SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Should player be suspended for gay slur in Sounders game?

Mar 26, 2012, 1:37 PM | Updated: 2:03 pm

...

cedargrove
Houston Dynamo
midfielder Colin Clark is the latest athlete to be caught
using a homophobic slur during a game. (AP photo/John
Raoux)

An ugly incident at Friday’s Sounders game has become
the slur heard ’round the world.

Just minutes into the game, Houston Dynamo midfielder
Colin Clark called a 14-year-old ball boy a “F-ing fag”
because he didn’t think the volunteer got the ball back
fast enough. And it was caught on the NBC Sports Network
broadcast for all to hear.

Clark is facing severe criticism and possible
disciplinary action from the league because of the gay
slur. But Dori argues we should be outraged regardless of
the word.

“Isn’t the first “F” word every bit as bad or worse
than the second “F” word? But everyone is focused on the
gay slur.”

Clark has apologized via Twitter, writing “I’d like to
offer a sincere apology to everyone who watched the game,
especially the ball boy for whom I used awful language
towards.”

“I didn’t mean to disrespect anyone and am sorry for
letting my emotions get the best of me. It’s not who I am
and it won’t happen again.”

“He’s sorry that he got caught. He’s sorry that a
microphone on the broadcast picked it up,” Dori says.

Major League Soccer says it is “conducting a thorough
review of the facts,” but Dori wonders what there is to
review since anyone watching the broadcast caught it
clearly.

“How long does it take to do a thorough review of the
facts? Nothing else needs to be investigated,” says Dori.

But Dori isn’t among those calling for the player to be
suspended.

“I wouldn’t suspend him, I wouldn’t sit him down. I
would fine him a decent amount for being a punk to a 14-
year-old kid.”

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