Racial Slurs

It was a day when he was lambasted on talk radio and the Internet, linked socially to Louis Farrakhan by a New York Post gossip columnist and threatened with fines by the NBA for not speaking publicly, and near the end of that day Shaquille O'Neal apologized. He said he was not a racist for his taunt of Houston center Yao Ming, said his relationship with the Nation of Islam leader was his business, and, simply by saying all of that, eased any pressure he might have felt from the NBA.

A legal advisor for George Zimmerman, the man who told police he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, says the Florida shooting had nothing to do with race. Though he acknowledged he hadn't spoken to Zimmerman about what happened the night the unarmed African American teenager was slain, Craig Sonner, an Orlando, Fla., criminal defense lawyer, told CNN that Zimmerman is not a racist. “I asked him if he uses racial slurs and he has denied that,” Sonner said about allegations that Zimmerman had uttered a racial slur while on the phone with 911 dispatchers.

More black agents joined a racial discrimination lawsuit against the Secret Service on Thursday, adding new claims that they frequently endure racial slurs. The 19, who include some former agents, join 38 others in a lawsuit first filed in February. They claim their white colleagues and supervisors regularly use a racial epithet to refer to criminal suspects and black leaders of other countries.

+ Darryl Sutter has wisely chosen to be upbeat as the Kings' coach, not the hard-edged grumbler he had become in Calgary. His quick, aggressive game has been embraced by players, who want to avoid awakening his nasty side. The Kings were 4-0-2 in their first six games under Sutter, but fixing their power play has to be his next priority. + New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal, recovered from a concussion, made his season debut Monday in the Winter Classic at Philadelphia. Staal's brother Jordan, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, did something similar last season.

Rock 'n' roll is in the hot seat again. Call it media hype or justifiable outrage, but an acrimonious debate is raging over whether hard-rock heavyweights Guns N' Roses--as well as rap idols Public Enemy and speed-metal kings Slayer--are promoting bigotry and hatred. Guns N' Roses has been under fire for a host of inflammatory lyrics in its song "One in a Million," which uses derogatory epithets to describe blacks and gays.

About those Jewish American Princess jokes. Hey guys, lighten up. They are funny, but most of all, you don't have to be Jewish to be a JAP. LINA C. HAMMER North Hollywood

The game between the Washington Capitals and Edmonton Oilers on Saturday ended with racial remarks being made and players from both teams shouting at one another. The officials separated the teams before any punches were thrown, but Oiler Coach Ron Low was furious long after the ice was cleared. Low said Capital wing Chris Simon, a Native American of the Ojibwa tribe, shouted a derogatory insult at Oiler wing Mike Grier, who is African American. "I definitely heard a racial slur from Mr. Simon.

Hector Camacho added racism to his repertoire Wednesday night with slurs against blacks in general and Mike Tyson's entourage in particular. Camacho, who is preparing for a Sept. 13 fight with Oscar De La Hoya, was interviewed by CNN/SI for his reaction to the revoking of Tyson's license. In the course of a rambling response, Camacho tried to couch his remarks, by saying "Excuse me, if there's any blacks here, OK?"

Re "League President Flagged for Slurs," Aug. 29: I could not help laughing at the predicament of the Santa Ana Pop Warner football league. Obviously the parents have zero tolerance for the use of racial slurs by league officials, but they had absolutely no problem allowing their children to pose in their "Redskins" uniforms for the accompanying picture. Jay Sheffield Escondido

A senior annual staff member at Westchester High School was suspended this week because of racial slurs printed in the school's yearbook, it was learned Thursday. After following up complaints that the yearbook contained disturbing quotes by some seniors--including "Now is the time for 3k! Too many C's at this school," apparently referring to the Ku Klux Klan and colored people--Westchester Principal Jim Davis barred the unnamed student from participating in graduation ceremonies, Los Angeles Unified School District officials said.

More than 500 people, including clergymen, elected officials and mothers pushing strollers, gathered here Sunday to denounce the killing of an African American auto plant employee in what authorities say was a racially motivated hate crime. The slaying of James C. Anderson initially attracted little notice outside the immediate area, but since a security camera recording of the June 26 incident was broadcast nationally last week, the case has drawn coast-to-coast attention. Anderson, 49, was beaten and run over in the parking lot of a motel.

Elected leaders in Lancaster and Palmdale have waged an "unrelenting war" against low-income blacks and Latinos who receive public assistance in a campaign to drive them out of the historically white Antelope Valley, civil rights lawyers alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. As many as 200 local minority families have lost their federal housing assistance each year, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court by the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and unnamed victims of the alleged harassment.

Who knew that Laura Schlessinger was so thin-skinned? After all, this is a woman who has relished her perch as a radio shock jock. In her 30 years on the air she has offended many, blaming women for their husbands' affairs and referring to gay people as "biological errors. " Even friendly callers often get a piece of her mind. So it's a bit surprising that a fairly predictable reaction to her enthusiastic use of a racial slur has sent her scurrying out of the kitchen, so to speak. Schlessinger, better known as Dr. Laura, announced Tuesday that she was leaving her show because she wants her 1st Amendment rights back.

A week after igniting controversy with racially charged comments on her nationally syndicated radio show, advice guru Laura Schlessinger went on "Larry King Live" Tuesday evening to announce that she plans to leave the program when her contract runs out at the end of the year. "I want my 1st Amendment rights back, which I can't have on radio without the threat of attack on my advertisers and stations," Schlessinger said. She emphasized that she is not retiring. "I will be stronger and freer to say my mind through my books, my YouTube Channel, my blog and my website," she said.

Dear Amy: I'm at an age when I'm eligible for Social Security and draw a pension. I enjoy good health and still have an energy level of men much younger than me. I'm scared of going into my twilight years with nothing to look forward to other than carrying my wife's purse around cute little boutiques, playing cards and dealing with boring people. I know this sounds selfish and I have a little guilt about it, but if I don't follow this dream, I'll never know what adventures might await me. I intend to explore the possibilities of living on my own in South America, where my dollar will afford me a certain amount of freedom and luxury.

The UC San Diego student reportedly responsible for hanging a noose last week in a campus library issued a public, but anonymous, apology Monday and said she had no racist motivation. The noose's discovery set off protests at a school that is already tense from recent racially charged episodes and triggered condemnations from UC leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a letter published Monday on the front page of the UC San Diego student newspaper, the Guardian, the student wrote that the incident was "a mindless act and stupid mistake" and was not meant to recall the lynching of blacks.

A UC San Diego student admitted Friday to hanging a rope noose from a campus library bookcase in an act that triggered more protests at a school already roiled by other recent racially charged incidents. Angry students responded to the incident by storming and occupying the office of UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. The sit-in continued for about six hours Friday and ended without arrests, and a sympathy protest at UCLA lasted about an hour, officials said. UC San Diego police confirmed that the student contacted them Friday morning and acknowledged responsibility for placing the noose the night before on a lamp fixture atop a seventh-floor bookcase in the campus' main library.

A student walkout Wednesday disrupted a UC San Diego teach-in that was intended to promote tolerance in the wake of two recent racially charged incidents. Many of those involved said the protest showed how difficult it will be for the beachside campus to overcome long-standing concerns about the small number of African American students enrolled there. More than 1,200 students, faculty and staff packed an auditorium in the student center for the teach-in, which campus administrators organized in response to the incidents, including an off-campus party Feb. 15 that mocked Black History Month.