If you blinked, you might have missed how the golf world neatly swept a potential firestorm of controversy under their proverbial rug. Kelly Tilghman, an anchor on the Golf Channel, said something about Tiger Woods that she hopes not too many people will hear about.

Speaking about how Woods dominates the golfing world, Tilghman said that young players on the PGA Tour should “lynch him in a back alley.” Yes, she really did say that.

While Don Imus’ remarks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team got him kicked off his show and made him public enemy #1, Tilghman received only a light slap on the wrist for saying Woods should be lynched. Imus, whose remarks were also totally unnecessary and in poor taste, to his credit didn’t say anyone should “lynch” the Rutgers players.

Tilghman, who received only a two week suspension from the Golf Channel, dodged any major punishment for her slip of the tongue. Is it because she’s a good looking female? Is it because it was an honest mistake? Even if you believe that it was an honest mistake, you have to admit Al Sharpton has a point.

Said Sharpton, when speaking to CNN: “If I got on this show and said I wanted to put some Jewish-American in a gas chamber, I don’t care what context I said it in, the entire Jewish community would have the right to say I should be put off this show or my radio show if I said it there. Or if I said I wanted to see a woman raped. This is an insult to all blacks. Lynching is not murder in general; it is not assault in general. It is a specific racial term.”

While it’s true that Sharpton can be a bit fanatical at times, I have to agree with his take. If the mainstream media is going to annihilate Imus for his remarks, Tilghman shouldn’t be able to get away with an obviously racial statement, even if it were an accident. A two month suspension – or maybe even a six month suspension – seems more apropos. Two weeks? That’s not a suspension, that’s a vacation.

By Kori Ellis

Tags: golf, kelly tilghman, pga golf, racist, tiger woods

This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
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