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Dr. Saturday

Thu Jul 30, 2009 4:02 pm EDT

Hawaii coach McMackin apologizes profusely for expressing his actual opinion of Notre Dame's dance skills

By Matt Hinton

Just one more reminder to coaches that the media is recording you ...

By his own admission, Hawaii coach Greg McMackin had a rough day at the Hawaii Bowl last Christmas Eve -- in fact, at the WAC's media cattle call this morning in Salt Lake City, he told reporters the 49-21 bludgeoning was the worst defeat of his career, and one he put squarely on his own shoulders for ordering his players to perform their famous Haka dance in direct response to Charlie Weis' speech at a banquet the night before the game. As McMackin told the story today:

"The night before the game ... Charlie gave this talk, and then he goes, 'Any Notre Dame fans in here?' ... He had his guys, 'We do something special at Notre Dame,' he said, and they get out and they do this little cheer ... like this ... this little faggot dance. ... So my guys are looking at me ... and they're all trying not to laugh ... So our guys get up and it's the best Haka I've ever seen. ... It was a little scary. So I think Notre Dame watched that and said 'We better have ourselves ready.'"

McMackin knew he'd made a mistake provoking the Irish then, and quickly realized he'd made a much bigger mistake by potentially provoking a room full of sportswriters, to whom he quickly asked to cover his tracks:

"Don't write that 'faggot' down. I was misquoted," he said. "Just please … cover for me," McMackin said Thursday. "Go ahead, say ‘faggot dance.’ No. Please cover for me on that, too — right Karl [Benson, the WAC commissioner]? I’ll deny it. Anything else?"

Yes, actually, there was one more thing: McMackin returning to the room 15 minutes later to "officially, officially apologize," to assure reporters he "[doesn't] have any problem with homosexuals" and plead with them one more time to not run "that word." Which, of course, they immediately did.

The WAC will issue its punishment after Hawaii does. Look on the bright side, Greg: At least you didn't say anything about Michael Vick.

- - -
Hat tip: Peter. And it seems this isn't the first time McMackin has asked reporters to cover his tracks, although it is the most serious.

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24 Comments

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  1. PaulT
    1. Posted by PaulT Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:22 pm EDT

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    Several questions spring to mind.
    1. What 'special little dance' do the Irish do? I've never heard of it. If I had to guess I'd say it was like an Irish jig thing, the way the mascot does it - and if so, Weis and the players were having a little fun with the situation, and the Hawaii people missed the joke.
    2. How surprised was McMackin when his team's especially scary aboriginal dance failed to keep the Irish under 300 yards passing in the first half? He had probably always trusted that the Haka would leave opposing offenses spiritually crushed.
  2. Mark S
    2. Posted by Mark S Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:28 pm EDT

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    silverking... you'd actually be surprised as too how many teams have been thrown off by our dance. By the way, McMackin incorrectly called it the haka. I can't fault you for saying that, because we do the Ha'a in Hawai'i. The haka is a maori thing from aotearoa.
  3. HERETIC
    3. Posted by HERETIC Thu Jul 30, 2009 6:48 pm EDT

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    If weiss & company had done a "transubstantiation dance" , that would have been more in
    character for the representatives of that so-called school.
  4. Dustin
    4. Posted by Dustin Thu Jul 30, 2009 6:57 pm EDT

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    asking reporters not to publish something like that would be a very difficult task
  5. MarkSouthFL
    5. Posted by MarkSouthFL Fri Jul 31, 2009 12:36 am EDT

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    People are always claiming they were misquoted, but McMackin may be the first person to do so even before anyone had time to post the quote at all.
  6. Orion
    6. Posted by Orion Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:17 am EDT

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    A [profane]ggot dance? Back in the day that would be funny, now your running for cover. He wasn't saying anything about gays, but the dance was lame. Telling the media not to do something, is only throwing fuel on the fire...
  7. Robert C
    7. Posted by Robert C Fri Jul 31, 2009 2:43 am EDT

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    If he had said gay would it have made a difference? Nope...but Gay does mean happy. He should have went with gay..a lot easier to cover up.
  8. Andrew E
    8. Posted by Andrew E Fri Jul 31, 2009 6:15 am EDT

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    Not a profound statement, but he is a football coach. I guess the old school ways are offically dead. Politically correct football. Wow.
  9. Pauly
    9. Posted by Pauly Fri Jul 31, 2009 9:26 am EDT

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    what ever happened to free speach? Say what you want, as long as it doesn't offend anyone... and asking reporters to not write something controversial is like asking a dog to not drink water from the toilet bowl... they have no idea what you are saying and it's not gonna happen.
  10. jblaze_77
    10. Posted by jblaze_77 Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:30 am EDT

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    A guy that wears flowers around his neck making a f#@*got reference?
  11. Rhoe Jaque Swift
    11. Posted by Rhoe Jaque Swift Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:34 am EDT

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    ^no clue have you?
  12. Dustin F
    12. Posted by Dustin F Fri Jul 31, 2009 12:19 pm EDT

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    Heretic, you're hilarious
  13. PaulT
    13. Posted by PaulT Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:24 pm EDT

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    Yea, HERETIC is hilarious. Notre Dame is a "so-called" school. And if you go there and get a "so-called" degree, you'll get a "great job" - so called.
    Also, free speach (sic) is alive and well. Looks like McMackin spoke freely enough. Probably more freely than he should have. No government stormtroopers burst in to arrest him.
  14. Acid Gambit
    14. Posted by Acid Gambit Fri Jul 31, 2009 4:51 pm EDT

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    That was a very "undude" move, reporters. Not cool at all! LOL.
  15. Bearcat
    15. Posted by Bearcat Fri Jul 31, 2009 11:41 pm EDT

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    it dont ,matter, who said what, the irish wiped the dam floor with them, and thats all that matters
  16. Mobius
    16. Posted by Mobius Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:49 am EDT

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    Maybe the Notre Dame thing is what Tom Lehrer sang in the "Vatican Rag":
    So get down upon your knees,
    Fiddle with your rosaries,
    Bow your head with great respect,
    And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!
  17. HERETIC
    17. Posted by HERETIC Sat Aug 01, 2009 3:51 pm EDT

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    I have just read that the rainbow coach was fined $169.000 and suspended for 30 days. to top it off, charlie weiss felt insulted.! insulted????? well i am personally insulted and so is every rational thinking person insulted by the existence of that superstitious institution and its openly anti-rational and anti-intellectual stance. notre dame university is the biggest oxymoron on the face of the earth today. my humble and concerned thoughts go out to the hawaii coach for having been subjected to such blatant hypocrisy on the part of the school's administration.
  18. Fritz
    18. Posted by Fritz Sat Aug 01, 2009 5:16 pm EDT

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    Way too much poo poo from Notre Dame by the Lake-a football team with a 7-5 WL pct during the BCS era.
  19. HERETIC
    19. Posted by HERETIC Sun Aug 02, 2009 12:49 pm EDT

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    Have you all read the latest from ireland and its new laws against blasphemy? the roman catholic inquisition is alive and well. if it ever reaches this country, nutter dome will lead the way. the incident in hawaii is all too-telling.
  20. Joe R
    20. Posted by Joe R Sun Aug 02, 2009 6:15 pm EDT

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    Robert G = way too much time on his hands
  21. Frank
    21. Posted by Frank Sun Aug 02, 2009 8:16 pm EDT

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    I'm a priest and I despise Fighting Irish football. The play like a bunch of homosexuals.
    Go Blue!
  22. Just Me
    22. Posted by Just Me Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:50 pm EDT

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    23 Michigan sucks. Rich Rodriguez sucks and you suck like a bunch of homosexuals. lol
  23. jeff finger
    23. Posted by jeff finger Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:11 pm EDT

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    All that i have got to say is that there are way too many victoms in this day and age
  24. The King
    24. Posted by The King Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:06 am EDT

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    Hey silverking84, what 'so-called' college did you attend? My guess is you got kicked out of your so-called high school, earn your keep by saying, 'You want fries with that?' 500 times a day, then ride your Big Wheels back to the trailer park.

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