Tuesday, January 22, 2008

364 days of Baseball...1 day of Idiocy

The beautiful thing about these brutal Canadian winter days is they give me the time to sit and stew about things ongoing in the world of sports that make me want to Stone Cold Stunner certain individuals involved. Since we’re in some down time as far as our beloved Blue Jays go, I thought I’d express my thoughts on something outside the realm of Major League Baseball, which isn’t something that will happen often, especially in season. I had to get this off my chest.

Toward the end of the second round of the PGA tour’s season opening Mercedes Benz Championship, Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman and analyst Nick Faldo were discussing possible challengers to Tiger Woods in 2008, when Faldo suggested the other players gang up on him.

“Lynch him in a back alley,” Tilghman said laughing.

Uh oh, it’s Don Imus all over again. Or is it?

Naturally, well-known civil rights activist (and crazy, nonsensical son of a bitch) Rev. Al Sharpton sparked a wave of outrage and called for her to be fired. Just like most major media outlets would have, the Golf Channel crumbled under the pressure and suspended Tilghman for 2 weeks (hopefully with pay). The Golf Channel initially said that Tilghman would NOT be suspended. Tiger Woods himself said the whole thing was a “non-issue” and that he’d spoken with Tilghman shortly after the incident, when she admitted her deep regret over the comment. Woods also went on to say that he and Tilghman have been good friends for 10-11 years and that the whole thing was being overblown and driven by the media. Smart man this Tiger fellow.

Look, what Tilghman said was inappropriate. I am 100% sure that she is well aware of that, and immediately regretted saying it. She has a professional responsibility as a broadcaster to watch what she says. Every once in awhile, people are going to misspeak, and say something that will be taken out of context and blown into a massive issue when none really exists. Does that make what she said right? Of course not. Again, she is well aware of that fact, as she immediately issued the apology to Tiger Woods and the public. Does this comment make Kelly Tilghman a racist? Absolutely not. Al Sharpton is an idiot. I’m not going to get into why I think that, and why it’s 100% true as he makes it quite obvious every time he opens his pie hole.

Kelly Tilghman was born in South Carolina. She went to Duke University on a golf scholarship, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. She was a touring golf professional from 1992-1996 throughout Asia and Europe and served as a teaching pro. She was brought up by parents who owned a golf course for 22 years. You know what all of this means? Tilghman grew up in a part of the States where racial insensitivity still exists to this day. She is well aware of how to behave, how to think, and what you can and can’t say when it comes to this issue. She made a MISTAKE. She subsequently apologized, and was forgiven by the party involved.

In my personal and always correct opinion, the Golf Channel royally botched this whole thing. There was no need to suspend Kelly Tilghman. There is no need for every single major media outlet in the United States to cave in like little bitches, every time someone like Al Sharpton plays the race card. It’s getting old, and way beyond tired. Don’t mistake this opinion as me condoning remarks such as Tilghman’s. There are instances when disciplinary action for inappropriate comments is warranted. I don't believe this is one of them. What I’m saying is that people need to stop jumping to ridiculous conclusion every time something like this happens assuming these individuals are hate mongers and racist bigots who should be fired immediately.

Oh and Golf Channel, man up for God’s sake. Show a little support for your employees.

Back to baseball…

1 comment:

  1. the other reverend surely appreciates the photo you selected

    ReplyDelete

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