Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher issued a public apology Monday evening after calling the BCS standings "retarded" in his press conference earlier in the day.
When Fisher was asked about his one-loss Seminoles being ranked 10th in the BCS standings behind three SEC teams with one loss, he replied: "How retarded is that?"
Of course, being the politically correct world we are, Fisher had to apologize a few hours later.
"That's not the way I think," Fisher said. "It was a poor choice of words. I didn't mean to offend anyone in any way."
This falls in the category of slang that you might use around your friends, but should never use in a press conference or any other public speaking setting.
Of course, Fisher didn't mean the word in a derogatory way toward those with mental handicaps and there was a voracious debate on social media as to whether Fisher should have had to apologize at all.
My take is this (and we're very PC here at Dr. Saturday): Coaches are always under the microscope and what they say has a profound effect on that team's fan base. While it might have been an offhand remark that wasn't meant the way it was taken, the apology was necessary.
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