Foolish Cat January 11th, 2008

Kelly Tilghman, the play-by-play anchor on The Golf Channel, said last week during a banter session with color analyst Nick Faldo that the rest of the PGA field, in an effort to overcome Tiger Woods’ dominance, should “lynch him in a back alley.” It was a poor choice of words and for this blunder she incurred the wrath of Al Sharpton and was suspended by the network for a couple of weeks.

But it is not Ms. Tilghman that receives the award this week.

Our Blundering Fool of the Week award goes to: The Golf Channel.

Now, before we let young Kelly of the hook, it’s important to recognize that she could have very easily won this week’s award. Not because she’s racist or mean or even stupid - she appears not to be any of those things - but because she’s not funny. And there are few bigger train wrecks than watching someone who is not a natural comedian try to keep up with someone who is. Nick Faldo is funny. He’s charming, cocky, good-looking, and has a quick, biting British wit. That’s why he’s there. Kelly Tilghman is there to be the straight man and keep things moving. She forgot her position, ventured out on the comic limb, and subsequently fell into the abyss of infamy. That’s the power of one word.

But let’s be honest: context is everything. Tilghman’s, what, a thirty something Duke grad from Myrtle Beach, and watching the telecast it’s clear that she was just trying to emphasize Faldo’s point (which, by the way, was that the other guys should “gang up on Tiger”. Why is that okay?). If she was an 83 year old ex-Klan member from Louisiana who said, “back in my day we’d have taken him out back and lynched him” that would be very different.

And I guess Reverend Sharpton could have gotten the award. After all, he looks a little silly when the person who was slighted has accepted the apology of Ms. Tilghman and called her statement a non-issue. Tiger has always been above the race debate, some would say to a fault, and he’s not about to start with an insignificant afterthought-of-a-statement by a relatively unknown Golf Channel anchor.

But Al’s just being Al. Bringing public attention to African-American issues, large or small, real or perceived, is, literally, what Al Sharpton does for a living. Sometimes he’s popular, sometimes he’s not (like on this issue), and sometimes he’s split right down the middle (which is where he prefers to be). Whatever the case, that’s his job; exaggerating issues like this one is why we even know who Al Sharpton is.

But the Golf Channel gets the award because of their spineless decision to suspend Kelly Tilghman after stating there would be no suspension. It is this type of damage control, pressured decision-making that only creates greater rifts between races.

If they would have fired Tilghman on the spot because, whoever in charge was truly offended by her statements, then that’s fine. Maybe it would have been an overreaction, but it still would have been real. Backing off a decision not to suspend after Al Sharpton raises hell, in an effort to assuage the black public, just says, “we don’t really want to do this, but now we feel we have to.”

Who does that help?

Nobody. It comes across as a bunch of stuffy, white men trying to keep the peace with stuffy white sponsors via Al Sharpton. It’s ludicrous. There’s no sincerity. And there’s no logic. Everyone knows these aren’t the true feelings of the executives, so what is the point of acting as if they are? Stick to your values and let the chips fall; when you’re in charge, flaky is the worst thing to be.

And I’m not naive enough to think that corporate pressure isn’t a factor. The fear of losing sponsors in the TV business must be terrifying. But here’s the thing: in golf, there’s only one name that matters in attracting sponsorship: Tiger Woods. And he’s accepted this thing for what it was - a careless, harmless mistake. Learn from Tiger, Golf Channel - stand up for what you truly believe, not for orders you’ve been given by those with their own agendas.

Blunder on, Fools.

• The Daily Blunder , Sports , Blundering Fool of the Week
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