Patterson Story A Cautionary Tale for Coaches

TCU head football coach Gary Patterson has been in the center of a storm of controversy over a word he recently used during a team meeting with the Horn Frogs.

Some words shouldn't, and can't be used in any setting by anyone regardless of their race.

TCU head football coach Gary Patterson is learning that lesson-one he should have already known- in triplicate this week following the release of a story by a current Horn Frog that the coach used an inappropriate racial slur during a team meeting. 

Let's be clear, from the stories reported, Patterson was not using the word in a racial context; he used the word telling a player not to use that word at all in a team meeting. He then used it once more in the same conversation with this player while attempting to make his point that he did not want his players to use that word regardless. 

Gary, you should know you can't use that word period, no matter what the intentions were. 

Multiple players on Patterson's team have defended their coach, saying it was not used in a derogatory manner, which is a good thing, but still, that's a word that he should have known would touch off a firestorm around him when it became public. And let's face it, nothing stays private these days in the era of cell phone cameras and recording devices. 

While I have personal opinions on people of any color using that word, I'm cautious of sharing them and stepping on landmines myself.    

The moral of this story in this day and age is that we all must be conscious of the words we speak regardless of the setting because words have the power to hurt and heal, and they have consequences as Patterson is feeling today, irrespective of how we intend them. 

Choose wisely folks, people are listening, and we never know when one word can change your world forever.   

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