[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 28, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E803-E804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            EXPOSING RACISM

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 1999

  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker, in my continuing efforts to document and 
expose racism in America, I submit the following articles into the 
Congressional Record.

                NHL Can't Substantiate Racial Allegation

                            (By Ken Berger)

       Philadelphia (AP).--Embroiled in another racial 
     controversy, the NHL had to admit the ugly reality of life on 
     the ice. ``Zero tolerance'' often is hindered when there are 
     zero witnesses.
       Fact is, the annoying, personal and sometimes hateful words 
     exchanged by players who are fighting for supremacy in a 
     brutal game rarely travel to the ears of others or get caught 
     on tape. The league ruled Tuesday that it was unable to 
     confirm the latest accusation of racial hatred that crept 
     into the game, leaving Sandy McCarthy and Tie Domi to settle 
     their dispute the way it started--one-on-one.
       After reviewing tapes and interviewing both players, league 
     disciplinarian Colin Campbell ruled McCarthy and Domi are the 
     only ones who know what happened Monday night on the national 
     stage of a Stanley Cup playoff game. Both players will be on 
     the ice again tonight in Game 4 of the contentious first-
     round series between Philadelphia and Toronto.
       ``None of the on-ice or off-ice officials could confirm 
     having heard an offensive remark,'' Campbell, vice president 
     and director of hockey operations, said in a statement from 
     New York. ``The league is on record as having a zero-
     tolerance policy regarding any racially motivated behavior, 
     and any claim that a taunt or slur took place is an extremely 
     serious one.''
       ``After a thorough investigation, however, we have 
     concluded this allegation cannot be independently 
     substantiated.''
       After trading shoves and words with Domi during Toronto's 
     2-1 victory Monday night, McCarthy said the Maple Leafs 
     forward ``dropped an N-bomb on me'' during a heated exchange 
     in the second period. Officials on the ice and players for 
     both teams said they didn't hear the slur. Domi denied using 
     it, saying instead that McCarthy had spit in his face.
       ``I would never use those kinds of words, and he knows 
     that,'' Domi said. ``He can say what he wants.''
       McCarthy, whose father is black and mother white, said it 
     was the first time he'd had a racial slur directed at him in 
     his career.
       ``I think it's awful for the game,'' McCarthy said Tuesday 
     at the Flyers' training facility in suburban New Jersey. 
     ``That's why is shouldn't be tolerated.''
       McCarthy said he was sure Domi used the slur. ``No doubt 
     whatsoever,'' McCarthy said. ``You can't mistake that word 
     for anything else.''
       After a workout at a separate New Jersey training site, 
     Toronto coach Pat Quinn defended Domi. Asked why McCarthy 
     would make such an accusation, Quinn said, ``I think he's 
     bloody embarrassed by spitting in the man's face.''
       Domi added: ``It's something that will hopefully blow over, 
     I've played with black guys in the league and I respect 
     them.''
       In recent years, some NHL players have been accused of 
     attacking the heritage of black players, whose numbers are 
     still small but growing in a sport dominated by whites. In 
     fact, McCarthy was involved in one of the incidents.
       While with Tampa Bay, he and Darcy Tucker were cleared of 
     accusations they made racial gestures at Florida Panthers 
     forward Peter Worrell, who is black, during an exhibition 
     game in October.
       ``It was proven that nothing happened,'' McCarthy said. 
     ``We talked to Peter on the phone, and he said, `I don't know 
     what's going on, but I didn't hear anything and nothing 
     happened.' ''
       Craig Berube, now with the Flyers, was found guilty of 
     using a slur while with Washington in November 1997 and was 
     suspended. Shortly thereafter, the league announced a ``zero-
     tolerance'' policy on the matter.
       ``We're playing a sport where guys are nuts out there 
     sometimes,'' Berube said. ``They're losing their minds, 
     they're saying things. I say things. Everybody says stuff and 
     does stuff they shouldn't do. You don't want to do it, but at 
     the time you're not thinking like that.''
       Though no league action was taken, the specter of racial 
     hate still hangs over the NHL.
       Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said racial insults were 
     prevalent during his Hall of Fame career. Even fewer blacks 
     were in the league when he played from 1969-84.
       ``Unless you're a black player like Sandy McCarthy, none of 
     us can understand what calling a person that name does to 
     you,'' Clarke said. ``It's up to the league to control that 
     kind of stuff. And if an official hears it, then they should 
     do something to stop it.''
       When it comes down to one player's words against another's, 
     there seem to be zero answers.


     
                                  ____
      Couple, Foundation, Admit Campaign Violations In Settlement

                         (By Hunter T. George)

       Olympia (AP--A Seattle couple and a nonprofit charitable 
     foundation have agreed to pay a $15,000 civil fine for 
     concealing the source of a $50,000 contribution to a 
     political campaign.
       Under the settlement reached with state Public Disclosure 
     Commission investigators, the couple and the Seattle-based 
     foundation, A Territory Resource, admitted to unintentional 
     violations of the law.
       The commission voted 3-0 Tuesday to accept the settlement, 
     which calls for each party to pay a $7,500 fine. The 
     foundation also agreed to consult with state campaign finance 
     regulators before seeking to make future campaign 
     contributions on behalf of foundation donors.
       The PDC opened an investigation after receiving a complaint 
     about a contribution to the No!200 campaign against last 
     fall's ballot initiative that sought to roll back government 
     affirmative action programs. Voters approved the initiative.
       The couple, David Foecke and Pat Close, contributed $6,250 
     in their names to the No!200 campaign. They also sent $50,000 
     to their ``donor advised account'' with ATR, which allows 
     contributors to suggest how such money should be spent.
       ATR complied with the couple's request to send all $50,000 
     to the No!200 campaign.
       Last Friday, PDC investigators accused the foundation of 
     concealing the source of a campaign contribution and 
     illegally acting as an intermediary. Investigators accused 
     the couple of making an anonymous contribution.
       There was no scheme between the couple, part owners of Cafe 
     Flora restaurant in Seattle, and the foundation to break the 
     law, said their attorney, Christopher Kane. They simply were 
     afraid the size of the contribution would draw attention to 
     themselves instead of the campaign against the initiative, he 
     said.
       ``We felt very strongly that the law was unclear,'' Kane 
     told the commission.
       Foecke and Close agreed to the settlement to resolve the 
     issue and refocus attention on the ``negative effects of 
     Initiative 200 on civil rights and equal opportunity,'' the 
     couple said in a statement issued through a public relations 
     firm.

[[Page E804]]

       The foundation's lawyer, Kevin Hamilton, emphasized to the 
     commission that the violations weren't intentional.
       The $7,500 fines exceeded the $2,500 maximum penalty 
     available to the PDC under state law. The total amounted to 
     half of the $30,000 fine the state could have sought in court 
     if the commission had chosen to defer the case to the 
     attorney general, PDC attorney Steve Reinmuth said.


     
                                  ____
        Student Committee Urges University To Fight Hate Crimes

       Decatur, Ill. (AP)--Millikin University freshman Howard 
     Walters says college is one of the best places to meet people 
     from different races and backgrounds.
       So it seemed natural for Walters to join a student 
     committee urging the private, four-year university to take 
     action against hate crimes--particularly after reports of 
     several racially motivated incidents at the school in the 
     last few months.
       ``We need to understand diversity,'' Walters said. ``When 
     we leave the university, we enter a very diverse world.''
       The committee, which has black and white members, has asked 
     the university to issue a hate-crime policy, prosecute 
     infractions fully and require diversity training for all 
     faculty, staff and students. They also asked Millikin 
     students to report all acts of hate to campus security.
       The students formed the committee themselves and were not 
     appointed by the university, but Terry Bush, the school's 
     vice president for marketing and community affairs, said 
     administrators are interested in their ideas.
       ``We're very glad students are actively involved in opening 
     up the culture of campus, in saying to each other, `We won't 
     put up with this,' '' Bush said Tuesday. ``It's a very 
     positive sign.''
       Danielle Brown, a freshman, is a member of the committee. A 
     black student, she was wooed to Millikin on an academic 
     scholarship to study music after being an honors student in 
     high school. She loved it at first.
       But in October, she found a racial slur written on a 
     message board on her dormitory door. In March, more slurs 
     were written all over her door. A day later, someone drew a 
     scene depicting the hanging of a black person in another 
     building.
       And earlier in the year, an ethnically offensive e-mail was 
     sent to an international student by another student. That 
     student left the university when faced with disciplinary 
     action, Bush said.
       ``I came here with the intention of getting my degree,'' 
     Brown said. ``Now, I feel like, why should I be here? I want 
     answers. . . . What is the university doing to make sure this 
     doesn't happen again? I don't want anyone to have to feel 
     like I do now.''
       Sherilyn Poole, dean of student life and academic 
     development, met with the student committee on Monday and 
     told them there will be a hate crime policy outlined in the 
     1999-2000 student handbook.
       Bush also said that administrators had already been working 
     on many of the students' suggestions.
       Millikin is trying to diversify its campus by recruiting 
     minority students, faculty and staff. Total enrollment is 
     2,063 students, 14 percent of whom are non-white.
       Brown said incidents of racism, especially shouted slurs, 
     are common on and around the campus.
       The Millikin gay and lesbian community also has complained 
     of repeated verbal attacks--although most of the incidents 
     have not been reported to the university.
       John Mickler, director of security at Millikin, said the 
     university community needs to take a stand against hate.
       But he also said that he needs the cooperation of students. 
     Only three instances of hate crimes have been reported to him 
     since January, he said.

     

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