Minnesota Rep. Pat Garofalo’s NBA tweet called racist, prompts hundreds of responses

CP27527927
In this Jan. 25, 2011 photo, State Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, is pictured in St. Paul, Minn. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Jim Mone

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minnesota legislator’s tweet about the NBA has prompted hundreds of responses, with many on social media calling it racist.

State Rep. Pat Garofalo sent a tweet Sunday that read: “Let’s be honest, 70% of teams in NBA could fold tomorrow + nobody would notice a difference w/ possible exception of increase in streetcrime.”

The Star Tribune reports that when asked about the tweet, the Farmington Republican said he was “talking about NBA’s high arrest rate and that they are the only major pro league that testing positive for marijuana is not a substance abuse violation.”

Garofalo added: “No intent beyond that.”

Within two hours of his tweet, more than 600 people retweeted it and hundreds more responded. Many called the comment he made in the tweet racist.

___

Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Create a free account

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

Related Articles