Joe Haden doesn’t want the ‘r-word’ used

The r-word is something that growing up I heard a lot in school. Kids didn’t truly understand the meaning, and didn’t really know how to compensate for their lack of vocabulary to describe something that was dumb or stupid, so they used it.

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My neighbor was the first person I had ever encountered with a disability. I was in the second or third grade, and we’d go outside and play football with him, his brother, and other kids on the block. He had down syndrome, and at the time, I truly didn’t understand what it meant. I knew something was different about him, but I was just too young to truly understand.

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Of course as I matured, I comprehended the severity of the condition, and the r-word provided a different meaning. It was like nails on a chalkboard. I distinctly remember a teacher I had in high school using it on multiple occasions, and I couldn’t believe it. At that point in my life it seemed like an explicit word, how could she just use it and not think anything of it?

Joe Haden feels the same way as I, and many others feel about the word.

"“Open up your vocabulary, people,” said Haden, according to ESPN.com. “The R-word is hurtful, hateful and ignorant. Like the N-word, it should not be part of our language.”"

Haden has a younger brother named Jacob, who has a cognitive disorder that effects his speech and language. Because of his personal connection, he has been named a Special Olympics Global Ambassador, the only NFL player to be named so.

Can Cleveland ask for any better face of a franchise than Joe Haden? Both on and off the field, he represents what every franchise wants. A great player, and a great person.

Here’s a reaction from ESPN’s, Dick Vitale:

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