The N-word

The NFL or National Football League has been under great scrutiny for their constant implementation of rules that are for the "safety" of the players. Many people have jokingly said that it's like a tough game of two-hand-touch. The league has lost a lot of respect for being the rough and tough game that it was back in the 1980's and early 1990's. With this being said, the NFL is at it again, implementing a rule that this time isn't for the players physical health, but presumably mental health this time.

The NFL is thinking of implementing a rule that would forbid any player on the field from using the N-word without consequence; consequence being a 15 yard penalty for the team that the player represents.

Michael Wilbon of ESPN has been against this rule from the time that it was brought up as being possible, to the point that it has become a reality. His argument against this rule is that he knows many people that use the N-word and isn't a derogatory term by any stretch, in fact it is a term used to refer to friend. Michael went above and beyond to prove his point that it isn't about the word as much as it's about "who uses it."

This concern is best brought up in the face of Derrida I believe. Because Derrida seems to believe that through the work of an author, no matter the author, the truth can be found if the author is no longer around. That the author isn't necessary for the correct meaning to found in the piece of work being studied. Therefore in this situation it is possible that Derrida would critique this rule because although we could posit arguments for what the meaning of the words are that a football player speaks to another, we wouldn't know that we have the correct meaning without knowing the meaning of author himself.

This problem will be a major sticking point in sports for years to come, I'm sure. But one thing I think is important to keep in mind when determining if author matters or not, is the fact that dissecting someone's words and words alone is a science. There is a specific meaning to each individual word and if we dissect meaning in this way than it must be a science. However the problem with this is the fact that satirical literature will never be understood when we try to find meaning via a scientific proof the way that the NFL is trying to do.