LIGHTEN UP, OR TIGHTEN UP
Rabbi Zelig Pliskin writes wonderful books on midot (character). I gladly recommend to you almost everything he writes.

Phil Jackson, coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, was reprimanded last month by the NBA for making a sexual comment following a Lakers' loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs made 13 3-pointers in that game, and Jackson was asked if too much penetration was leading to open outside shooters. The following is what was reported on the AP news service. Jackson said: "We call this a 'Brokeback Mountain' game, because there's so much penetration and kickouts, This was one of those games."

Now, Jackson himself said that he deserved the reprimand from League officials. (He then said, "If I've offended any horses, Texans, cowboys or gays, I apologize," and I actually don't find that to be funny or clever at all.) But the point is that he agreed that he said the wrong thing and he agreed that he deserved public rebuke. The NBA said, "The remarks are in poor taste." The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said that Jackson's been coaching long enough that he should know better than to make "cheap gay jokes."

May I be perhaps provocative and ask you whether this throwaway comment of Mr. Jackson's is really what the NBA and the GLAAD should be worried about? I understand that his 11-letter description of the sex act is not specific to homosexuals and one can ask why he associates it with homosexuals. But even so, is it that bad for a coach to make that statement by way of describing how his team misplayed the Spurs' offensive game?

At Tree of Life, and as your rabbi, we are proud that we do not tolerate any kind of sexual bigotry. We fight against public discrimination and personal dislike of gay people. And we are not amused by "gay jokes." On that level, our stance is clear.

From Our Rabbi, page 2

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