Sixers

Jalen Rose Says We Need to Use the Word “Whistleblower” Instead of “Snitch”

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Jul 16th, 2020 · 1:59 PM EDT

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Lot of talk this week about the NBA’s anonymous hotline for reporting violations inside the Disney bubble.

We and other websites have colloquially been using the word “snitch” to describe this hotline, i.e. “snitch line,” which became immediately popular on social media. Generally, ‘snitch’ has become synonymous with ‘informer’ or ‘tattle-tale,’ but here comes Jalen Rose on ESPN to explain what he feels we should be doing instead:

Let's make this a teaching moment. pic.twitter.com/xLZk7D3D1Z

— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) July 16, 2020

It’s a good take!

“Snitch” does have a criminal connotation, like when somebody goes to jail and then gives up information on another person, usually to help their own case in cooperation with authorities (see: Tekashi 6ix9ine). Blowing the whistle is what people do to anonymously log complaints or bring light to actions that aren’t necessarily illegal, but deemed improper or unethical. Richaun Holmes isn’t breaking the law by picking up his food order, so if someone would call the hotline to report that, it would make more sense to refer to that person as a whistleblower or even a tattle-tale, instead of a snitch. I guess it is, indeed, off-base to use those three words interchangeably.

And Jalen makes another good point about the shirt. We don’t say “wife beater” these days, nor do we call it a “Guinea tee,” as Kacie McDonnell once said. We’ve moved beyond those terms because they’re deemed insensitive in a contemporary United States of America.