- Jun 30, 2015
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Brandon Manning has admitted that he was trying to severely injure NHL players on purpose. That doesn't bode well for him.I'm not sure how to feel about this.
I know that hurling a racial slur is obviously something that's never okay. Not even close to being okay.
But on the other hand, I want to be more forgiving when I see things like this. I hope it's a way for those people to gain some self-awareness about their behaviour, and actually change for the better, rather than let their anger/embarrassment for being caught build resentment even further.
I'm someone who believes that the things people say might not always reflect how they feel. Sometimes your brain kind of just picks out those words in the heat of the moment, even if you haven't used them in a long time. That's not me trying to excuse what he did, but rather try to analyze why these things happen and how to overcome/move past them.
Of course he's wrong for saying it. But it doesn't mean he can't change moving forward. I'm not going to just start hurling insults at him now just because he acted that way. It's unprofessional, doesn't belong in the league, and will be taken care of. My outrage isn't going to change that.
To be honest, the term racism itself has sort of evolved in its definition over the past few decades. It's messy because, yes, in that instance he was acting in a racist manner. But was he being a racist? I'm not sure.
As far as his racial slur goes, it's his only reported incident.
He's probably a really good guy tho. He's a keeper.