So what went down with Vince Carter?

[Chuck Thou NBA]

He lost his cool in what would have been a Nets win with his 20+ points and since the Nets are home on the road. Something reeaally bad must of happend with that ref.

[MTing]

Vince is probably one of the the most level headed guys in the league, like you said, the ref must have said something that REALLY pissed him off.

There are rumors that the ref called him a "boy".

[Rusty]

Reports suggest he called him "boy" not a boy. There's a pretty big difference. In the context that Stafford (the referee) used the term, it could have (and obviously was by Vince on this occasion) been seen to be an extremely derogatory or racist slant. The thing is, Derrick Stafford is African-American so why he would have said this totally beats me. He obviously did say something to that nature (or stronger) though - simply because of the way Vince reacted. He's one of the most light hearted and fun-loving players in the NBA. Practically everybody (players and officials) loves him. The way he reacted on this occasion was completely out of character. The only other time I remember him being ejected was in '05 when he got into an altercation with one of the dirtiest players in the NBA - Bruce Bowen. In that instance, Bowen slid his foot under Vince to injure his ankle after he came down from a jumpshot.

[gigantes]

i´m still not really understanding the racist angles that some are seeing. "boy" to me is a condescending expression. in other words, it´s a form of someone talking down to another person.

i was reading the main forum thread on this subject yesterday and was amazed to see how many elaborate socio-racial scenerios (hello, mathius) people were spinning out of seemingly thin air.

[NJnetsfan1535]

what went down tonight was a crazy game winning three!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO man that was awesome

[mirageseeker]

"Boy" doesnt seem to be racist, especially when it came out from your own race