called racism....so there should be equal treatment....
I think that he can have his
I think that he can have his thoughts on whatever he believes about the NBA players, but i don't think he should share what he thinks about that kind of stuff, especially with his reputation and past tweets. He should also realize that his "sarcastic" tweets have many effects of different people and everyone takes it a certain way.
First of all, this all went
First of all, this all went wrong because of social media. The worst place to put your opinion is twitter because no matter what someone will turn your comment into a bias of some sort. With that being said, I don't think that makes him racist. Twitter is a place to state your opinion and I think people took that way too far, which in turn made him "racist". Seeing as people who know him defended him in not being racist than we can all probably assume that he just made a comment about the criminal level, which is a re occurring thing in all sports, not just in people of color.
Social media is the worst
Social media is the worst place to put any opinion on because someone will always find the fault or try and read between the lines of what is truly ment there. With that being said, I don't think that makes him racist. For him to voice his opinion on twitter is not any different than someone else famous doing it. Like I said before someone is always trying to twist peoples words and make them out to be a horrible person.
I think you're on to
I think you're on to something here. If you create a tweet, but using additional tweets to further explain your thought, the public could choose to just retweet the first tweet thousands of times, keeping those who don't follow you from seeing the explanatory tweets.
Thoughtless
I don't know whether to believe his comment was racist, but he is thoughtless. Posting a comment such as his on a social media site will lead to many different interpretations. Since the NBA is 75% black and the other 25% is not, this can lead to many assumptions of his tweet. People in office need to take into consideration when making any sort of comment that there are people out there who will twist things to make it what they want it to be. If that is making a thoughtless comment seem racist, then that is what will happen.
Crass
I feel that as a public servant and as a representative, Garofalo's comments are uncalled for, crass, and backwards. While I feel that his remark may not have been pointedly racist, it did have racial implications. The fact is that as a public figure, he should avoid any type of racist remarks. However, I would be curious to know how many of the players reacted to his comment, and if they felt it was racist. I suppose if they did, and had grievances, then it could constitute as a racist idea.
Indeed, being a public
Indeed, being a public representative one should refrain from using such foul comments especially if they are bound to anger many people. Given the fact that we live in a society thats very conscious of racial matters, he probably shouldnt have used such comments.
Tactless
I do think the comment was insensitive and not a wise move to make for a public figure. One of the above posts pointed out that 25% of the NBA is something other than black, so the comment about street crime could apply to anyone in the NBA, not just the black people. Therefore, I don't think his comment was completely racist. However, if we read between the lines, I think it is fair to say he is not completely innocent either.
You are rigth
I think you are so rigth when you express that it was not a wise move for a public figure. I believe if you are famous or a public figure you need to be more careful with what you say. I also agree with you that the coment migth not be completely racist. However, it still could hurt many people that feel atacked by it.
I think he was nor careful
Of corse he has the rigth to express what he think. However when somebody is famous should have the maturity to realize what is something proper to say and what is not. In this oportunity I believe that Garofalo did a mistake by being so qualifying.
I do not believe that the thing he said was so wrong. But of course that comment could create controversy and he could make some people feel bad about it. Once again everybody has the rigth to express what they think, but when you are famous you need to be a bit more careful with what you say. Hopefully this etire problem pass into oblivion because I believe it was just a mistake.
While it is not wise to jump
While it is not wise to jump into the conclusion that Garofalo made a racist comment, and with his history supporting him as a non racial person, maybe his comment shouldn't have been said or in this case tweeted. We live in a society where people are so conscious about matters of race and are out on the look for anything to justify it. Perhaps Garofalo was being sarcastic in trying to make his point but maybe another reference other than that of the Black NBA players would suffice and put everybody at ease. Do i think he needs to apologize for it? Maybe he does, for the sake of all those who had their feelings hurt in the process, but for his own sake if he knows he wasnt trying to be racist in any way, perhaps not.