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| Yes | 46% | 71 votes | Total: 155 votes | |
| No | 54% | 84 votes |
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Add to FavoritesI want to start by saying I am a golfer, an African American golfer at that. In my lifetime, (I am only 24 years old), I have experienced hatred and denial on golf courses only in the U.S. As a black athlete we have strived and achieved many goals that are ancestors were unable/not given an opportunity to do. Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world bar none. He has broken records and continues to do so. Now who is Kelly Tilgham? I had never heard of her before she said this comment. Kelly to me is on the same page as the man who made the comments about the Rutgers Women's Basketball team. Her words were only from hate and jealousy she either wants Tiger or wants to be like him. She is a wash out that does not know the impact of her comments to certain communities. Her comment about lynching Tiger was outrageous and when nothing was done about it, the issue set African Americans back a few years. I do not understand how comedians and African American shows get cancelled and Racists like Kelly can blurt out all they want and still maintain a high paying job and still get respect. I feel that all those who let her back and gave her another chance are racist as well. There is no justice for blacks when deformation of character takes place and nothing is done about it. African Americans as a race have been deprived from rights that are clearly stated in the Constitution of the United States of America (the country we built). I guarantee that if Tiger or any other black athlete were to make a negative comment in that nature to a white person, they would be punished to the fullest extent with no questions asked. For instance Marion Jones is a great example of how blacks are punished. She came out openly and admitted to her steroid use and still had to return her awards and achievements, and was even more humiliated when she had to publically apologize. Then we have the same situation Roger Clemens and they believe him in his lie. The media is funny they allow whites to get away with murder and if a highly acceptable African American sneezes the wrong way then they lose their titles as well as their dignity and pride. There has to be a better way in making reporters and public authorities eat their words Kelly should have been stripped from her broadcast title and tarred and feathered then put out of the city gates as if committing treason. My only concern is would she have said the same analogy about Phil Mickelson or Fred Couples. The answer is NO her comments were meant as said, a Black golfer should be lynched by his white opponents, that cannot beat him ever. Kelly should be a memory in the eyes of the people she does not set good examples for kids or golf viewers.
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No
Once again, innocent banter becomes an internationally reported, racially motivated hate crime. Personally, I would not have been aware, that what Kelly Tilghman said was a racial slur. If a book were to be published of words and phrases found to be offensive to others, that book would make Webster's dictionary look like a pamphlet.
For those who don't know, Kelly Tilghman was commentating with the golfer Nick Faldo on the Golf Channel. They were discussing how the young players could take on the world's number one golfer, Tiger Woods.
Faldo suggested that "to take Tiger on, maybe they should just gang up (on him) for a while".
"Lynch him in a back alley," Tilghman replied, laughingly.
She was suspended by the Golf Channel from her job for two weeks for a racial slur.
Civil Rights activist Al Sharpton stated "Lynching is not murder in general. It's a specific racial term that this woman should be held accountable for. Whether she's a racist is immaterial. The channel has to be accountable to the public."
I disagree with the interpretation that "lynching" predominately applies to blacks being hung by the Ku Klux Klan. And I disagree that if she is a racist is immaterial. That is very material. Kelly Tilghman happens to be a friend of Tiger for the past 12 years. She is obviously not a racist. A racist has intent to cause harm or upset. She did not have intent and she did not have cause.
If we remember not long ago, Tiger Woods had to apologize after the final round in the Masters championship. A commentator asked him what he thought of his day's round of golf. "I putted like a spaz" he replied. Shock and horror rocked the politically correct world. He just insulted every spastic person on the planet! It was widely reported, but he was not suspended, nor should he have been.
When I hear the word "lynch", my mind immediately thinks back to the old westerns when they would send out a "lynch mob" for cattle rustlers and the like. Lynch is to "put to death by mob action". Okay, the death part was a poor choice, but Ms. Tilghman was focusing on the "mob action" aspect. Does anyone really believe that she was sending a secret message to he KKK to lynch Tiger Woods?
Political correctness cannot wipe out a life time of words and sayings we have learnt. And things we have said for many years, in innocence, are now offensive. This is another incident of people looking for a way to be offended, when in actual fact, the intent to offend was not there.
Kelly Tilghman should not have been suspended. In the old days ,before political correctness, sporting events use to have an analyst (the guy who gave the technical aspects of the game) and a color guy (the one who cracked jokes and made it fun to listen to). We can no longer have "the color guy" for obvious reasons.
It is a shame that we can no longer have a laugh because we might offend someone.
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