Oct 28th 2008 12:00PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Giants, NFL Media Watch, NFL Real Talk, NFL RumorsSteve Serby is a writer for the , which means that lots of people read the things he writes on a regular basis. He recently used “Good for [Tom] Coughlin for tightening the noose around Plaxico Burress” as a sentence in the opening graf on a piece re: why Plax deserves to get punished by the Giants.

The problem with that sentence is, of course, that Burress is an African-American and the use of the word “noose” tends to have some pretty negative historical connotations. And, unsurprisingly, Reverend Al Sharpton is not exactly excited about Serby’s work.
“To make such a blatant racist statement about an African-American football player with a neck injury is completely unacceptable,” Sharpton said. “Clearly, the racial connotation is very disturbing. … This is the verbal reflection of a hanging noose.”

Sharpton said that if the Post did not acknowledge that the column was offensive, he would further highlight the issue but he did not specify what steps he would take. “They have to act swiftly,” Sharpton said. “If we don’t see action, I will lay out exactly what that is … we would like to talk to someone there about whether it was the writer or editor who let this in.”
Now, personally, I have no real business deciding whether or not the use of the word “noose” is offensive, at least in terms of my own genealogical background. However, I’m a little torn on this issue.Continue Reading