Phil Mushnick, NY Post Writer: Jay-Z is the Racist, Not Me
A New York Post columnist, Phil Mushnick, has come under fire for an article published Friday, May 4, in which he used racial and sexist epithets to describe rapper Jay-Z and the newly minted Brooklyn Nets. He responded to the backlash today.
"I don't call black men the N-word; I don't regard young women as b----es and whores; I don't glorify the use of assault weapons and drugs. Jay-Z, on the other hand…..Is he the only NBA owner allowed to call black men N---ers?" Mushnick emailed to BobsBlitz.com.
The controversy started when Mushnick attempted to lambast Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, a minority owner of the Nets with 1.5 percent of the team, for the new "urban" logo, which uses only black and white. In addition, Mushnick attacked the Nets for allowing the influential rapper to be part of their marketing decisions, saying they might as well call themselves the "New York N-----s."
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"Why [be] the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N-----s? The cheerleaders could be the Brooklyn B---hes or H-s. Team logo? A 9 mm with hollow-tip shell casings strewn beneath," he wrote.
"Wanna be Jay-Z hip? Then go all the way!" Mushnick added. The sports columnists also cited the sentiments of many, who were less than impressed with the monochromatic design.
The public is outraged by the blatant racial overtones in the column, and- although it could have been an ultimately misguided and poorly received satire- many are calling for him to be fired.
"That's an unfortunate final column," tweeted Darin Gantt in response to the article.
Others posted that Mushnick "seems to have gone full Imus," and was "inappropriate, offensive, racist, [and] oblivious" while referring to the column.
The "oblivious" quote is especially relevant, as Jay-Z is known not only for his emceeing prowess, but for his multiple successful business ventures, including his marketing skills. He founded clothing line Rocawear along with music mogul Damon Dash and owns several "40/40 Club" sports bars.
He is also the co-brand director for Budweiser Select, where he assists with marketing and advertising- a part of his resume that not only makes Mushnick's claim baseless, but confusing.
His claim that Carter "profits from the worst and most sustaining self-enslaving stereotypes of black-American culture" are especially irrelevant to Jay-Z, who- after the January birth of his daughter Blue Ivy- has vowed to stop using the word b---- in an effort to uplift African-American people.
New York Post editors had no issue with the article being published as it was, according to BobsBlitz.com.
