Republican Lawmaker's Racist Tweet: Crime Would Increase If NBA Folded

A Republican state lawmaker from Minnesota is in hot water after tweeting a racially charged message about basketball on Sunday.

State Representative Pat Garofalo said there would be an uptick in crime if the National Basketball Association closed down.  Here’s the tweet:

Let's be honest, 70% of teams in NBA could fold tomorrow + nobody would notice a difference w/ possible exception of increase in streetcrime

— Rep. Pat Garofalo (@PatGarofalo) March 9, 2014

The message sparked cries of outrage.  Here's one tweet in response to Garofalo:

@PatGarofalo the racial and racist undertones in this comment is beyond alarming.

— Ryan Vernosh (@RyanVernosh) March 9, 2014

But Garofalo defended himself in an interview with KARE, a local TV station.

“I was talking about the NBA's high arrest rate," said Garofalo.  The state lawmaker added: “I really don't understand how being critical of a culture of pro athletes has anything to do with race. This is a behavior that transcends the race of the athlete, and it seems to be a culture in all professional sports these days."