You can't say racist words. Not even to ask "did she really say <bad word>?" because then you said it yourself and hence you are a racist. It's woke America.
No, other people who describe it were clear that McNeil used the word in reference not as a pejorative. Even the NY Times' own coverage said that he did not use the word as an insult.
The most ridiculous line from the article, from the NY Times speaking about their review of the incident:
> "We found he had used bad judgment by repeating a racist slur in the context of a conversation about racist language."
If you can't speak a slur in the context of a conversation about racist language, when can you? In what possible conversation would it be more appropriate?
From an anonymous teenager. And even then this source only says "He used the `N` word" not that he actually called a Black person the word as a pejorative.
The TLDR is 'don't argue with woke, entitled, powerful/rich teens'. Especially don't do it by being nuanced in your usage of racial slurs - it will go over their heads and it's likely to bite you in the ass.