ESPN's Mike Greenberg Slips and Uses A Racial Slur on Martin Luther King Day

[Brian Damage]

By now you may have heard that ESPN's Mike Greenberg tripped on his long, long tongue and made the most unfortunate of Martin Luther King Day gaffes, apparently saying "Martin Luther Coon Jr." when he meant "King."

Look, it happens so fast -- and he corrects himself in the same breath -- that one should probably just chalk it up to sun spots, or Monday morning. Irish cop: "Move along folks, show's over. Nothing to see here."

But then Greenberg issued a formal apology. Good going Mike; now the thing has weight. you've just made a non-story legit. "Gather around folks, show's just starting. Plenty to see here."

Greenberg, via ESPN MediaZone:

"I just came home from the Knicks game and found out about the mess that was created by my garbling a sentence on our show this morning; I apologize for not addressing it sooner.
And I'm sorry that my talking too fast -- and slurring my words -- might have given people who don't know our show the wrong impression about us, and about me.
I feel horrible about that, because nothing could be further away from who I am and what our show is about.
I would never say anything like that, not in public, or in private, or in the silence of my own mind, and neither would anyone associated with our show, and I'm very sorry that my stumble this morning gave so many people the opposite impression."
Last paragraph written by Paul Simon.

That Greenberg felt he had to address this is sad; and if ESPN pressured him to do it, that's sadder. What you've got here is a baby in a car seat in the middle of the road, and the baby is unharmed, and even giggling (see: Raising Arizona). Pick up little Nathan Jr. and move on, people.

http://outofbounds.nbcsports.com/201...t-say.html.php

[catlover79]

I hear the sounds of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson organizing a picket line outside the ESPN studios!!!