This is a short story with a happy ending. I spend very little time worrying about football and certainly less time worrying about Texas football. But in this case, I was indeed devoted to the outcome.
It seems that earlier in the 2009 football season the quarterback of the University of Texas football team gave a sports interview. During that interview, he made at least one or more references to being retarded. Apparently he ascribed that condition to the other team that the University of Texas club would be playing soon. That word “retard” constitutes a fighting word for a good number of people who have an association with a person who has a mental disability.
In the instant case, the word was heard by the President of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Texas, who became rightfully incensed. If my understanding is correct, the President of the Down Syndrome Association wrote a letter to the coach of the Texas University football team calling attention to the use of the word “retard.”
At this point, I must remind my readers that I have a thirteen-year-old grandson who has been afflicted from his birth with Down Syndrome. His parents treat it openly as a disability, which I know all about. I am disabled because I am bald-headed and can’t dance worth a lick.
In any case, the coach’s wife at the University of Texas read the letter and got in touch with the author, the President of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Texas. One way or another, they came to the conclusion that it would be appropriate for officials from the Down Syndrome Association to address the entire football team at a subsequence practice. This was a major opportunity and my daughter and other officers with the Down Syndrome Society were not going to miss it.
So on the appointed day, the UT football team put on their pads and helmets and gathered for a bit of a talking-to. It turns out that the spokesman for the Down Syndrome Association happened to be my daughter, who will soon become the President of that association. Quite fortunately, her remarks to the football team were preserved and so I am able to tell you exactly what she had to say.
Here are the remarks delivered by my daughter:

“The words ‘retard’ and ‘retarded’ get used a lot these days. They’re in the movies and on TV, and even some really wonderful people use them, and those people probably don’t mean to be hurtful. But when you’re on the receiving end of these words, when you’re a person with an intellectual disability or you love a person with an intellectual disability, it’s a very different experience. These words cut like a knife and they go right to a person’s worth. So please don’t use those words, and if you can, please be an ambassador for us and tell other people not to use those words. Because everyone, regardless of ability or disability, deserves to be treated with respect.”

Following the remarks of Suzanne Shepherd, my daughter, the main event occurred. The Texas football team was addressed by John Eamonn Shepherd, who is my grandson. His remarks were also preserved, and I am now able to repeat them to you. Jack said:

“When you use the word ‘retard,’ it’s not nice. It really hurts me. Please don’t use that word.”

According to the local newspaper, Jack’s remarks were more voluminous than the above sentences. But I will stick with my daughter’s account of exactly what happened when Jack spoke to the behemoths of the football team because they make the point elegantly.
Every father likes to see his child do well, even if this one is more than 50 years old. When she spoke of the word retard having an effect on a person’s feeling of worth, I thought that was a major achievement in the English language. As I told you at the beginning of this little essay, this is a happy story. The Texas football team heard my daughter out as well as her son. When their speeches were concluded, there were hugs all around. My guess is that no one on the Texas football team who heard those two speeches will ever refer to another person as retarded. In and of itself, that is a major accomplishment.
During my daughter’s remarks, she observed a black player who was staring at her intently. As far as I know, they exchanged no verbal communications. The message was clear. That black player and probably his family have endured several occasions when their worth was questioned.
As I said at the outset, I am not much of a football fan, but I hope that that player and the entire Texas football team profited by the visit of my daughter and her son. I might also point out that he is my grandson. It is not often that I can write an essay that ends on a happy note. But that is the case here today and I hope that you are as pleased with the outcome as I am.
E. E. CARR
October 26, 2009
Essay 417
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Kevin’s commentary: An easy favorite. I was proud then and I’m proud now. Mom’s president of DSACT now for I believe the 3rd year, incidentally.
Happy New Year’s Eve!