Golf Channel anchor sparks controversy

January 10, 2008 The move came after a wave of outrage that included a call for her to be fired by civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton and despite a statement from the Woods camp saying, "It is a complete non-issue."

Sharpton said the fact Woods did not call for punishment of Tilghman does not mean the comment was not offensive to African-Americans.

"That's the same thing Don Imus said," Sharpton said on CNN Headline News Wednesday, referring to the radio shock-jock's racially offensive comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. "[He said] 'I want to talk to the Rutgers girls' and not talk about the insult he said on all blacks."

Sharpton said the issue of hanging strikes a raw nerve among African-Americans.

"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," Sharpton told CNN. "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."

The Golf Channel, which originally said there would be no punishment, changed its position less than three hours after Sharpton's remarks with a statement issued Wednesday night:

"The Golf Channel regrets the poorly chosen remarks made by Kelly Tilghman on a recent broadcast and, again, extends our apologies to anyone who was offended. There is simply no place on our network for offensive language like this. While we believe that Kelly's choice of words was inadvertent and that she did not intend them in an offensive manner, the words were hurtful and grossly inappropriate. Consequently, we have decided to suspend Kelly for two weeks, effective immediately."

Fred Funk only heard about the comment Wednesday morning at the Sony Open.

"There was no ill intent at all," Funk said, according to The Associated Press. "I think it was just a slip, and they said that Tiger has already forgiven her. I think when you're in the TV tower for that many hours, you're going to wish you didn't say some things probably, and that was one thing that slipped out. I think you've got to give them a little grace."

In her statement, Tilghman said, "On Friday during our golf broadcast, Nick Faldo and I were discussing Tiger's dominance in the golf world and I used some poorly chosen words. I have known Tiger for 12 years and I have apologized directly to him. I also apologize to our viewers who may have been offended by my comments."

Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg of IMG, released a statement saying, "This story is a non-issue. Tiger and Kelly are friends and Tiger has a great deal of respect for Kelly. Regardless of the choice of words used, we know unequivocally that there was no ill intent in her comments. This story is a non-issue in our eyes."

According to The Associated Press, Woods and Tilghman have known each other 12 years. She was picked to host a club demonstration with Woods in south Florida when he talked about new products from Nike Golf.

The comments by Tilghman flew under the radar all weekend, even after she apologized on-air during Sunday's broadcast. Newsday, a suburban New York newspaper, reported Tilghman's apology on Monday.

"I'm sure Kelly wishes she never said that," Jim Furyk said, according to The Associated Press. "I haven't spoken with Tiger, but I've been told that they've had their talk and they've discussed it. Anything I say is kind of just like pouring salt in the wound at this point. Obviously, she would love to not have said that and for it not to be news. I'm glad that her and Tiger spoke."

Fred Funk only heard about the comment Wednesday morning at the Sony Open.

"There was no ill intent at all," Funk said, according to The Associated Press. "I think it was just a slip, and they said that Tiger has already forgiven her. I think when you're in the TV tower for that many hours, you're going to wish you didn't say some things probably, and that was one thing that slipped out. I think you've got to give them a little grace."

Tilghman, one of the most-popular on-air personalities at Golf Channel, (last year was the first of a 15-year deal by the Golf Channel to broadcast PGA Tour events) became the first female to anchor a professional golf broadcast, and one of the few to hold such a prominent position in all of sports.

The former player for the Duke University golf team competed professionally from 1992-96 before joining the Golf Channel. She will return to the air Jan. 25 at the Buick Invitational, which will be Woods' first tournament of the 2008 season.

Ron Sirak is the executive editor of Golf World magazine. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.