The Golf Channel suspends Kelly Tilghman for "lynch" Tiger remark
After the controversy festered for a few days, The Golf Channel has finally reversed its initial position of taking no action and has instead decided to suspend Kelly Tilghman for 2 weeks for her flip remark that young golfers should "lynch him [Tiger Woods] in a back alley."
Here's what The Golf Channel said on its website:
"The GOLF CHANNEL regrets the poorly chosen remarks made by Kelly Tilghman on a recent broadcast and, again, extends our apologies to anyone who was offended. There is simply no place on our network for offensive language like this. While we believe that Kelly's choice of words were inadvertent and that she did not intend them in an offensive manner, the words were hurtful and grossly inappropriate. Consequently, we have decided to suspend Kelly for two weeks, effective immediately."
ESPN has provided this history of the term "lynch" in the United States:
"According to Alabama's Tuskegee University, 3,466 African-Americans were lynched in the United States from 1882-1968. In 2005, The U.S. Senate officially apologized for failing to act on more than 200 anti-lynching bills introduced over the years.
"The use of a hangman's noose as a racist symbol has resurfaced recently, most notably in the 2006 case of the Jena Six when six black high school students in Louisiana were charged with beating a white student after nooses had been left in a tree under which the black students had asked school permission to sit."
9 Comments:
Do you know if the punishment from The Golf Channel came down before or after the comment from Tiger's camp that he didn't take offense to the comment.
It's usually part of a phony apology for someone to say something like "I made an unfortunate choice of words", but in this case, that's exactly what happened. For whatever reason, stupidity, naïveté, closet-racism (somehow, I'm doubting this one, but hey, who knows), she used words that are LOADED with connotation. Bad connotation. Does anyone really think she'd be suspended if she'd said "Nick, the only way that Sergio is going to dethrone Tiger is if he hires someone to break Tiger's legs"? It's rhetoric, an attempt to be funny, to use hyperbole (no one seriously doubts it WAS hyperbole;right?) to drive home a point, in a more entertaining way than simply saying "Nick, no one's going to dethrone Tiger. Really, no one."
So, it wasn't the intent behind it, it was the words used. Hey, I cringed, big-time, and I knew what she meant.
It's gonna work out fine, she and Tiger are still going to be friends, she's not going to permanently lose her job, most people who treat with her in good faith are going to simply remember it as a verbal gaffe, much less serious than the intentional affronts of Don Imus-types.
Oh, and let's be honest, people: She's not that good-looking.
If you think Kelly Tilghman is a RACIST, show it by voting!
http://www.kelly-tilghman.com
Tiger himself has said this is a "non-issue" and added "case closed". That should end it. Sharpton doesn't need to get involved and speak for someone who doesn't need to be spoken for! I'm not a big fan of Tilghman, but I would hate to see her lose her job over this. I think TGC caved to pressure from Al Sharpton, which is unnecessary since the words were used toward Tiger and Tiger isn't offended. It was a stupid joke and not a racist comment. These people are paid to talk and sometimes they just don't think before they speak! Has anyone ever listened to the 2 of them (Faldo and Tilghman)? They say lots of stupid things, just never anything controversial like it was this one time. Tiger has let it go and i think everyone else should, too.
i really feel her apolgy was a phony one tiger is to nice a man to want to make a big deal of this but her remarks were cruel and she should lose her job ,not just a 2 week suspention, she obvousily does,not have what it takes to broadcast the golf sport,she oought to go to work for a rag sheet ,janet b
I've never gone to a blog before...however, how many of you have, as I have, listened to sports commentators try to keep up with what's happening on 'the field' combined with responding to your broadcast partner, combined with the pressure of being on a live broadcast.....HELLO, it was a slip of the lip, - - I don't know Kelly, I only watch golf on TV during the Masters and US Open....BUT, I do know as a broadcast journalist, the pressure, but, MORE IMPORTANTLY, that there are 1000 people who would kill for my job, and I, and everyone else lucky enough to have been in the right place at the right time to get this job, would even think about saying anything to jeopardize their job, OR, their credibility.....in closing, have any of her detrators ever wished YOU could take back one part of a comment to your wife, child, in-law, boss, friend.....I'm sure she wishes she could, because, if you put yourself in her position, you have to know and believe SHE DID NOT MEAN IT THE WAY THE politically correct WANT TO TELL everyone else she did.....
god bless america
and her freedom of speech
i my self am a golf fan in a big way,,,and we should engage brain before speaking out
and she can keep her options to herself,,, thats what she was thinking or she would have not said that if she cant handle the pressure,look for a different type of career,janet
Leave her alone. Its her first slip up! And Tiger doesn't care one bit.
Thanks for everyone who made a big fuss out of this. I think that the real solution is to review, by committee, every sports shows tape before it airs and then over dub any comments that are viewed as possibly offending to anyone. Then, if a comment gets through that is offending, you can fire the whole committee instead of one innocent reporter. It will make for really interesting journalism and colorful commentary. I can’t wait to listen to these shows.
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