[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 7831-7832] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]EXPOSING RACISM ______ HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON of mississippi in the house of representatives Wednesday, April 28, 1999 Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker, in my continuing efforts to document and expose racism in America, I submit the following articles into the Congressional Record. NHL Can't Substantiate Racial Allegation (By Ken Berger) Philadelphia (AP).--Embroiled in another racial controversy, the NHL had to admit the ugly reality of life on the ice. ``Zero tolerance'' often is hindered when there are zero witnesses. Fact is, the annoying, personal and sometimes hateful words exchanged by players who are fighting for supremacy in a brutal game rarely travel to the ears of others or get caught on tape. The league ruled Tuesday that it was unable to confirm the latest accusation of racial hatred that crept into the game, leaving Sandy McCarthy and Tie Domi to settle their dispute the way it started--one-on-one. After reviewing tapes and interviewing both players, league disciplinarian Colin Campbell ruled McCarthy and Domi are the only ones who know what happened Monday night on the national stage of a Stanley Cup playoff game. Both players will be on the ice again tonight in Game 4 of the contentious first- round series between Philadelphia and Toronto. ``None of the on-ice or off-ice officials could confirm having heard an offensive remark,'' Campbell, vice president and director of hockey operations, said in a statement from New York. ``The league is on record as having a zero- tolerance policy regarding any racially motivated behavior, and any claim that a taunt or slur took place is an extremely serious one.'' ``After a thorough investigation, however, we have concluded this allegation cannot be independently substantiated.'' After trading shoves and words with Domi during Toronto's 2-1 victory Monday night, McCarthy said the Maple Leafs forward ``dropped an N-bomb on me'' during a heated exchange in the second period. Officials on the ice and players for both teams said they didn't hear the slur. Domi denied using it, saying instead that McCarthy had spit in his face. ``I would never use those kinds of words, and he knows that,'' Domi said. ``He can say what he wants.'' McCarthy, whose father is black and mother white, said it was the first time he'd had a racial slur directed at him in his career. ``I think it's awful for the game,'' McCarthy said Tuesday at the Flyers' training facility in suburban New Jersey. ``That's why is shouldn't be tolerated.'' McCarthy said he was sure Domi used the slur. ``No doubt whatsoever,'' McCarthy said. ``You can't mistake that word for anything else.'' After a workout at a separate New Jersey training site, Toronto coach Pat Quinn defended Domi. Asked why McCarthy would make such an accusation, Quinn said, ``I think he's bloody embarrassed by spitting in the man's face.'' Domi added: ``It's something that will hopefully blow over, I've played with black guys in the league and I respect them.'' In recent years, some NHL players have been accused of attacking the heritage of black players, whose numbers are still small but growing in a sport dominated by whites. In fact, McCarthy was involved in one of the incidents. While with Tampa Bay, he and Darcy Tucker were cleared of accusations they made racial gestures at Florida Panthers forward Peter Worrell, who is black, during an exhibition game in October. ``It was proven that nothing happened,'' McCarthy said. ``We talked to Peter on the phone, and he said, `I don't know what's going on, but I didn't hear anything and nothing happened.' '' Craig Berube, now with the Flyers, was found guilty of using a slur while with Washington in November 1997 and was suspended. Shortly thereafter, the league announced a ``zero- tolerance'' policy on the matter. ``We're playing a sport where guys are nuts out there sometimes,'' Berube said. ``They're losing their minds, they're saying things. I say things. Everybody says stuff and does stuff they shouldn't do. You don't want to do it, but at the time you're not thinking like that.'' Though no league action was taken, the specter of racial hate still hangs over the NHL. Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said racial insults were prevalent during his Hall of Fame career. Even fewer blacks were in the league when he played from 1969-84. ``Unless you're a black player like Sandy McCarthy, none of us can understand what calling a person that name does to you,'' Clarke said. ``It's up to the league to control that kind of stuff. And if an official hears it, then they should do something to stop it.'' When it comes down to one player's words against another's, there seem to be zero answers. ____ Couple, Foundation, Admit Campaign Violations In Settlement (By Hunter T. George) Olympia (AP--A Seattle couple and a nonprofit charitable foundation have agreed to pay a $15,000 civil fine for concealing the source of a $50,000 contribution to a political campaign. Under the settlement reached with state Public Disclosure Commission investigators, the couple and the Seattle-based foundation, A Territory Resource, admitted to unintentional violations of the law. The commission voted 3-0 Tuesday to accept the settlement, which calls for each party to pay a $7,500 fine. The foundation also agreed to consult with state campaign finance regulators before seeking to make future campaign contributions on behalf of foundation donors. The PDC opened an investigation after receiving a complaint about a contribution to the No!200 campaign against last fall's ballot initiative that sought to roll back government affirmative action programs. Voters approved the initiative. The couple, David Foecke and Pat Close, contributed $6,250 in their names to the No!200 campaign. They also sent $50,000 to their ``donor advised account'' with ATR, which allows contributors to suggest how such money should be spent. ATR complied with the couple's request to send all $50,000 to the No!200 campaign. Last Friday, PDC investigators accused the foundation of concealing the source of a campaign contribution and illegally acting as an intermediary. Investigators accused the couple of making an anonymous contribution. There was no scheme between the couple, part owners of Cafe Flora restaurant in Seattle, and the foundation to break the law, said their attorney, Christopher Kane. They simply were afraid the size of the contribution would draw attention to themselves instead of the campaign against the initiative, he said. ``We felt very strongly that the law was unclear,'' Kane told the commission. Foecke and Close agreed to the settlement to resolve the issue and refocus attention on the ``negative effects of Initiative 200 on civil rights and equal opportunity,'' the couple said in a statement issued through a public relations firm. The foundation's lawyer, Kevin Hamilton, emphasized to the commission that the violations weren't intentional. The $7,500 fines exceeded the $2,500 maximum penalty available to the PDC under state law. The total amounted to half of the $30,000 fine the state could have sought in court if the commission had chosen to defer the case to the attorney general, PDC attorney Steve Reinmuth said. ____ Student Committee Urges University To Fight Hate Crimes Decatur, Ill. (AP)--Millikin University freshman Howard Walters says college is one of the best places to meet people from different races and backgrounds. So it seemed natural for Walters to join a student committee urging the private, four-year university to take action against hate crimes--particularly after reports of several racially motivated incidents at the school in the last few months. ``We need to understand diversity,'' Walters said. ``When we leave the university, we enter a very diverse world.'' The committee, which has black and white members, has asked the university to issue a hate-crime policy, prosecute infractions fully and require diversity training for all faculty, staff and students. They also asked Millikin students to report all acts of hate to campus security. The students formed the committee themselves and were not appointed by the university, but Terry Bush, the school's vice president for marketing and community affairs, said administrators are interested in their ideas. [[Page 7832]] ``We're very glad students are actively involved in opening up the culture of campus, in saying to each other, `We won't put up with this,' '' Bush said Tuesday. ``It's a very positive sign.'' Danielle Brown, a freshman, is a member of the committee. A black student, she was wooed to Millikin on an academic scholarship to study music after being an honors student in high school. She loved it at first. But in October, she found a racial slur written on a message board on her dormitory door. In March, more slurs were written all over her door. A day later, someone drew a scene depicting the hanging of a black person in another building. And earlier in the year, an ethnically offensive e-mail was sent to an international student by another student. That student left the university when faced with disciplinary action, Bush said. ``I came here with the intention of getting my degree,'' Brown said. ``Now, I feel like, why should I be here? I want answers. . . . What is the university doing to make sure this doesn't happen again? I don't want anyone to have to feel like I do now.'' Sherilyn Poole, dean of student life and academic development, met with the student committee on Monday and told them there will be a hate crime policy outlined in the 1999-2000 student handbook. Bush also said that administrators had already been working on many of the students' suggestions. Millikin is trying to diversify its campus by recruiting minority students, faculty and staff. Total enrollment is 2,063 students, 14 percent of whom are non-white. Brown said incidents of racism, especially shouted slurs, are common on and around the campus. The Millikin gay and lesbian community also has complained of repeated verbal attacks--although most of the incidents have not been reported to the university. John Mickler, director of security at Millikin, said the university community needs to take a stand against hate. But he also said that he needs the cooperation of students. Only three instances of hate crimes have been reported to him since January, he said. ____________________