Parcells apologizes for racial slur

[Phinehas]

I don't believe for a second that Parcell was out to offend or hurt anyone. However, some were offended and hurt by what he said. (Some weren't.) In my opinion, apologies were made-to-order for this sort of scenario. On the other hand, I have a hard time comprehending how a fine or any other sort of punitive action would be justified.

If you accidentally step on someone's toe, the fact that you didn't mean to do it doesn't make the incident any less painful for the person with the mashed toe. So you apologize sincerely. And when the injured party realizes that it was an accident and that you are really sorry to have caused them pain, they accept the apology and everyone goes on with their lives. To turn and slap someone who only stepped on your toe accidentally or to take any sort of punitive action against them seems ungracious and even unreasonable to me. Slapping someone for accidentally stepping on someone else's toe seems even more inane.

Parcell verbally stepped on some toes. It hurt some people. Their pain was real and legitimate. It was clumsy of him, and knowing he was in the wrong, he apologized. I don't see any indication that he hurt anyone deliberately, nor do I get the impression that his apology was insincere. I think the gracious thing to do is for those who were personally offended to accept his apology and to move on. Fining him for being clumsy, without any evidence of ill intent, just makes no sense to me.

--Phin