In Reply to: Fire been belch posted by ClockBlocker on March 31, 2024 at 15:08:19
You decide. I'm not buying it. He's a bad person. And a worse "writer". No one should trust him behind a keyboard. How can he have any credibility with men like DeShaun Foster, Eric Bieniemy, Martin Jarmond, etc. Why would any of these men or other POC want to subject themselves to his toxicity? If they don't kowtow to him and entertain his "alliteration-infused" excuse making, he'll use his poison pen to mount a witch hunt and run them out of town, ruining their professional reputations in the process.
Ben Bolch’s apology:It has taken me two days to write this apology because I wanted to be as thoughtful as possible in my response to the situation I have created. These are words I have not been asked to write by anyone at my paper, but they need to be expressed so that I can own up to my mistake.
Words matter. As a journalist, no one should know this more than me (sic). Yet I have failed miserably in my choice of words. In my column previewing the LSU-UCLA women’s basketball game, I tried to be clever in my phrasing about one team’s attitude, using alliteration while not understanding the deeply offensive connotation or associations. I also used metaphors that were not appropriate. Our society has had to deal with so many layers of misogyny, racism and negativity that I can now see why the words I used were wrong. It was not my intent to be hurtful, but I now understand that I terribly missed the mark.
I sincerely apologize to the LSU and UCLA basketball teams and to our readers. UCLA, a school I have covered for nearly a decade, champions diversity and is known as a leader in inclusivity. However, I have not upheld that standard in what I wrote and I will do much better. I am deeply sorry.
— Ben Bolch