Apparently, veteran sportswriter Peter Vecsey thinks it’s fine to quote the n-word and seemingly doesn’t care because it came from a rap lyric.
After LeBron James and New York Knicks’ Enes Kanter were involved in an altercation during Monday night’s game (Nov. 13), Vecsey said Kanter isn’t intimidated by James considering how he openly criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Vescey decided to take his statements a step further and cited a Notorious B.I.G. verse from his 1997 Life After Death album on Twitter. “Imagine him being scared of a n***** who breathes the same air as him,” he unapologetically tweeted.
Like Kanter is gonna 2B intimidated by LeBron, guy who stood up 2 Tayyip Erdogan. Imagine him being scared of a n*****who breathes the same air as him
— Peter Vecsey (@PeterVecsey1) November 14, 2017
After the tweet went viral, Vecsey received pushback from some Twitter users who were left in a state of shock. Despite being called out, it didn’t phase Vecsey. “Never thought I would cringe at someone quoting B.I.G…..Word up, Pete,” a Twitter user wrote. Vecsey simply replied, “Your problem, not mine.”
Here are some reactions:
WHAT ARE YOU DOING YO??!??!?!?!?! https://t.co/LDGZRO9OC2
— #TheIDKShow live at 1pm Facebook.com/Circa (@JMKTV) November 14, 2017
Bruh used the six letter n-word. Nah, son. Gotta throw the whole Peter Vecsey away. https://t.co/4e3UihNt4a
— BLACK ADAM SCHEFTER (@B1ackSchefter) November 14, 2017
Vecsey didn’t just tweet that, did he?
— Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) November 14, 2017
Famed author Ta-Nehisi Coates recently touched upon the context and connotation behind certain derogatory words and explained why people of Anglo-Saxon descent should refrain from using the n-word indefinitely.
“The question one must ask is that why do so many white people have difficulty extending basic things that are basic laws with how human beings interact with black people?” he said. “When you’re white in this country, you’re taught everything belongs to you. You’re conditioned this way. The laws tell you this and that people have to accommodate themselves to you.”
“Now here comes this word you feel you’ve invented and you think, how is someone going to tell you not to say a word that you invented.” he continued. “You say, ‘Why can’t I use it, everyone gets to use it? That’s racism that I don’t get to use it. I have to inconvenience myself and hear this song and I can’t sing along?'”