Fallout from Golf Channel Tiger Woods Comment Continues
Two-Week Suspension of Kelly Tilghman Continues to Draw Reaction
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/20/2008 5:44:00 AM
The Golf Channel's two-week suspension of Kelly Tilghman, the first full-time female golf play-by-play commentator, continues to draw reactions from around the sports world.
Tilghman was suspended after a broadcast in which she said other players should take Tiger Woods into an alley and lynch him.
While she was attempting to express the oft-cited sentiment that Woods was too good to be beaten on the course, her insensitivity -- and that of others -- to the historical significance of lynching to African Americans, coupled by Golfweek magazine's decision to advertise the comment in a Jan. 19 cover story about Woods that used a noose on its cover, prompted the two-week suspension and apology from the channel (Golfweek's editor was also fired).
"There is simply no place on our network for offensive language like this," the channel said in announcing the suspension Jan. 9. "While we believe 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."
In the Washington Post Sunday, sports writer Michael Wilbon, who is African American, said that while Tilghman's apology should have come immediately, so should The Golf Channel's apology, which might have prevented the need for a suspension.
Wilbon, who conceded that Tilghman was a friend, said he thought the reaction to the comment was "overly dramatic," but he added that they were regrettable and hurtful. He also suggested that more black producers in decision-making postitions in TV sports and magazines might challenge such comments or decisions before they become a finished product.
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KELLY IS A GREAT GOLF BROADCASTER AND A GREAT PERSON. SHE WOULD NEVER SAY ANYTHING TO OFFEND ANYONE IN THE WORLD OF GOLF. ESPECIALLY AN ICON LIKE TIGER. NIKE ON THE OTHER HAND HAS TIGER PROMOTING A SLEEVE THEY HAVE NO LEGAL RIGHTS TO. NIKE HAS PUT TIGERS PICTURE ON A GOLF SLEEVE PACKAGE THEY HAVE NO RIGHTS TO. I KNOW BECAUSE I HAVE THE PATENT AND THEY HAVE NEVER MADE ANY KIND OF DEAL WITH MY COMPANY.THIS IS THE ONLY BLEMISH TIGER HAS TO HIS NAME, BUT IT IS NIKE'S FAULT. REEBOK IS DOING THE SAME WITH IVERSON AND OTHER PLAYERS IN THE NBA, AND NFL.
FRED FREY - 1/26/2008 12:46:00 PM EST -
Kelly is forgiven. It's over. Let's move on from this. We are giving race and ethnicity more attention than it deserves. Sharpton is an opportunistic fake taking advantage of an insecure population of black America that thrives off of despondency. Follow Tiger’s lead and MOVE ON.
B Knight - 1/23/2008 3:01:00 PM EST -
Eva please, your opinions on Al Sharpton do not excuse the wrongness of people making light of gas chambers to Jews, lynching and hanging to African-Americans or concentration camps to Japanese-Americans. Kelly apologized and did her suspension, and that was fair Golfweek was out of line and rectified that. People must be culturally sensitive, willing to learn about one another's background if you don't know, apologize if appropriate and move on. Kelly completely did that. Golfweek--moronic as they are--also did this. Your smugness and lack of empathy is exactly why we white people rarely need the advocacy and support of a Sharpton because everything in America is built from our perspective. In our minds, we don't have to care -- and that's making ourown understanding of others harder to acheive.
Brynn Peters - 1/22/2008 1:38:00 PM EST -
The comments made on the Golf Channel regarding Tiger Woods were not only totally unnecessary, but insensitive to the historical significance of hanging to Blacks in America and unprofessional. The comment added nothing to the game of golf, and actually questioned the integrity of the network.
Yvonne - 1/22/2008 7:18:00 AM EST -
Keep Kelly on the golf channel. Had she been black and Tiger white you
would never have heard a word from Sharpton.
Sharpton is a bigot and full of hatered of white people
Eva Shannon - 1/21/2008 9:58:00 AM EST
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