Minnesota Politician Pat Garofalo Tweets Incredibly Racist Comment about NBA
What you see above is a racist tweet from Pat Garofalo, a Minnesota House Representative. I could have posted a screenshot instead of embedding the tweet, but Garofalo seemingly has no intention of deleting it.
Garofalo defended his tweet to the Star Tribune, saying that he was merely "talking about the NBA's high arrest rate and that they are the only major pro league that testing positive for marijuana is not a substance abuse violation."
Of course, that explanation is complete BS, because not only is he factually wrong (Kevin Draper over at The Diss has figures that shows the arrest rate in the NBA is far below the national average), it's also nitpicking a minor issue as if it's a major one (marijuana is legalized in two states, widely available for medical use in another 18, and is generally considered not a major offense).
Anyone with enough common sense can read between the lines of his tweet. The word "street," much like "thug," has a history of being associated with black American males, and the NBA is, of course, made up of mostly black male athletes.