by John Phillips
Here we go again. First, cooking queen Paula Deen. Now, NFL player Riley Cooper. The two situations are different, but both involve use of the N-word.
For Deen, the question was whether, at some point in the past, her use of the N-word and her consideration of having black employees dress up like antebellum servants support an employee’s lawsuit claim that she created a racially hostile workplace. Absolutely not—if that’s all there is.
For Cooper, it seems the question is whether his videotaped use of the N-word constitutes grounds for discipline or termination. Absolutely. Cooper’s use of the N-word was recent. It’s on YouTube. A high-profile employee’s highly publicized use of a racial slur provides an employer carte blanche in terms of the action that can be taken against him. The fact that Cooper seems to have been intoxicated at the time he uttered the epithet might provide the basis for lessening the discipline, but that’s up to his employer.
Keep in mind, however, that Cooper is a public figure—some might even call him a role model. Anything he does that’s obviously out of bounds or reflects badly on his employer is grounds for disciplinary action.
Could an employer discipline or fire an employee who works on a manufacturing line and somehow ends up using, while off-duty, the N-word on a YouTube video? That’s a much more problematic question. Even if the employer has a well-written “hate speech” policy, that policy usually will apply only to on-duty conduct. But if the off-duty employee is wearing his employer’s uniform when the video is made, discipline may very well be possible. But no action should be taken until legal guidance is obtained.
As I observed in an earlier post, the reaction to Deen’s sins was extreme and wrongheaded. The reaction to Cooper’s tirade is still a bit up in the air in terms of the punishment he will receive from his employer. Of course, there’s been plenty of reaction from other quarters.
Cooper’s outburst occurred at a Kenny Chesney concert. Chesney knows something about bad publicity in light of the annulment of his marriage to actress Renee Zellweger because Zellweger accused him of fraud (a charge she later retracted). But Chesney, whose hit “The Boys of Fall,” gives him more than a passing interest in the NFL, was quick to react. According to Chesney, what Cooper said “was hateful beyond words.” And he has never heard one of his country music buddies use a racial slur without telling the buddy how hateful that kind of language is? Really?
Chesney grew up in East Tennessee. I know a little bit about that neck of the woods—enough to know that, unfortunately, the N-word is still used there and it was used there when Chesney was growing up. I have no reason to believe that Chesney has ever used it. But I wonder if he’s ever heard a “joke” using the N-word. Did he laugh, or did he say, “That’s hateful beyond words”? Or maybe he is as pure as the driven snow.
It’s appropriate to shine a light on an employer or employee who uses a racial slur, regardless of who that employer or employee is. It’s appropriate to take legal action against such an employer and to discipline or fire such an employee. The use of the N-word is a hurtful and demeaning act. It’s a part of our past that we just can’t seem to banish. But instead of being self-righteous and falsely perfect, let’s permit the courts and employers to exercise the authority they’ve been given.
John B. Phillips has practiced employment and business law for almost 40 years. While he has been in private practice for most of his career, he has also served as VP and Deputy General Counsel for Labor and Employment with Coca-Cola Enterprises and Senior VP and General Counsel with CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries. He now consults with various companies and organizations concerning HR, business and leadership-related issues. He can be reached at johnphillips.consult@gmail.com.
John,
Overall, a very good article, with one exception. As someone who is from East Tennessee, I’d appreciate you not labeling us all as racists.
I understand I may be missing the point, but that paragraph stuck out to me, even after re-reading the entire piece. Your generalizations about that region read just as ignorant as the hateful comments you’re writing about.
This is all getting so tiresome. We should all treat each other with respect at all times. That we don’t is, unfortunately, just the way it is. It falls to parenting from an early age on to change how people behave as adults. The reality is there will always be individuals who say bad things. But does everything have to turn into a national debate on what should be done to So and so for having said such and such? And does that debate then have to turn into yet another insult that someone else has suffered? Now can one not even express his/her opinion without offending someone? Can we not learn some tolerance for something? Because no matter how hard you try, anything you say has the potential to offend someone if one looks hard enough.
Riley Cooper’s drunken rant reflects the current state of race relations in our country? NO THANK YOU!! I will choose to believe that his words reflect an inebriated angry vent and I will not dignify his words by tying them to the bigger issue of race relations.
James,
Thanks for your comment. It causes me to make a clarification that I should have made in my original post.
I certainly didn’t intend to label all or most East Tennesseans as racists, only to say that you don’t have to be in that neck of the woods too long before hearing the N-word. It’s a word that’s unfortunately used in a lot of places, but that doesn’t mean that most people in those places are racist.
For over a decade, we have spent part of the summer in Maine. In some parts of Maine, the N-word is used not infrequently (and now I have offended Mainers).
Back to East Tennessee. I am a native Tennessean. I have lived and practiced law in East Tennessee for forty years and have handled employment cases all around the region. Thus, I have some basis for what I said in my original post. I apologize for coming across as labeling most or all East Tennesseans as racists. I don’t believe we are. I also don’t believe that when we hear someone use the N-word, we call them out for doing so. Until we start doing that, I’m suspicious of those among us who get on their high horse and put down N-word users we don’t even know. To cut Mr. Chesney some slack, maybe he actually knows Riley Cooper, and maybe he always chastises all users of racial epithets. Maybe.
To pick up on Terry’s comment, we all need to be respectful with the use of our language and set the right example in the way we show our respect. And even then, we may still offend someone.
Thanks for your comments.
John