How could people say such stupid things?????
Golf Channel anchor says young golfers should 'lynch Tiger Woods'
By Roy S. Johnson
Tuesday, Jan 8, 2008 4:38 pm EST
What is it about Duke? Okay, maybe that's not fair. But it did make me scratch my head and wonder when I read what Kelly Tilghman, a former Blue Devil golfer, said on the Golf Channel last Friday during her gig as co-lead announcer for the network's telecast of the Mercedes-Benz Championship, the PGA Tour's inaugural event of the season.
I have not seen the clip, nor do I know the context of the remarks. This is what I know -- that Tilghman, who never played on the LPGA Tour, said golf's young players should "lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley."
Had Woods been white, to use the most heinous crime committed in this nation to illustrate God-knows-what point would have been egregious. But that he's not makes the remark unconscionable. And punishable.
It would be a travesty if Tilghman is allowed to broadcast the next event for the Golf Channel. (It speaks volumes already that she was allowed to sit on the air all day Saturday, as if nothing happened. She then offered an on-air apology on Sunday but still did the entire telecast.)
At minimum, a suspension is in order. Some will surely call for a firing. If the network does nothing -- just months after the Jena Six dominated the nation's airwaves -- it would make a significant statement about the network's tolerance of such actions. A statement that would hurt the sport of golf and rekindle memories of a racist history that Woods' success has helped it begin to move past.
Doing nothing would remind us of Fuzzy Zoeller
Doing nothing would remind us of Shoal Creek.
Doing nothing would not be smart.
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2 comments:
Even though this lady is obviously a little hasty in choosing her words, go a little easier on her. She obviously did not literally mean what she said. Sometimes words are just words, and without the intent being there, her statement should not be something to go crazy over. she was right to personally apologize to Tiger, but let's not go lynching her in a back alley for what she said
I wish people could give some forgiveness to every announcer who misspeaks on the air. It's easy to slip, and a two-week suspension is fair. However, if it were on a major network, or if it were said by someone more famous, I suspect the punishment would be much worse.
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