Central Michigan basketball players testified in federal...

Central Michigan basketball players testified in federal court that fired coach Keith Dambrot was not being racist when he used a racially offensive term while addressing the team.

Dambrot used the term in a joking manner to get the players to improve, Tyrone Hicks, one of the players, testified at the trial in Bay City, Mich. No one was offended by the word, he said.

Dambrot sued the university after he was fired in April, claiming his right to free speech was violated.