Welcome back!

(And kudos for your restraint vis a vis politics.)

I think it would depend on if the guy is transracial.

Should bringing someone's nationality into an argument be punishable by DQ, too?

Sometimes its better to be safe than sorry

Thank you! Feels good to be back!

Hawkins is someone (man is too strong a word) who throws a hundred stones and is filled with grievance when one is thrown back at him.
When you’re being harassed at the table, when you’ve asked that the harasser no longer speak to you, can the floor man, the dealer, take action to stop it.
From what I’ve read in this thread and others about Hawkins’ personal behavior he constantly crosses lines either verbally or otherwise (financially)

Just read an interview with the Romenian player which was banned and lives in Italy for many years. From what he said Hawkins provoked him a couple of times during the day, but all in good spirit up until a point when he outplayed Hawkins in a big pot. After this he was speaking in italian with a reporter/blogger and Hawkins asked him how does it says "kiss my ass" in Italian, the guy got offended and quickly replied with "What's up ******?"

He knew what it said was offensive/racist but didn't know it had such a bad conotation. He received a two round penalty for it. The next day after all the outcry in social media he was escorted by some bodyguards to go talk to Jack Effel and was banned from the tournament and casino for life, without them wanting to hear his side of the story. That's basically his version.

YOu assuming Im assuming he will cry discrimination simply because he is black is the definition of wrong. He will cry because that is the kind of guy he is.

If this is accurate, the initial 2-round penalty was more than appropriate.

The next-day lifetime ban, for the same offense, as a result of WSOP cow-towing to SJW Twitter Mob Outrage is way over the top and very concerning.

Can you post a link to the interview?

Actually him assuming you are going to assume he would do that because he is black is racist.

If that story is true both should have gotten a 2-round penalty. What a weird country where you can say 'kiss my ass', but other words will get you banned for live.

Here's the link, keep in mind that Italian isn't my first language so I may have missed some nuance

https://www.assopoker.com/live/wsop-...o-wsop_203180/

cmon ppl don't need to be so sensitive.. he didn't mean anything bad I guess

It is weird that the US is the only country in the world where different words have different meanings, and every insult or slur doesn’t have exactly the same impact or effects.

So I read the article as Google Translate translated it. It sounds like he was initially given a 2 LEVEL penalty, not a 2 orbit penalty. Then next day Jack perma-bans him. He says he knew it was a dirty word but claims he didn't know the full meaning, he was trying to say something like "assh*ole".

Really though, a 2-Level penalty seems more than appropriate, maybe even too harsh. But a lifetime ban to appease a Twitter Mob Storm seems wrong, especially considering this whole episode involves Maurice Hawkins.

There's quite some room between 'exactly the same' and the extreme difference between no penalty at all and a lifetime ban. Note that Maurice started the altercation and was also looking to insult the guy because of his Italian background.

"Maurice is a better poseur than Neymar"

We def need a separate thread to talk about Maurice’s terrible behavior, poor sportsmanship and overall obnoxious demeanor at the table - how many bans does he have total?

As for this incident - terribly unfortunate and I am glad it was dealt with properly - it’s very sad people still think act and behave this way in modern society

I figured this thread would get deleted long before now, so I'll just add this thought experiment to the conversation, it's a point I've not read yet . . .

If the word really hurt, it would hurt no matter who said it.

Imagine this . . .
Do you think molested kids/survivors/adults tease each other about it and say, "Sup molesty!" to "take the word back"? or some other BS nonsense?

Do you think holocaust survivors teased each other about it?

This idea that "it doesnt hurt if someone from my own tribe says it, but you cant" is absurd. Either the word is evil and a reminder of incredible pain, or it's not.

I was raised to be respectful so I'd never use the word, it shows a lack of wit and creativity, and to be honest and I'm kinda a trash-talk elitist, I expect better than just name calling. Any dolt can name-call.

So, I'm not here complaining I cant use the word, I dont want to, but I do want to point out there's no defense for using it from ANYONE if indeed the word brings up historical atrocities and sincere pain.

I think what it comes down to is the black community has never really had much power over white people and this is one area where they do. So, they play this "you cant say that word" card whenever possible. I get it. And I'm okay with it. There are much bigger things to concern oneself with.

When my students call me a cracker or gringo, I always say, "hey! That's MISTER cracker/gringo to you!" and it gets a laugh.

Having played against Maurice Hawkins, I can verify that he's no angel, but "he's no angel" is never a justification for racist behavior.

Racism is a significant problem. I'd rather they were on the side of being too harsh instead of to easy in doling out punishment here.

If you check the thread you’ll see that similarly clueless people have made your point.

Don't disagree with what you said. But giving him a 2 Level penalty seems pretty harsh already.

What concerns me is that after the resulting overnight Twitter Mob Riot directed at WSOP, the next day he's given a lifetime ban for the same offense for which he was already pretty severely punished.

There are a couple of things that I think are missing from this train of thought. The first is that "a" vs. "er" are totally different words at this point. The dynamics of either word are similar, but I don't see anyone casually joking around with the "er" word - maybe a few stand-up comics have it in their set.

The second is the power dynamics of punching up vs punching down. Society generally isn't OK with punching down. It's almost never going to be offensive to make fun of white people for their history/physical characteristics, but it's hard to imagine anything lower on the totem pole than the word most commonly associated with American slavery/jim crow.

Blacks are not opressed in 2018.

see also Chris Rock

He cracked me up back in the day.

If you are going to be harassing someone expect to get a negative reaction back. The guy probably came up with the most hurtful thing he could think of and said it (without threatening him).

See also Chris Rock
Not saying I endorse it, but I understand.

Showing my age a bit here but he was hilarious doing stand up.

Reminds me of the guy who sues the house he is breaking into because the steps collapse.

Again, not endorsing calling him that word.... but i get it.

I wasn't there but if all of these stories are true about the man where are the people running the tournaments. This can't be good for poker (either is calling someone a racist slur of course).

Really?
Can you show me where the thought experiment regarding holocaust survivors or victims of molestation has been mentioned?