Last month the famous coach of the Super Bowl Champion New York Football Giants, the New York Jets, and now the Dallas Cowboys made a critical remark about Japanese people and their culture. Coach Parcells made these statements without a bit of remorse. This is troubling because being the Head coach of a multi-cultured football team and the leader of 60 other individuals from different lifestyles, he is and should be held to a higher standard.

Mr. Parcells is a middle age white American male. He played football in the late 1950's with the New York Giants. After a short football career in New York he became offensive assistant coach with another famous coach, Vice Lombardi. In the sixties the National Football League expanded with a team in Texas under the leadership of Tom Landrey. Landrey wanted Parcells to help him with his new team in Texas.

Head football coach Bill Parcells later apologized for the remark but the cat was already out of the verbal bag. The (JACL) Japanese American Citizens League wants both Parcells and the (NFL) National Football League to go to racial educational classes. They want them to attend these classes on race and learn what is offensive and non-offensive to other minorities in America. This sounds like a wonderful idea; maybe these spoiled sports icons would think before they speak offensively in public. Insensitive statements will happen again, and again the perpetrator will get reprimanded. But will America learn anything? Let's hope so.

What Coach Parcells stated at the Cowboy Press conference many Americans might be thinking but should never express. Parcells stirred up the old memories and feelings Americans had after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Using the Old World War Two word JAP--a word nobody uses today unless they want to degrade Japanese Americans or anyone of Japanese descent.

Sixty years after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese government and Japanese people are now one of America's closest allies and friend on the Asian content. America and Americans could not work, trade, or vacation in the Asian continent without Japanese guidance.

It is foolish for an educated man to use words like Jap to describe his team offensive plays. Parcells stated at a Dallas Cowboy press conference: "That Mike (defensive coordinator) wants the defense to do well, and Sean, the new Cowboy offensive coordinator [who is Asian American and Japanese descent] he's going to have a few…. No disrespect to Orientals, but what we call "JAP" plays OK surprise things" The Dallas Cowboy conference room went silent. All of the reporters started looking at each other, then Parcells stated, "No disrespect to anyone."

These statements were inappropriate and unnecessary in describing the new Dallas Cowboy offensive play-book. Coach Parcells and the National Football League still do not get it. Calling Asian Americans, Orientals is very offensive and racist it's like calling African-Americans, colored or calling Latino Americans, Hispanic.

This incident just continues the insensitivity toward Asians and Asian Americans. The media is a major contributor toward this attitude about Asian Americans and the continent of Asia. This writer is very disappointed in the way the National Football League handled the incident. The NFL gave Parcells a hand slap--he would only get a reprimand.

This action tells the world that the NFL, which is now 70 per cent, African American, is not serious about the issue of race relations in the sport of football. We must tell the National Football League that African Americans and other Americans will no longer permit this kind of behavior by a coach, player, or announcer.

THAT IS THE GRAYLINE ! []