Racists R Us

Yeah......right or " It was taken out of context......."

"When the 81-year-old retiree arrived, however, he found himself in the middle of a controversy created by his calling Macon a 'n----- town' at the team check-in table on the arena's concourse before Thursday's Class AA semifinal session.
Goldston was overheard using the phrase twice by Macon Telegraph reporter Josh Kendall. He then repeated the word another time later Thursday to other people at the Coliseum.
Macon Mayor Jack Ellis called for Goldston's resignation during a hastily called afternoon news conference at the Coliseum. GHSA official Earl Etheridge then asked Goldston, who heard much of the press conference from the back of the lobby, to leave the arena.
'I got in my car and drove home,' Goldston said when contacted at home Friday evening. 'I don't want to cause the GHSA any embarrassment.'
Goldston, who admitted Thursday night that he should not have used the language, reiterated that stance on Friday.
'It was my fault. I used the n-word. That's bad, but I didn't use any derogatory remarks about any blacks,' he said."
-snip-
Etheridge, who is a member of the GHSA executive committee, said he was told to handle the situation by GHSA Executive Director Ralph Swearngin, who was in Gwinnett County for Friday's Class AAAAA and AAAA finals. Etheridge, who apologized for the GHSA during the press conference, assumed Goldston's duties on Friday, then sought to shift the focus from the controversy to the games.
Four Class AAA semifinals were played Friday and six state championship games will be played today. Swearngin will be on hand for today's games.
"It's obvious to say we would not look at all positively on anybody in any context using a racial slur," Swearngin said when contacted Thursday night about Goldston's comment.
Said Etheridge: "The important thing is that the games be played and everybody go on about their business of playing."
He said the city and GHSA would need to meet after the tournament's conclusion to discuss the situation.
"When this is over, we need to sit down and mend fences to make sure that the tournament comes back here," Etheridge said. "We need to make sure that we do everything we can do to keep things as they are. And I'm sure it will be."
-snip-
Goldston said he did not see the story, which did not appear in the edition of The Telegraph delivered in Bonaire, until after receiving a "congratulatory" phone call in the morning. Goldston said he received three or four calls from people congratulating him for telling, "them like it is. There are a lot of n----- in Macon."
"He should be able to say it if he wants to. If he wants to say it, he should without any repercussions," said Bobby Glover, a 49-year old white male from Laurens County who was at the Coliseum on Friday night. "I don't think anything should've happened. I didn't agree with the uproar. It doesn't surprise me, but I don't think anything should've been done."