Just minutes after Washington Capitals Forward Joel Ward made the winning goal in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup semi-finals, some disgruntled fans posted racial slurs against the player on Twitter, according to Boston.com.
We all love our sports teams, especially in New England with the recent wins of the Stanley Cup by the Boston Bruins, the countless Super Bowl wins by the New England Patriots and the World Series wins by the Boston Red Sox in the last decade, but did these fans take it too far?
Do you think it was just one or two fans angry over the loss or is this something more serious and a sign that our culture is still battling racial divides?
Joel Ward has taken the high road and says that the racial slurs don't bother him, but the Boston Bruins organization made a point of apologizing for the incident.
Tell us what you think in the comments and vote in our poll.
Ed Bertorelli
8:24 am on Saturday, April 28, 2012
What's that old adage.."It's better to keep one's mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. " In today's instant communication mode people often text , email or tweet before they think about the consequences. Beware the media making much of the actions of a few.
Robert M
9:05 am on Saturday, April 28, 2012
My $.02 - why should a slur on twitter be any different at all from name-calling on the street? It isn't a prosecutable offense, its merely bad manners, judgement, and insensitivity. Joel Ward is the finer man for not stooping to take the bait of the racist fan.
Jennifer Lucarelli
9:52 pm on Sunday, April 29, 2012
Ed - well said. It used to be, think before you speak, but now, I guess it should be think before you tweet, email, post on Facebook. And Robert - Joel Ward did take the high road. And, I agree, it is no different than name calling on the street, but the street is now the globe with the world-wide web. It is just really sad and it was only a game.