Typically, preseason conference football meetings are light-hearted affairs designed to create a little publicity for various programs as they prepare to open fall camp.
Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin, however, might not like the attention he's getting after a poor choice of words he used to describe the Notre Dame football team.
Recalling a pre-game banquet between the Warriors and Notre Dame at last year's Hawaii Bowl, McMackin described an exchange with Fighting Irish coach Charlie Weis in which McMackin used a derogatory term for homosexuals.
"They get up and do this little cheer. Like this ... little (derogatory term) dance … The guys were all looking and trying not to laugh," McMackin said of the banquet activities.
McMackin, who also got himself into hot water a year earlier at the WAC meeting when he talked about recruits by name, realized he'd made an unwise choice of words and asked for a mulligan from the media assembled in front of him.
"Please, last year, you covered for me as far as my recruit. Cover for me. … Please cover for me on that, too."
A few minutes after his comments, McMackin re-entered the room and spoke again, repeating his request to have his words forgotten by the reporters in attendance.
"I want to officially, officially apologize. Please don't write that statement I said as far as Notre Dame," he said. "The reason is, I don't care about Notre Dame. But I'm not a … I don't want to come out and have every homosexual ticked off at me. You know what I mean? Because I don't have any problem with homosexuals. But I apologize for saying that and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't run that word. If you said dance, that's OK. But don't use the bad term that I chose, please. Thank you."
Later in the meetings, McMackin again issued an apology.
"I would sincerely like to apologize for the inappropriate verbiage of words I used. I have nothing against the University of Notre Dame. I don't talk like that. I'm really ticked off at myself for saying that," McMackin said. "I don't have any prejudices and it really makes me mad I even said that."
WAC commissioner Karl Benson said he would allow Hawaii to handle the matter internally before the conference got involved with any disciplinary measures.
e-mail: jeborn@desnews.com