CU president under fire for 'c-word' comments

[PfcHammer]

http://www.foxsports.com/content/view?contentId=2493906&display=/Display/Html/Story/newprintable

CU president under fire for 'c-word' comments
P. SOLOMON BANDA / Associated Press
Posted: 51 minutes ago

DENVER (AP) — The University of Colorado president began to cry during an interview after the release of a transcript that showed her refusing to condemn a football player's alleged use of a vulgar anatomical term to describe a female teammate.

An attorney told Betsy Hoffman during a heated legal deposition this month in a federal court case that the vulgar reference had been used by a player to describe then-teammate Katie Hnida.
The attorney asked Hoffman whether she thought the term was "a filthy and vile word."

Hoffman replied it was a "swear word" and that its meaning depended on the circumstances in which it was used, according to a copy of the June 5 deposition released by the school Tuesday.

Asked if it could ever be used in a polite context, Hoffman replied: "Yes, I've actually heard it used as a term of endearment."

[Catfight]

1. ROFLMA...term of endearment? ROFLMA like the 'n" word was used

as such? She'll some day appreciate the word behind bars.

[Susang]

3. You think she should be jailed for this?

Seriously?

[ElectroPrincess]

5. True!

And people say that University Officials are lacking a sense of humor. <eg> She could have "gotten over" if she smiled when she said it. Oh yeah, that's just common knowledge. ROTFLMAO

[Dems2002]

11. I may be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt

The text of the article explained that she is a medieval scholar and was possibly answering as such, meaning in a strict academic fashion. Oftentimes scholars have their heads so firmly in the clouds they don't think about how what they say can be misinterpreted. I think that that may have been the case here. It's also possible I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt because she's a woman. BUT, the medieval scholar issue shouldn't be dismissed.

Dems

[Susang]

12. I'm glad you also read the whole article

Like I stated below, I read this last night and somewhat understood why she said what she said. I'm not agreeing with it, I just understand the reaction to an agressive attorney questioning you. I have a feeling her comments were more about semantics than anything. This is academia, afterall.

[atreides1]

17. So...

As long as the circumstance is within a certain context, then any student should be able to walk up to President Hoffman, and refer to her as a C***, as long as they explain that it's a term of endearment.

And it would help the student if they are studying the Middle Ages.

[Book Lover]

30. I am a medievalist and that excuse is BS

I have studied medieval paeleography and codicology for nearly 15 years, and my major was medieval English literature. Yet somehow I know that we no longer say the words "shit" or "cunt" as casually as medieval English speakers did. This woman is also a university president, and you don't achieve that position by behaving like you live in the ivory tower.

[indepat]

15. Endearing like villain used the "n" word in the movie "Silver Streak?"

[Mikimouse]

2. In my 50 years of life, I have never heard...

anythng so mind numbingly stupid as the responses from this 'university president'. Gives a real good clue about who is paying her little extra under the table. Hooray for university sports! NOT! I hope they fry her in the faculty senate and then make her wear a button on campus that clearly reads "C*** is a term of endearment, so get over it!"

[Tight_rope]

4. "Yes, I've actually heard it used as a term of endearment."! WTF?

:wtf: Hoffman replied: "Yes, I've actually heard it used as a term of endearment." I guess her husband calls her a bitch and a hoe in bed and she thinks it's ok because, "It's a term of endearment".

Hoffman needs to be fired. She has no busy being the Universities president. She is a total disgrace to women and to that university. :spank:

[liberalhistorian]

6. You have GOT to be

fucking KIDDING me, right? I have NEVER EVER EVER heard that word used as a "term of endearment." Used as many other nasty, cruel things, yes, but never a "term of endearment." She must have a totally different definition of that phrase than most of the rest of us do. As a woman, I'd rather be called almost any other name besides that particular vulgarity.

[Susang]

10. She's a medieval scholar

I read this story last night. When you read the full context, you realize that she was stupid and foolish for saying what she said and she let her anger at the attorney who was questioning her get the better of her. I'm not defending her comments, just trying to understand why a woman who did so much for the University during the scandal could be so insensitive with her comments now.

[Kipepeo]

22. i do think it depends on context

Check out the book "Cunt" by Inga Muscio: http://www.ingalagringa.com/index.html

But I think a male student calling a female student that is obviously not a positive context. Totally derogatory.

[Susang]

25. That's a great book

n/t

[daleo]

7. Does this school have mixed gender football team?

That is how it reads to me.

[MaineDem]

9. I believe they had a female placekicker

She transferred to a school in AZ, if I remember correctly.

[daleo]

16. Thanks, I hadn't heard that

It makes the article easier to follow.

I had heard that the "c" word was once a common noun, hundreds of years ago, and not considered either an insult or a swear word. But, it is a stretch to imagine it ever being a term of endearment in the modern era.

[playahata1]

32. No, she went to the Univ. of NEW MEXICO.

n/t

[MaineDem]

8. My mind is official blown now

Good lord, I can't believe this woman!!!

[wjsander]

13. Does she do part-time work for the Bush Administration?

No really... I'd like to know. :wtf:

[janx]

14. Before everybody gets into beating up on Betsy Hoffman--

what is foxsports.com ?

[Bluebear]

18. Endearment? So this is how GOPers talk at home!

Happy anniversary, bitch! Thanks for having my children and spending 25 years with me you C___ you!

Brother!

[DrWeird]

19. Can somebody clear this up for me?

Why is it worse than, say, calling somebody a dick?

[ElectroPrincess]

20. Explanation

Well cuz the c--- word doesn't roll off the tongue as easy as dick.
Oh gosh <mega blush> Never mind.

[justjones]

27. Bwahahahaha!

:bounce:

[Susang]

24. It wouldn't be

If women were actually taught to be proud of their genitalia rather than think of them as "dirty". After all, how many "dick" deodorizing and cleansing products do you see advertised on TV as compared to the other?

<end feminist rant>

[agincourt]

21. Now I see why,

Gary Barnett still has a job over there. They don't know any better. Talk about muddle headed. And to think in the big 12, nebraska fired a winning coach practically for stuttering.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

23. oh that c-word, i thought he called her a conservative.

[0rganism]

26. First thing I thought of, too

Unfortunately, it's still accepted in everyday discourse.

[Paradise]

29. i like the way you think. :) nt

[SmokingJacket]

28. If that's what she calls a term of endearment...

I'd hate to hear what she calls an insult!!

Yipes!

I've heard that it's the only truly dirty word left in English, that and c***suck**.

[DoNotRefill]

31. Folks, I hate to say this, but terms of endearment are like beauty....

they're in the eyes (and ears) of the beholder.

I DO use terms that would be very offensive to y'all as terms of endearment with my wife. She does the same with me. (her favorite to use when referring to me is "rat bastard")

Tone alone is the way I tell if I'm in trouble or not. If she says "come'ere, ya rat bastard...", it's time to "get busy". If she says "Come here, you rat bastard!" it's time to hide.

I can see, without problem and without stretching credulity, somebody using the "c word" as a pet name/term of endearment. In today's society, where calling a female friend a "ho" or a "biatch" may not result in a fistfight, the "c word" isn't that big of a stretch.