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  Date / Time: 1/10/2008 12:45 AM UTC

  WHY DO SOME PEOPLE THINK OF LYNCHING WHEN IT COMES TO BLACKS? LYNCHING IS EQUIVOCAL TO MURDER!
  

  Should Kelly Tilghman be fired for "lynch" Tiger remark?

  The Golf Channel's main anchor Kelly Tilghman made a flip remark during Friday's Mercedes broadcast that today's young players should "lynch him [Tiger Woods] in a back alley." Tilghman has since apologized. (More)
  
  
  
  UPDATE: We found a copy of the video. We believe it's important for you to be the judge of the entire context. Unfortunately, someone has played around with the ending, but this is the only footage we found so far.
  
  I didn't hear the remark, but on paper it sounds bad. Is it worse than Fuzzy Zoeller's comments after Tiger won the 1997 Masters?
  
  UPDATE: Kelly Tilghman has issued this "apology": "On Friday during our golf broadcast, Nick Faldo and I were discussing Tiger's dominance in the golf world and I used some poorly chosen words. I have known Tiger for 12 years and I have apologized directly to him. I also apologize to our viewers who may have been offended by my comments."
  
  The Golf Channel issued this statement: "We regret the unfortunate choice of words that Kelly used during the broadcast and apologize to anyone who was offended by her remarks. We take this matter very seriously. She has apologized privately to Tiger and publicly on the air."
  
  However, Tiger Woods has not issued any statement about whether the apology is sufficient or whether he was hurt or offended by Tilghman's "lynch Tiger" remark. As of yet, I cannot find any reporting of this news on The Golf Channel's own website either. I don't know what to make of Tilghman's "lynch Tiger" remark. It seems so inappropriate and racially insensitive for The Golf Channel's No.1 anchor to say. Even putting aside the racially charged connotations to lynching in this country, the comment seems ridiculous for a golf analyst on TV to say. 
  
  <a href="<A href="http://technorati.com/claim/b9rjcjv9ge">http://technorati.com/claim/b9rjcjv9ge</A>" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>
  Maybe I am missing the context in which it was said. Maybe someone has a better explanation for Tilghman's remark. I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt. She probably won't ever again get an exclusive interview with Tiger, that's my guess. If you have videotape of the comment, please email us the link.
  
  UPDATE: Nick Faldo seemed to condone/affirm Kelly Tilghman's comment. Does he bear any responsibility, too?
  
  UPDATE: Tiger Woods's agent Mark Steinberg issued this statement on behalf of Tiger:
  
  "This story is a non-issue. Tiger and Kelly are friends and Tiger has a great deal of respect for Kelly. Regardless of the choice of words used we know unequivocally that there was no ill-intent in her comments. This story is a non-issue in our eyes. Case closed."

   

  13 Comments:

   Mr Business Golf said...

  Mul,
  I think it is about time for Kelly to move on anyway. Yaw, she played golf at Duke, a powerhouse Business School. I know there are a lot of the PGA executives from that school...that is great. But for on-air announcing? I would think that TGC could find someone who is not trying to sound like a man when she talks. Maybe Katie Couric is available to take her place.

   

  zeno said...

  Umm yes she should. When you make and comment on a black person and connect the dots with "lynch" in your vocabulary and it just flows into a sentence so easily, it shows a heavy insight of how you think of that group of ppl and you only let a fraction leak out by accident. There is no doubt that we are the most sensitive group in the world, however you'll NEVER understand how much it hurts and verifies what WE think you REALLY thing of us as a group. Not to generalize..but a little insight..I don't expect any of you to really understand.
  
  She is apologizing for revealing inner thoughts and getting to comfortable...sadly she must have thought she was at home.

   

   Dave said...

  Without a doubt. This strikes me as at least as offensive as the remark that got Imus canned ... and maybe more offensive. Make that definitely more offensive. It has destroyed her credibility and damaged the game, which has struggled for years to get over its white-men-only reputation.

   

  Michael said...

  yea apologizing now does nothing. It's far too late. She should be fired immediately!!

   

   BCA said...

  Golf Blog-
  
  I have not posted this story on my blog because I couldn't find the exact quote or video clip to add....but I heard it live (on TV) Friday night and right away hit all the golf forums online to see if anyone heard it also. No one had.
  
  While I was not offended, b/c I don't think she had any intention of it's meaning, I can see how others may be. She shouldn't be fired though. The world is becoming too sensitive.
  
  Also, there was not one hit on Google when I searched for "Tilghman Tiger Lynch" Friday night. Today that same search yields nearly 15 unique hits.

   

  Judy said...

  Kelly's comments were racist, ignorant, thoughtless, and offensive. She should resign or be fired immediately. She needs lots of therapy and for sure, sensitivity training. Welcome to the Don Imus club, Kelly, not a club that anyone wants to be a member of, for sure.

   

   Reid in Santa Ana said...

  She shouldn't have said it. But ... lynch, schmynch. If one lived out in the western US he could see little racial innuendo in the remark because out here we lynched people with essentially little regard for their race. I don't think firing is necessarily in order on this issue. But she'll have atough row to how in play by play if she can't select her words more carefully to avoid annoying or offending some.

   

   Jon said...

  Negative.
  
  Lynch- murder for supposed crime: to seize somebody believed to have committed a crime and put him or her to death immediately and without trial, usually by hanging
  
  That is a big difference than nappy headed hoes...
  
  The golf exc at the GC need to stop reading into this and drink more Grey Goose

   

   Darrell said...

  You can hear what she said at this site. http://news.finditt.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=32622&cat=0
  
  The thing that gets me is the fact that both announcers are laughing and having fun about bring violence to Mr Woods. lynching is a very sensitive subject for black because of the recent history (and still today in some parts of the country) but for someone to use this word as a joke is very unacceptable. She should be fired and banned from TV.

   

   Vale2dobaby said...

  She should be fired immediately. But of course she's white and pretty so the white old men who run The Golf Channel, (who are probably thinking the same thing about Tiger), probably won't.
  
  Imus gets fired, Micheal Vick has to go to jail for 23, but she'll slide right by.
  
  

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