The Golf Channel has suspended anchor Kelly Tilghman for two weeks. Here is my story for the Thursday newspaper.
What's next? I don't know, but I do know Imus initially was suspended before he was canned, and come to think of it I initially and naively shrugged off his comments, so don't ask me.
Ask Rev. Al.
This story started as a paragraph buried at the bottom of my Tuesday newspaper column and now has mushroomed in a way that is starting to give me flashbacks to last April.
I apparently am severely lacking in news judgment on stories such as this.
So rather than weigh in and be dragged into the racially-charged vortex, I'm going to pathetically cower in a politically neutral corner and let readers comment below the way they have been doing by the dozens on the Web site for each incarnation of this story.
Good luck. But please be civil.
Comments (16)
Ugggghhhh, please. No more AL!!
I can get more listeners than his radio show by yelling out the window of my office...
Neil- I don't blame you for cowering in the neutral corner. These race relation stories are always uncomfortable to deal with. You will hear some people saying "fire her" and others saying "she made a bad joke, she apologized, and everyone makes mistakes".
What if instead of saying to "lynch" Tiger Woods, what if she said "stab him and leave him in a back alley"? I doubt it would have ever been brought up in the media. Race though changes the whole story.
Looks like the Golf Channel Executives will have an important decision to make- If she does get fired I hope everyone in the media learns their lesson- the fastest way to the unemployment lane is making a racial remark over the airwaves.
With Tiger Woods coming to her defense, the story could have ended right then and there. By suspending her, it is only going to get more media attention, which will prompt YouKnowWho to show his face on TV claiming outrage and demanding her firing.
The I-man did not comment on this story when Warner Wolf played the audio clip this morning.
I love your articles and blog Neil but don't know how you can sleep tonight raking this up on Tilgham when it was obviously had nothing to do with race. It was on Friday and nobody even reported on it to you did. Now you are responsible for this woman being suspended and probably eventually fired. I guess what sells papers right Neil.
Let's subtract race from this for a minute....Why is it acceptable for anyone to suggest that violence against another person is ok? If she had said like Mike suggested, "stab" or "shoot" why would that be better? (again, I am not factoring in race here) Considering all the awful things that have happened with violence in this country this past year it would be nice if our announcers could steer away from joking about any sort of violence against any person.
I think this was just a stupid mistake on this announcers part and incredibly insensitive to use that word about Woods, but the fact that Tiger dismissed the incident and moved on should be enough for everyone. Sharpton really looks hypocritical when he goes after her after taking a pass on Isiah. He should give Tilghman the same courtesy he gave Thomas and meet with her before calling for her firing.
If you think Kelly Tilghman is a RACIST, show it by voting!
http://www.kelly-tilghman.com
Bad Job Neil: I feel bad that this has spiraled into a major story, but I certainly don't feel responsible. If anything people might criticize me for burying the story Tuesday, given the extreme reaction that ensued. We got a tip, I followed up on it and reported it after consulting with my editor. I certainly can't be accused of fanning the flames, given the brief, straight-forward accounts I have been giving about this story in the paper. If I wanted to sell papers I wouldn't have made it one paragraph at the end of an 800-word column!
If she is Tiger's friend and a big fan of his, then she has no business saying this and should be fired. This is 2008 and she should know better than to say that a black man be lynched. What a disgrace. Last year it was the year of the noose. Now its lynching. And of course Tiger and his agent not caring means nothing. Hes married to a white woman....why would he care? I dont care about Al but shes stupid for saying it. All white people are say stupid thing then apologize saying there was no intent. Thats garbage. I know most white people think racism is over (see Obama and the white woman love for Oprah) but it NEVER WILL. Especially when dumbasses like Kelly exists.
Neil -
I commend you for reporting those hateful words of harm toward Tiger Woods although they could have been said about anyone.
No one in America should be subject to any slurs or threats by anyone.
Love one another is not just a phrase from the Bible.
Enough, please.
If everyone who writes, is on tv, or gives opinions for a living was fired for every "wrong or stupid" thing they said, where would news/sports/politics be on TV?
The fact that Slim Shady AL is the barmoeter of morality and decency for what should and should not be said is hilarious. I guess when you ditch the jogging suits and wear expensive clothes everything is different.
If people would watch the whole clip, it was an off the cuff remark, and there was no hatred in it. She could have been saying it about a white player, it had nothign to do with his race. Do you think right before she said it she was thinking about hatred of blacks. Nobody is saying racism in America is over, but in this case I dont' sense any racism. Do you really think that she wants Tiger or any other African American lynched? The PC Police are brining this country down. If everybody is afraid to say something then nothing productive will ever be said. The woman made a mistake and now she will lose her job because of it. Good job Neil Best and the PC Police!!!
Even if Kelly did not mean to make the comment, it would seem a little odd that a remark like that would come just "off the cuff" like that. At the moment she blurted those words, did she think " probably shouldnt have said that" Or was it so non-chalant to where she would just use the term "lynch" is nothing more than a throwaway line.
Note to those in media: Using terms like "lynch (fill in blank)", "(fill in blank) should be put in a chamber", or any other racial or ethnically charged rhetoric like that may get you in a little bit of trouble.
Based upon the reaction to this and the Imus story(ies), if the young writers at Newsday want to challenge your blog count dominance they should do one thing: Go to the editors and start a Rev. Al Sharpton blog!
Neil,
You certainly are responsible for what you report and most of all the way in which you do so. If taken in context this comment is innocuose and most. I must resort to quoting both your articles.
Article one:
January 9, 2008
After Faldo suggested they "gang up" on him, Tilghman added in jest a suggestion that they "lynch him in a back alley."
Article two:
January 10, 2008
Tilghman was bantering with analyst Nick Faldo Friday after the second round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship when she suggested one way for young players to deal with the challenge posed by Tiger Woods would be to "lynch him in a back alley."
The difference between these two is that in the first you gave at least an inkling of the context in which the coment was made. The second article is much more daming in my opinion. My point is reports should be more vigilant in the way they report the news and few if any are.
Do you not see a difference?
That's a fair point, Eric. The word "bantering" suggested a light tone but I should have made sure to include the words "in jest" again just to make the context perfectly clear.
This will blow over and she will learn to choose her words more carefully. ESPN resident blowhards(ATH etc.), who universally reamed Imus, defended her today. Wilbon defended her, lamented the phrasing. With prominent black media defenders even Fat Albert is impotent.