Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / The NFL Attempts to Police Language Will Likely be Futile

The NFL Attempts to Police Language Will Likely be Futile

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | Mar 06, 2014

No Comments

2012-12-12-roger-goodell-4_3_r560

The NFL is making efforts to police to use of the N-word this football season, and on the surface this appears to be a very worthy attempt at cleaning up the game.  Few would argue that the N-word is offensive and degrading, but banning the word — any word for that matter — opens the door for a number of issues, including the right to free speech.

While I understand why the N-word has been given the title of the worst word in the world, if we are to look seriously at the many other words that are used exclusively to hurt others I think the discussion quickly widens.  For example, it is terribly offensive to call someone with below-average intelligence the R-word, and there are countless gay slurs used with the intention of embarrassing and shaming homosexuals.  My goal here is not to compare the words in an attempt to develop a weighted hierarchy, but to instead point out that there are countless words used today with the sole goal of hurting others.

Painful words

As a mental health clinician, I learned early in my career that it was not my place to determine the “level” of pain a person should experience, and whether I felt they should or shouldn’t feel the way they do.  In other words, if a client of mine was deeply hurt at being called a gay slur, it was not for me to laugh off the word and suggest to my client that he was over-reacting.  Instead, the more professional and respectful thing to do was to understand, empathize, validate, and try to help.

Using that line of thought, I feel the same way about the NFL attempting to clean up the N-word.  Sure, it’s a great idea, but it also opens a very slippery slope when it comes to the many words that people are offended by — and if the final goal is to protect players from feeling offended, I really don’t think ranking them and then only choosing what is perceived as the worst word to be banned is fair.  It is for this reason that I believe eventually more level-headed minds will prevail when they begin to understand that policing language may not only run interference with the Constitution, it might also be an ongoing battle with no real end point in sight.  Additionally, enforcing language within a fast-paced game might be impossible to do – especially if the language parameters eventually widen to include gay slurs and derogatory remarks toward individuals with below-average cognitive abilities.

The future

I don’t think it’s fair or right to try and suggest that one person is hurt or offended more than another when looking at individuals who have been verbally assaulted.  Pain is pain, and if a person is deeply hurt it’s more important in my opinion to validate their pain rather than try and rank the level in which one should be hurt.  It is for this reason that I believe the NFL, while having noble intentions, will eventually pull back on the policing of the N-word and look at other ways in which the game on the field can be continually improved for the future.

www.drstankovich.com

 

gay, Goodell, language, NFL, players, psychology, slang, slurs, sociology, sport

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Latest Blog Posts

  • March 1, 2021 Important Team Building Success Tips for Coaches
  • February 16, 2021 Help Kids Overcome Pandemic Anxiety as they Head Back to School
  • February 10, 2021 Is Mark Cuban’s Remedy for National Anthem Protests the Right Move?
  • February 4, 2021 Former NFL Star Warns of Potential Problems Dealing with Sport Retirement
  • February 1, 2021 Lacking Social Interaction is Hitting Kids Hard through Pandemic

Comments are closed.

PREVIOUS POST

Tampa Bay New Uniforms – a Sign of Things to Come for the NFL?

NEXT POST

3 Tips for Positive Sports Parenting this Summer

Category

Amateur , Athletes , Athletic Counseling , Fan Behavior , Leadership , Leadership and Role Modeling , Mental Toughness , Off Field Issues , Pro , Pro and College Sports , Social Responsibility , Sport Diversity , Sport Philosophy , Sport Psychology , Sport Sociology , Sports Administrators , Sports Culture and Society , Sports Leadership , Sports Performance Science , Uncategorized

Tags

gay, Goodell, language, NFL, players, psychology, slang, slurs, sociology, sport

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Important Team Building Success Tips for Coaches
  • Help Kids Overcome Pandemic Anxiety as they Head Back to School
  • Is Mark Cuban's Remedy for National Anthem Protests the Right Move?
  • Former NFL Star Warns of Potential Problems Dealing with Sport Retirement
  • Lacking Social Interaction is Hitting Kids Hard through Pandemic
  • Parent Sports Pressure Can Leave Kids with Overwhelming Expectations
  • Overcome Adversity by Using this Important Mental Toughness Strategy
  • Challenges Endure for Student Athletes Managing Pandemic Stress & Related Concerns
  • Maximize the Strength of Your Team through Care, Concern, & Compassion
  • Lacking Social Interaction is Hitting Kids Hard through Pandemic
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1395 Grandview Avenue Suite 6, Columbus OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482
    Media & General Inquiries
    information@drstankovich.com
    Sales & Product Support
    sales@drstankovich.com
  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2021 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓