Movin' On Up!

'Gram by Ed Templeton.

Whether or not Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert ends up as a hero or a non-acronym goat after tonight's game (this blogpost and any predictions made within are pointless and won't happen because right now it's 7:21 p.m. CST), we can at least thank him for priming the pumps a bit on skateboarding's most recent teachable moment. If you don't follow the bouncing ball, a catch up: Hibbert called the Media "motherfuckers" in a locker room interview and then on national television, used the tacky, passé and actually-homophobic phrase, "no-homo."

Hibbert, a seemingly likable dude who makes guest appearances on television shows I watch, was met with amusement over the MFers remark and disappointment, more than anything else, for "no-homo." To crib from Mike Pesca, who spoke on Hang Up and Listen, he analogized Hibbert's remarks with that sometimes-ill-spoken friend who uses terms like "Jewed him down." That buddy hears that turn of phrase and knows the idea behind it without internalizing what the idea and phrase mean. He uses it anyways, with a thin defense of ignorance. I agree with Pesca's take, but who really knows what Hibbert thinks?

The big man paid a $75,000 fine for what much of the fourth estate called a "gay slur" and issued one of those boilerplate apologies that, for what it's worth, sounded much like a true apology.

Up top is a quote from Nyjah Huston, which appeared in a Thrasher interview. The idiotic, banal, young man sexism exhibited there doesn't seem that shocking because skateboarding's boy's club is so seemingly intact. Then again, there's more than enough evidence out there that Nyjah is categorically wrong; no Youtube clips necessary. Parity between men and women in skateboarding, backside-noseblunt-16-stairs-wise, isn't a reality, and maybe never will be, but that's beyond the point. Authentic, this-is-good-and-real skateboarding parity is a reality. Look no further than Elissa Steamer, et. al.

That Nyjah offered a swift and seemingly-sincere apology via Twitter only a day after Ed Templeton posted the picture above is either good or timely PR and probably both. That the apology stemmed from a print interview that he likely recorded weeks, or more likely, months ago, makes the cynic in me a bit more cynical about that apology, but it's out there, nonetheless, just like Hibbert's.

Yes, a teachable moment in skateboarding, where it's one small step for the "sport" aspect in the realm of particularly prompt apologies and something more substantial when it comes to the need apologize, in the first place. We might make it, after all, though Nyjah pays no fine.

Update: From Wikipedia, for maybe some context:

Huston revealed in a 2006 interview that he had been raised by his father as a strict vegan from birth up until the time of the interview. In a 2012 interview, Huston stated that he had tried meat and dairy for the first time. As part of his strict Rastafarian upbringing, Huston was only permitted to listen to reggae music and was unable to cut his dreadlocks.

Following his return to Element, Huston revealed that his father's controlling behavior had led to estrangement, further explaining that his father refused to return video footage of Huston's skateboarding following the separation. Huston lived with his father in Puerto Rico for a period of time and, as of 2011, owns a property in the country. As of December 2012, Huston resides with his mother, no longer adheres to a strict Rastafarian lifestyle, and has identified hip hop as his favorite musical style to listen to.

Another: Without having the magazine handy, who conducted that interview? "The women do the downhill stuff because they think it's like sidewalk surfing. They don't realize how dangerous it really is." Phelps?