Isiah Thomas: Only black men allowed to call women the 'b word'

David Edwards

Published: Tuesday September 18, 2007





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A bizarre deposition given by the coach of The New York Knicks in a sexual harassment suit has attracted much attention in the media. During the testimony, former Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas suggested that when a black man refers to a woman as a "bitch" it's less offensive than when a white man does the same.

"White men better not call a black woman 'bitch' around Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, but if black men do it - well, that's fair game," Kati Cornell writes in Tuesday's New York Post.

Excerpts from New York Post article:

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"I'm sorry to say, I do make a distinction," Thomas said in a videotaped admission viewed by a Manhattan federal jury yesterday.

"A white man calling a black female 'bitch,' that is wrong with me. I am not accepting that. That's a problem for me," he said.

But asked if he'd have a problem with a black man calling a black woman "bitch," Thomas said, "Not as much."

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In a statement yesterday, Thomas said, "Let's not mischaracterize what I said. What I said is it is always wrong for any man to call a woman a bitch. I didn't do that, and I would never do that."

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This video is from CNN's American Morning, broadcast September 18.



