Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter is in hot water after he was caught clearly yelling an anti-gay slur at a Tennessee baseball player. The player went on to hit a home run as the Volunteers crushed the Demon Deacons, 11-5, in the NCAA playoff game.
The anti-gay incident occurred in the fourth inning with Tennessee already mounting a big lead. Outsports has asked a professional lip reader their opinion, and they said with almost 100% certainty that he said, “f***ing f***ot.”
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It seems no game official heard the slur. Otherwise, Walter should have been sent packing early from the game.
“Any racial or homophobic slur directed at the opposing team or umpires, is grounds for ejection, period,” said Dale Scott, the legendary former MLB umpire who came out publicly years ago.
Of course, the umpire has to have heard the slur himself, and he has to be able to positively identify who used it. Ejecting anyone from a game is a serious step, and the umpires cannot get it wrong. If they eject the head coach of a college team.
Walter issued a statement Tuesday, saying he doesn’t remember the incident (despite national TV cameras catching him), but apologizing anyway. Oh and, of course, it doesn’t reflect his values despite how easy it rolled off his tongue:
“I am very sorry for my outburst in frustration last night and I recognize the hurt and disappointment it has caused. I have seen the videos and while I do not remember the specific moment clearly, that language doesn’t reflect my values or the standards of this program.”
Wake Forest AD John Currie also gave the standard “not the character of the coach” nonsense.
That term doesn’t just suddenly pop up in the middle of a nationally televised game during the NCAA Playoffs. He’s used it before. And he’ll surely use it again — Though a harsh suspension could deter that. As the loss ended Wake Forest’s season, any much-deserved suspension would come next season.
Of course, no one has addressed the LGBTQ community that the slur targets. When coaches and AD’s don’t want to bring light to the harm this kind of language causes gay athletes — some of whom could easily be on the team — they just give broad “sorry for anyone hurt” statements. That’s what both Walter and Currie did here.
We’ll wait to see what substantive actions the ACC and Wake Forest take against the coach. We’re not holding our breath.
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