Golf Channel Anchor Kelly Tilghman Apologizes for Remark About Tiger Woods

It was a clear cut case of "Open Mouth, Insert Foot" for Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman when, while covering the opening event of the PGA Tour, she said that today's young golf players should "lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley." ESPN reports that Tilghman apologized on the air during Sunday's telecast and that she reached out to Woods' representatives to express her regrets about the unfortunate remark.

When sports anchors and commentators try to "wing it" on camera, this can result in a verbal "train wreck" that ends up on nightly news roundups and YouTube, but Tilghman's use of the word "lynch" brought back some bad memories of last year's racially charged situation in Jena, Louisiana. It doesn't appear that Ms. Tilghman meant any real harm when she uttered the statement, but her brain certainly wasn't in gear when she opened her mouth.

Unfortunately, Kelly Tilghman is not the first broadcaster who found themselves in a "Don Imus-like" situation:

Source: Espn.com, "Report: Golf Channel anchor apologizes for 'lynch' remark"

Kelly Tilghman/Tiger Woods Remarks: Dave Lenihan and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Kelly Tilghman will most likely keep her job, but Dave Lenihan, an on-air personality at KTRS in St. Louis, lost his position for what sounded like an obvious slip of the lip. On March 22, 2006, during an on-air discussion with callers about the rumors that Rice might apply for the job of NFL commissioner, Lenihan said "She's African-American, which would be kind of a big coon."

After listening to the comment, which was replayed countless times over the following weeks, it sounds as if Lenihan intended to say "it would be a big coup," meaning that Rice landing that position would be quite an achievement. Lenihan was immediately dismissed for that remark, however.

Source: Nationalcenter.org, "Hold Your Tongue, Unless You are Criticizing a Conservative," David Almasi

Kelly Tilghman /Tiger Woods Remarks: Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder