University of Oklahoma head baseball coach Larry Cochell resigned Sunday after it was reported that he used racial epithets while ‘praising’ an African-American outfielder.

In two separate, un-taped interviews with ESPN, Cochell apparently, in describing freshman infielder Joe Dunigan said, “There’s no n—– in him.” The network informed Oklahoma that Cochell had used such racially-charged language.

If racism is born of ignorance, as is the generally accepted belief, is Cochell ignorant merely for using such language to describe a player, is he ignorant for thinking it acceptable to use language that if used by an African-American might have been acceptable, is he ignorant for thinking such a distinction truly exists, is racial tension a thing of the past that can be made light of, or something else?