During a heated exchange about calls for gender neutral language to be used in sports, Peter FitzSimons compared the use of gendered language to children with Down Syndrome being called, ‘mongoloids.’
“Can I take an example? It used to be children with Down Syndrome were called ‘mongoloid children.’ Was it a good move? Do you agree or not agree? I rest my case… When children with Down Syndrome used to be called ‘mongoloid children’ and it was changed to say ‘Down Syndrome children’ people like you howled like you just did because you didn’t get it.”
Was FitzSimons’ comparison fair? Is using gendered language just as bad as calling someone with Down Syndrome a mongoloid? Or were FitzSimons’ remarks completely inappropriate?
