Yes, Alison Morris said “Nigger.”

No, white people don’t get to make excuses for her.

By now we’ve all heard about Kobe Bryant’s death. Most of us also heard MSNBC reporter Alison Morris say “Los Angeles niggers.” Morris says it was a slip, and she meant to say Nakers, some combination of Knicks and Lakers.

I don’t know what this “Nakers” is, but I’ve listened to the audio, and she definitely says nigger. Maybe she didn’t mean to say it, but it doesn’t matter. She said the word. It’s out there. Black folks heard it. She doesn’t get a do-over. And white people don’t get to step in and tell us we shouldn’t be upset about it.

Black folks have heard the word “nigger” our whole lives. You know what I heard when she said it? A woman whose lips had formed that word many times before. It slipped too easily from her mouth. I don’t believe for a second that was her first time. Even if that were true, she said it on national TV for everyone to hear. So it’s out there. Her apology doesn’t erase the harm she caused us.