On 2020-06-13, [[John Chew]] asked on behalf of the NASPA [[Executive Committee]] that the NASPA [[Advisory Board]] (AB) consider removing words that he described as '''slurs''' from the [[NWL2018|NASPA Word List (2018) Edition]].
The AB discussed the matter by email over subsequent days, and then in a Zoom call on 2020-06-18, concluded that further public input was called for. A special [[iContact]] mailing went out, quoting the [http://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=1384631&f=6038&s=14937&m=289409&t=42bfeecf990f5ae04e8a9ea793c9a29e79393ee2e6b4b72ecef1a231ef1a0fa9 original letter] and inviting comment through an [https://scrabble.formstack.com/forms/removing_slurs online form]. On 2020-07-05, we stopped gathering data from that form, and the AB will spend the week discussing the survey results before reaching its decision.
To avoid repeating contextually offensive language, the public communications did not list the words in question, identifying one of them only as the N word.
== Timeline ==
; 2020-06-11
: [[Jim Hughes]] asks if NASPA can remove the N word from the playing lexicon.
; 2020-06-13
: [[John Chew]] asks [[Advisory Board]] to vote on removing all offensive slurs by 2020-09-01.
; 2020-06-18
: After deliberating by email, the AB convened by Zoom to discuss the issue further, deciding to solicit more public feedback in the form of a poll.
; 2020-06-20
: [https://scrabble.formstack.com/forms/removing_slurs Polling] open online.
; 2020-07-05
: Poll remains open, but statistical results are tabulated.
; 2020-07-07
: Chew [https://www.facebook.com/groups/scrbblplyrs/permalink/10159833643428368/ announces] that he had had a meeting with Hasbro, and reported “I personally agreed with them that all the slurs should come out of our lexicon. It’s the right thing to do, and I will make sure that it happens. I have asked the Advisory Board to vote their consciences, because I think this is an important moment in the history of our association. Everyone should know how their board represented them on this weighty issue.”
; 2020-07-08
: [[Hasbro]] [https://corporate.hasbro.com/en-us/articles/hasbro_update_on_scrabble_rules announces] that slurs will no longer be permitted in any SCRABBLE play, and that NASPA has agreed to remove them from [[NWL2018]]
; 2020-07-09
: AB to meet by Zoom from 8:00-10:00 PM ET to vote on Chew's original motion.
== FAQ ==