| Kelly Tilghman's Insensitive Comment about Tiger Woods - |
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yankee-in-france
 Posted:
Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:42 am |
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Kelly Tilghman's Insensitive Comment about Tiger Woods
While this isn't breaking news, it might be interesting to discuss as a golf magazine has now fired its editor for a noose on its magazine cover.
Kelly Tilghman, a golf commentator, who has known Tiger Woods for a long time, made a statement, something like the only way any player can beat him is if they took him in an alley and lynched him. From what I understand, she apologized immediately to him and he supposedly accepted her apology without making a big deal out of it.
Other people in the golf world were making a big deal out of it, and she ended up being suspended for two weeks. Then an editor exercised poor judgment by having a photo of a noose on the cover of the magazine, and he was fired immediately.
Has anyone read up on this one and what do you think? Kelly was acknowledging his superiority on the greens with an off-the-cuff remark. Did others overreact to her statement? I have no problem with the firing of the editor as the noose on the cover was way over-the-top and made no sense.
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YIF
Joined: 30 Mar 2006
Posts: 6598
Location: France
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| tulsad
Posted:
Mon Jan 21, 2008 2:34 pm |
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I have no problem with it; Tiger dealt with it and he is the one who is directly affected. Others becoming enraged are being disrespectful of his decision, as far as I'm concerned. The editor is an idiot and was appropriately fired.
This incident does bring something to mind for me, however - that is the fact that lynching, derogatory terms and the like are much closer to the conscious level in people's minds than they are for other groups. What if Tiger wasn't black? What would be the only way to stop him?
The only way a player could beat Tiger if he was:
German: exile him to South America (nazi.)
Jewish: intern him in a concentration camp.
Irish: subject him to a potato famine-like existence.
Native American: put him on a reservation.
Italian: put him in prison for tax evasion (ala Capone/Mafia.)
Latino: (several options here.) 'Send him back where he came from' would be the mildest example.
Fat: steal his lunch.
You get my point. When Favre is hot, sports commentators don't say the only way a team can beat him is if (reference to his being white/his background/heritage) - they say something about him being hurt.
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Sparkly Tree
Joined: 19 Aug 2006
Posts: 10139
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| Schmerty
Posted:
Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:15 pm |
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Please remember that Tiger's Mom is THAI. He is as much Thai as he is African/American .SO STUPID commentator & Editor GET OVER IT! People are people , some more talented, good looking & polite than others.
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Skipping along my own path.
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 3280
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| pax
Posted:
Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:27 pm |
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Tulsad, that's an intriguing post. When Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were playing, commentators would sometimes say Bird 'works hard' and Magic 'has natural talent.' They both worked hard at their profession. A lot of stereotypes have broken down, and it's nice that this minor incident isn't turning into a brouhaha.
When Sandra Day O'Conner was confirmed to the Supreme Court, a newspaper editor was fired for proposing the headline: Wench Makes Bench. O'Conner now says we've come a long long way and can still do better.
Political correctness inhibits people from speaking freely. Conversely, some overstate their claims. On an NFL show last year, Chris Collinsworth was asked why there aren't more black general managers. He said he will not make any public comment concerning race. Ahmad Rashad replied 'that's sad' and Collinsworth said 'it is.'
A sense of humor goes a long way. Economic opportunity and a level playing field is more significant than mere words. The only thing that can stop the New England Patriots is terrorists, selective enforcement of the Patriot Act, or the New York Giants, rofl.
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Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 16074
Location: Wish You Were Here
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| pax
Posted:
Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:54 pm |
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| Schmerty wrote: | | Please remember that Tiger's Mom is THAI. He is as much Thai as he is African/American .SO STUPID commentator & Editor GET OVER IT! People are people , some more talented, good looking & polite than others. |
Good point. When Tiger won his first Masters, Sam Snead suggested he serve fried chicken at the winning dinner. Tiger didn't dignify it with a response. My favorite running back, Barry Sanders, was asked why he didn't do a victory or taunting dance after scoring a touchdown. He replied 'it's no big deal, I know I'll be back there soon.'
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Joined: 23 Mar 2006
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Location: Wish You Were Here
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| Schmerty
Posted:
Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:54 pm |
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| pax wrote: |
Good point. When Tiger won his first Masters, Sam Snead suggested he serve fried chicken at the winning dinner. Tiger didn't dignify it with a response. My favorite running back, Barry Sanders, was asked why he didn't do a victory or taunting dance after scoring a touchdown. He replied 'it's no big deal, I know I'll be back there soon.' |
You've got it right Pax. People who have good self esteem don't lose their cool when these insensitive "dumb" types try to belittle them.
One of the things I really like was Tiger saying when he was asked about winning with his wife & daughter there......."I thought it was really" cool" that she(baby) was here." He's one of my favorites.
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Skipping along my own path.
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 3280
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| tulsad
Posted:
Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:37 am |
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| Schmerty wrote: |
You've got it right Pax. People who have good self esteem don't lose their cool when these insensitive "dumb" types try to belittle them.
One of the things I really like was Tiger saying when he was asked about winning with his wife & daughter there......."I thought it was really" cool" that she(baby) was here." He's one of my favorites. |
Tiger's always been one of my favorite athlethes, too. When I think back to the little, tiny 3-yr.-old boy on The Tonight Show with his golf clubs, and hear that he has said that he "thought it was really cool" that his baby was in the audience when he won; he doesn't seem to have been changed much by his fame. I deliberately try to avoid learning what Tiger and the few other celebrities who I enjoy are like personally - their public persona is just fine with me. Tiger was a cute little kid who, in my eyes, has turned into a dignified and "human" celebrity to me.
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Sparkly Tree
Joined: 19 Aug 2006
Posts: 10139
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