"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."
On Friday, during the Golf Channel's broadcast of the Mercedes-Benz Championship, host Kelly Tilghman and analyst Nick Faldo were discussing Tiger Woods' dominance of the PGA Tour, and how difficult it is for any young players to make a dent in Tiger's dominance. Faldo suggested that those young players might need to "gang up" on Woods, and Tilghman interjected, "Lynch him in a back alley?"
Nobody seemed to notice the comment at the time, but Tilghman apologized on-air during the Sunday broadcast. By Monday, after Newsday ran a short item about the comment, the Web exploded with discussion. Many bloggers and commenters (including here on About.com) called for Tilghman's firing in postings on Monday, Tuesday and into today.
Having watched the clip of the incident, taking into account the tone and the context, and knowing what I know about Tilghman, I am absolutely certain that there was no malice or racial animus behind the comment. It was simply a very - very - bad case of foot-in-mouth disease. But that doesn't stop me from finding the comment offensive.
Anyone who is unsure why that comment is offensive needs to brush up on American history. The use of that word - and who was using it, and at whom that usage was directed - make it a deeply hurtful comment to a large segment of Americans. And every American should be offended by it.
But does Tilghman deserve to fired? Or disciplined in any way? Or do her apologies - she offered another one Tuesday, and will likely offer many more - and the humiliation she has suffered act as punishment enough?
The Golf Channel, according to a Chicago Tribune report, "said no disciplinary action is planned." In a statement, the network said:
"We regret the unfortunate choice of words 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."
Tilghman and Woods know each other well, and have a cordial relationship. That may be why Woods moved quickly to try to defuse the situation, with his agent, Mark Steinberg, issuing a statement that suggested Woods believes the whole thing is being blown out of proportion:
"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."Tilghman herself said in her statement on Tuesday:
"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."
Article Source: z.about.com
