flub or slur? Meterologist fired over "Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Park"

[Demovictory9]

Seems like a flub to me. I can't imagine he intentionally meant to say that.

http://www.newser.com/story/269612/meteorologist-booted-over-apparent-slur-he-calls-a-flub.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_top

– A TV meteorologist has been given the boot over an apparent racial slur used on air. Jeremy Kappell, former chief meteorologist at Rochester, New York's WHEC, can be heard in video posted to social media as seeming to refer to a local park as "Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Park" during Friday's broadcast, the AP reports. Critics including the local mayor called for Kappell to be fired, but Kappell himself insists he's "never uttered those words in my life" and both he and his defenders say he simply stumbled over his words, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports. In a statement posted Monday, WHEC's VP and general manager apologized for airing the slur, saying it "disheartens and disgusts me" that the blunder "was not caught immediately."

Fox News notes that Kappell has not yet made a formal statement, but has been tweeting about the incident quite a bit, calling it a "flub" and comparing it to a similar situation in which an ESPN radio host made a similar mistake. Responding to one critic, Kappell wrote, "You are out of your mind to think I would jeopardize future of my family and career to insert a racial slur against the GREATEST civil rights leader of all time?!?! #Ridiculous #Hateful #Judgemental and #youdontknowthefirsthingaboutme!" But the Rochester Association of Black Journalists says in a statement the words broadcast are "completely unacceptable and contrary to all standards of broadcasting." (A black police officer was recently suspended for using the n-word.)

[Beakybird]

1. He is a white man with an extensive career in the Deep South

[irresistable]

7. If a person says it in private...it can leak out in a most inopportune moment

like when Dick Armey referred to Barney Frank as "Barney Fag".

He must have called him that pretty often when referring to him in private.

Santorum has two "slips" on his resume.

[MrScorpio]

2. Good firing

Some people will only get the message once you start fucking with their livelihoods

[Me.]

3. Freudian Slip?

[obamanut2012]

4. You only "flub" this if it's sopmething you usually say

And it slips out. People who do not use bigoted language do not "slip" and "flub" bigoted language. Ever.

Racist POS. Why are you excusing his racism?

This happens almost every year, because these guys can't not be racist dicks.

[Captain Stern]

8. I think it could be a 'flub', or it could be a term he uses regularly.

He might be a straight-up klan guy that forgot to control himself. He might be a racist that normally knows not to say stuff like that out loud, and thought it would be funny to slip that in there. Or, he might have just got tongue-tied.....after all, people make mistakes (like typing 'sopmething' instead of 'something')

I can't call it for sure, because I don't know the guy. I'd be interested to hear what the people that actually know him have to say.

In any case, I don't have a problem with them firing the guy. Appearances do matter.

[Clash City Rocker]

5. My gut says that "Martin Luther Coon" is a phrase he's familiar with

Otherwise it’s very unlikely he would have made that slip. I don’t think he meant to say it on the air, but it’s not like “coon” is a common word. Most likely he’s a racist behind the camera, and forgot for a second that he was in front of the camera.

[peekaloo]

11. exactly

I hear this a lot in Florida by people who think they're being "clever".

[dalton99a]

6. It sure sounded natural, like a long-time habit

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. His reaction says a lot.

[Major Nikon]

10. His "mistake" was getting caught

Growing up in Texas I heard people say that all the time and I still hear it today from the same sort of racists. If you aren't saying this shit in private it isn't going to "slip" at the wrong time.

His facebook apology is pathetic as he never takes responsibility for his obvious racism, and his wife should goddam well know better because I guarantee she's seen it if not enthusiastically participates. It makes it even more pathetic he would include her and that she would join in.

So yeah, this guy finally makes it to that chief meteorologist position and gets fired a year later because he's a fucking racist. Fuck him and the horse he rode in on. Fuck his wife too and her fake demeanor and fuck all the racists online who are cheering him on. Turn in your resume to Faux, shitstain, because that's the only place that's going to have you and probably not even them. So I'm sure it sucks to flush a college education and 20 years down the toilet for a 1 second fuckup, but thems the breaks when you're a fucking racist.

[ShazzieB]

13. "Video unavailable"

Video unavailable

This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated.

The above message now appears in the op where the video used to be. I wonder what happened?

[Demovictory9]

14. Not sure but video is probably available widely