Minnesota GOP lawmaker apologizes for his weekend NBA tweet that was seen by some as racist

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minnesota lawmaker apologized Monday for his tweet about NBA players, which was seen by some as racist.

Rep. Pat Garofalo, a fifth-term Republican from the St. Paul suburb of Farmington, tweeted Sunday night: “Let’s be honest, 70% of teams in NBA could fold tomorrow + nobody would notice a difference w/ possible exception of increase in streetcrime,” Garofalo tweeted Sunday night.

Garofalo initially stuck by his words even after they drew hundreds of negative comments and more than 1,000 retweets, insisting they were misinterpreted. About three-fourths of the NBA’s players are black, according to a 2013 report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

But in his statement Monday, he said he’d reconsidered.

“I sincerely apologize to those who I unfairly categorized,” said Garofalo, who’s seeking a sixth term in the fall. “The NBA has many examples of players and owners who are role models for our communities and for our country. Those individuals did not deserve that criticism and I apologize.”

Garofalo also apologized for remarks about the NBA’s policy on drug enforcement, saying it is “stronger than I previously believed.”

The blunt commentary was nothing new for Garofalo, who regularly makes sharp-tongued speeches on the Minnesota House floor and even edgier remarks online.

Garofalo’s Twitter feed is typically a mix of sarcastic takes on politics, pop culture and sports. During football and NASCAR seasons, he offers his predictions via his pet whom he dubs “Buddy The Sports Gambling Dog.”

“If the bird watching, hippy, tofu-eating vegan liberals in Minneapolis had their way, the Iron Range never would have mined taconite either,” he tweeted last month, referring to a statewide debate over a copper-nickel mine project proposed for northern Minnesota.

Despite his tendency for partisan rhetoric, Garofalo departed from conservative orthodoxy on at least one major issue. Last year, he was one of four House Republicans who voted in favour of legalizing gay marriage.

That vote complicated the re-election campaigns of the other Republicans he joined in support of same-sex marriage, and two are no longer seeking to return to the Legislature. But Garofalo won his local GOP endorsement last month and has plenty of money banked for his race.

He also backs stadium initiatives for the Twin Cities’ professional sports teams, voting in favour of both the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins stadium bills. The Vikings bill also gave the city of Minneapolis clearance to upgrade the arena where the state’s NBA team — the Minnesota Timberwolves — play.

The last time a Timberwolves player ran into legal trouble was in 2010, when Michael Beasley, who’s now with the Miami Heat, was ticketed for speeding and possessing marijuana in a Twin Cities suburb.

Garofalo is the second Minnesota legislator in the last year whose tweets attracted national attention and accusations of racism. In June, Democratic Rep. Ryan Winkler of Golden Valley apologized and deleted a tweet that referred to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as “Uncle Thomas” following a major ruling on the nation’s landmark voting rights law.

Rep. Dan Schoen, a Democrat, said he’s heard nothing in Garofalo’s past public or private remarks that could be regarded as racist.

“It was the wrong thing to tweet,” Schoen said. “Do I think Pat is a racist? No I don’t think that.

“Sometimes people forget when they are in certain positions what they say can have a lasting effect of people’s impression upon them and the rest of legislators they serve with.”