Announcer Idiocy: Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman
By Jason McIntyre
What is it about Tiger that brings out the worst in people? Fuzzy “jokingly” (hardy har har!) mentioned Tiger in the same sentence as fried chicken and collard greens and now this chick from the golf channel, Kelly Tilghman, has trumped that. While dreaming up ways to slow the Tiger machine, Tilghman’s partner on-air, Nick Faldo, suggested that the other golfers “gang up” on him. Tilghman then said they should “lynch him in a back alley.”
Was she joking? Like it matters. How can someone with a Duke education, who is paid handsomely to speak on television, even have thoughts of lynching on her mind? If she says, ‘kick his ass in a back alley’ then this isn’t a story. But lynch? Who even uses that word anymore? We hope she doesn’t get a pass because she’s a woman. Tiger is the only reason people watch golf, and this is documented through ratings. If your viewers are there for Tiger, and you have announcers making racist comments about him, isn’t that inevitably going to steer people away from your product? We are not aware of what she’s like as an announcer, but a reader submits this: “She’s a decent studio host … but horribly miscast as a play-by-play person. Just terrible on-site, she is. She calls every putt like it’s fucking Tiger chipping at the Masters in ’05 … so fucking breath-y.”
Should Kelly Tilghman be fired for “lynch” Tiger remark? (Golf Blog)
Golf Channel anchor says young golfers should ‘lynch Tiger Woods’ (Golf Experts Blog)
[Image via Getty]