DAVIE, Fla. — John Wooten is 77 years old and knows there’s a segment of the population that will recoil at the slightest hint of what he is about to say.
Wooten, an activist and former NFL offensive lineman, recoils himself when he hears what many of the younger generation say of his opinions.
That’s the nature of the once-reviled, now-polarizing, n-word, which Wooten argues has no place in football in any context.
The Jonathan Martin-Richie Incognito controversy didn’t shed light only on the culture of the Dolphins’ locker room, but also on the issue of racially charged language in the NFL in general. In a voicemail, Incognito directed the slur at Martin, his fellow offensive lineman, although Incognito contends it was not meant in a hurtful way.
While it’s understood that the locker room never has and never will be G-rated, use of the n-word has helped trigger a debate over when — if ever — it’s acceptable in the sports world. Among those chiming in are Charles Barkley and journalist Michael Wilbon (who admit using it with African-American friends) and Cris Collinsworth and ex-Jets linebacker Bart Scott (who call the word “beyond painful” and “despicable”).
The same forces are at work inside the Dolphins’ locker room, where opinions are as varied as the backgrounds of a roster 53 deep.
Cornerback Nolan Carroll said he doesn’t use the word but “it’s different” to hear it in the locker room as opposed to in public. Tight ends Michael Egnew and Charles Clay agree it’s inappropriate no matter where it’s used. Cornerback Brent Grimes said times are changing and so is the connotation of the word. “Just about everybody says it,” he added.
That it’s tossed about inside the team’s training complex might surprise owner Stephen Ross, who said, “One thing that will not change: There will not be any racial slurs or harassing or bullying in that workplace, in that locker room and outside the locker room.”
To those who argue that in an era of graphic rap lyrics, the n-word isn’t always a slur, Wooten objects. He said regardless of whether it’s pronounced with a “ga” at the end or any other variation, “The word is the same, created to disrespect and make us black people feel that we were inferior.”
To Wooten, the n-word conjures up memories of when he played for the Cleveland Browns in the 1960s and heard it shouted from the stands, much like Jackie Robinson did in baseball stadiums.
“There was nothing you could do about it,” Wooten said. “If you tried to do anything, you’d get kicked out of the game or hurt what you’re trying to do.”
Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance to promote minority hiring in the NFL, no longer is voiceless. A week ago, his alliance, named for the first African-American coach in the NFL and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, issued a news release calling for players to cease using any form of the word on the playing field.
“The ‘N-word’ was the last word that countless blacks across the country — in large cities and small towns — heard before being killed in racist attacks,” the alliance wrote. “To use it so loosely now is a disgrace.”
The sentiment was echoed by Collinsworth, an analyst and former player who is white. Speaking on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL,” he said he has “zero tolerance” for white players using it, even if African-American friends give them license to.
Then, addressing African-American players, Collinsworth added, “If I’m telling one group of players, ‘You can’t do this, zero tolerance, we’re going to kick you out of the league, we’re going to publicly humiliate you if you use the n-word,’ and now, on this side of the locker room, there’s four or five guys having a conversation and they’re throwing the n-word around everywhere, well, we’ve just built a wall.”
Alienation is not Grimes’ intent.
“It’s the context of when people say it,” Grimes said. “Nobody’s really offended by it. Just about everybody says it. It’s not like the ’60s. It’s not taken like that.”
Carroll can see it both ways. He said he was taught never to use the n-word by his parents and grandparents, who would “be shocked” if they heard him say it. But he recognizes the difference between “locker-room talk” and what’s acceptable elsewhere.
“I know back in the day, people took it in the context of, ‘Oh, slave days,’ ” Carroll said. “So to take it from that, it’s bad. But at the same time, guys (in the locker room) are just messing around. They don’t really mean anything by it.”
But in a locker room, sound obviously travels. If one group of players is comfortable using the n-word, if one of their neighbors is uncomfortable, then what? And how willing would offended players be to speak up?
Egnew said “it’s almost ignorant” for anyone to say it. Clay said “it’s inappropriate, period,” admitting that hearing it in conversation makes him pause and consider both the race of the speaker and the context.
Defensive tackle Jared Odrick said if the n-word were directed at him as a slur, he’d ignore it.
“How am I going to get mad at somebody so stupid enough to lower themselves to call me that as a derogatory statement?” Odrick said. “So it’s not really an issue with me. You’re not worth my time.”