CNNSI is reporting that the editor of Golfweek has been fired in the aftermath of the noose cover.

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/articl...1704872,00.html

fully deserved, was a complete disgrace!

Here's the AP version:

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3202573

I couldn’t agree more, totally deserved, taking a situation that was a genuine mistake, that had already been rectified and trying to blatantly inflame it. This is the kind of thing you would expect from the inquirer not GolfWeek.

Tiger Woods needs to say something about all of this

I hope that he does...

And I hope that Golfweek's fan base goes down the toilet.

WTF!

Completey clowns over there. I have lost all respect for that magazine. What a disgrace to do that...

how is a noose racist?
Or did i miss something

Tiger Woods can remain silent. Enough will be said without him saying a word.

The editor should have been fired. What a joke. Golfweek looked really stupid when that magazine cover was shown. I can't believe it has been taken this far. They need to let it go rather than bring it up over and over again. It happened, it was an accident, she apologized, and she got suspended. That is where it should have been left.

allright, helpfully this is the end of that saga. enough already.

Got excatcly what was deserved!!!

DaveyH, it is racist to people who want to look for racism. Lynching is and always will be an illegal hanging, however here in the states there was a long period especially here in the south east where "African Americans" were lynched. As a result the lynching, the noose and th term seems to be now totally owned by this group, ignoring all the lynching’s that happened in this country during the years of western expansion and all the lynching’s before that in England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Well in the US it symbolizes the way blacks were treated many years ago. It was a disgusting time in American history. I'm glad the editor was fired. This cover just rehashed something that was almost forgotten.

It's journalistic sensationalism. Much ado about nothing. The comish played it right and there's no reason to keep this story alive. Was it ever really THAT interesting? It was a slip of the tounge and guess what.....it might just happen again! Welcome to a global sport. Think about every joke you tell on the course this weekend.....I'm going to guess that they are most likely going to be offensive to a particular religion, gender, race, or sexual orientation. Sure the cover was in poor taste, but is that really going to detour me from reading Golfweek? Is one slip on live TV going to call for a boycott of the Golf Channel? Let's get real here. It's pretty niave to think that ALL golfers are the epitomy of the PC Gentleman/woman. The Media put Kelly on Blast as if she was responsible for setting back racial equality 30 years! She's friends with Tiger. Tiger didn'even care! Why should we?

Interesting. A double standard once again arises.

So I gather all of the lynchings that took place during the settling of the Western United States means nothing at all as well? Why must it always be a racist thing? Everybody is so quick to pull the race card, that it is embarassing. They call it the past. Leave it there. Move on and don't be so darned soft skinned. People get offended, so what. They are the week members of society that will most likely ween themselves out of the gene pool, because they can not learn to adapt and over come. Otherwise known as surviving. These are also the same people that want the standards lowered, so they can meet them, rather than working harder to achieve the established standards.

Get over it. So you are offended. Call somebody so they can give you a hug and move on. Did your being offended solve a problem or accomplish anything? NOPE. Instead of voicing your disapproval, turn the page, continue to live, and drive on.

Wake up. Its 2008 not 1935.

Thomas Malthus was right.......

To all the golfweek haters. Golfwrx.com was mentioned in an equipment article in this weeks magazine. So at least we know that some publications staff read what is going on here.

Golfweek is infinitely better than it's competitor Golfworld, despite this tragic cover. It was over the top and a little distasteful. Totally out of context to what Kelly Tilghman was saying.

What is worse is the Sports Illustrated Golf Plus! article by Farrell somebody. This guy actually thinks people like Al Sharpton are relevant. He got all over Tiger in his article about how disgusting it was for Tiger to remain silent in all of this and basically called Tiger a coward for his "cablinasian" word. That, my friends, is a writer who needs to be fired. Hell, even Harry Edwards thinks this has been blown out of proportion

If I were Tiger...I would hold a press conference and say 3 things

1. Al Sharpton.....you do not speak for me sir, keep your blathering to yourself
2. Kelly Tilghman is my friend
3. If TGC does indeed fire her I will never do another interview or even speak with Golf Channel staff. I may not be bigger than the game of golf, but I am damn sure bigger than a second rate cable TV channel.

I don't understand your point, are you referring to the Thomas Malthus that wrote theories on poplulation growth and the shortage of food as a result of the industrial revolution? Or are you speaking of a theroy that I am not familiar with.

It isn't as much of a race thing as much as it was an obvious attempt to further inflame a situation. Wether or not you agree with Kelly being at fault, which I DO NOT believe she was at fault entirely... I DO BELIEVE that this idiot at GolfWeek was trying to ride on the energy that is currently afoot.

Just a bad thing. I was willing to ignore the Kelly situation. It was a non-issue IMHO, but this GWeek incident is a bad thing...

That being said, a noose doesn't reflect race conflict in any way, NORMALLY. People were hung alive long before the US lynchings - even back in the days of Kings and Queens. GW purely meant for it to be a racial thing. TOTALLY obvious what they were doing.

If I were in charge at Golf Week I too would have fired him just for being stupid and risking our credibility as a good magazine.

That would be totally hilarious, without Tiger there would be no Golf Channel, in fact without Tiger they would have to cancel 1/2 of their programming. But even funnier would be Tiger putting Sharpton in his place. Sadley I don't see it happening, I don't see Tiger throwing himself in the middle of a situation that has political ramifications. Tiger is notorious for laying low and not stirring the pot when it comes to politics.

It's amazing how the original story, which is pretty much a non-issue, is no longer the biggest part of the story.

Malthus also had disdain for uncultured, unclean and unintelligent people. He theorized that they should be the ones to die first.

Wake up. Its 2008 not 1935.
[/quote]

Yes it is 2008 and this is how Webster defines Noose - "anything that restricts one's freedom." Kelly Tighlman was indeed lynched!

I sent this email this morning to William Kupper, President of Turnstyle Publishing, the publishers of Golfweek. I am posting it here because although GW "invites" comment, Mr. Kuppers email rejected it as spam because I am not on his preferred sender list.

Dear Mr. Kupper,

As a "subscriber" to Golfweek and a former magazine publisher for 20+ years, I am disappointed for both reasons with your decision to fire your editor, Dave Seanor. If you truly believe the quote attributed to you from the Golfweek website, 'We were trying to convey the controversial issue with a strong and provocative graphic image.' Then why are you not standing behind your people. They succeeded! The image was strong and indeed provocative. When you use the word WE and then throw the other guy under the bus, it certainly can't be very inspiring to the people that remain.

This whole situation came about because of the unfortunate REACTION to Kelly Tighlman's use of the word 'lynch.' Webster's New World Dictionary defines (in its entirety) as Lynch -"to murder (an accused person) by mob action and without lawful trial, as by hanging." I see no reference to race. As for the noose graphic, I felt it was highly appropriate considering the way Ms Tighlman was "lynched" for her pithy repartee' with Nick Faldo.

Mickey Tettleton shared a story with me this summer about a hangman's noose hanging behind the 16th green at Oak Tree C.C. in OK. For years it has represented the difficulty of the 17th and 18th. Guests would ask "what's that" and the member's response, both black and white, would be "if you're not hitting it good, you might want to hang yourself here before you have to face 17 and 18." Based on a local newspaper woman's ignorance and resulting overreaction, that little piece of 'character' has since been removed. Enough is enough. Show some spine and instead of firing a guy for doing what "WE were trying to convey..." apologize if some were offended and applaud and support Mr Seanor doing his job of being provocative!

Finally it is very telling that in your statement you spoke of the "extreme negative reaction from consumers, subscribers and advertisers." No mention of READERS! I always felt that a great publication is a conversation between the editorial staff and the reader. It was designed to be provocative and move the reader. Your priorities are certainly skewed toward where the $ are coming from versus whom should be served. I am not so naive as to think the $ aren't important, but unless you turn your readers into advocates that can trust the honesty and integrity of their publication you won't show up on Antone's radar as far as "readership" is concerned and eventually will be rendered irrelevant. At that point you may as well fire the rest of the staff and stuff "advertiser's" coupons in an envelope and send them to "consumers" on your "subscriber" list.

Mr. Kupper, please accept this in the spirit it is intended and don't put all of our necks in a noose*!

* definition 2 from the aforementioned Webster's - Noose - "anything that restricts one's freedom."

Yes, we all agree that nooses don't mean racism in every context. That's an obvious point.

They fired the editor becuase he makes bad and obviously risky decisions. I wouldn't want him on my staff either, and I side with Kelly Tillman on the original GC incident.

Any employee that makes these kind of decisions is a liability to your staff.

Eric, do you realize how many "eyes" in a publishing company sign off to approve a cover? When it is referencing a topic this heated, EVERYONE is asked for input. Now we've witness 2 lynchings, Kelly Tighlman and Dave Seanor.

Interesting as a black man, I'm just reading the posts and marveling at the conversation. Most people have no reference to the symbol other than what history books tell them. We have documented proof in my family and old death certificates to prove how real a noose is.

My take....a noose or the "Stars and Bars" is to a black person as a swastika is to a Jew. It's an innocuous item left alone, but it represents something to a group that has been turned into a equipment of hate. Just like the swastika. It was an indian cross that the Nazis stole as a symbol. The "Stars and Bars" left alone is a flag of southern heritage. Mix it with a little hate and some groups that think they are better than certain groups, it becomes a symbol of hate. Regardless of the date, it still brings emotions back that large segments of our population still bear the scars of. My parents grew up in the 1950s in Virginia and dealt with it as normal life. Despite people's wishes to bury it, I happened. It shouldn't be worn as a badge of honor, nor should it be ignored as "part of the past." Ask someone who spent time in a concentration camp if they ever forgot being mistreated by Germans in the 1940s. Each group may forgive, but forgetting is asking too much.

Golfweek used incredibly bad judgment and inflamed a situation that was slowly fading. In this case, I feel the editor should have been fired. They knew what they were doing and the editor had the final say before going to print. Aside from all of this, I feel most sorry for Kelly Tilghman. She made a bad choice in words, Tiger forgave her, and TGC suspended her on the whims of pleasing a man that many blacks simply do not respect or want representing them, this one included. At its core, I know Kelly didn't mean it, Tiger knows and she must now wear it around her neck until Tiger publicly makes an effort to seek her out. To some it will never be enough.

As a golfer, I would hope it would have died out. It almost did. Now Golfweek made it an issue again and made it harder for Kelly to step back on TGC in the eyes of the public. It's not fair and this just needs to stop.

Absolutely I do realize how many eyes are on the cover topic before release.

Let me preface this by saying that I am the first person to side with Kelly, and the editor, in most situations. I can't stand Al Sharpton and all the over-reactors when these Politically Correct issues typically come up. (I say this understanding that there ARE actual race problems that need addressing in our society, don't get me wrong)

BUT, I think the editor is simply a bad decision maker. He is the HEAD of the department. He is the man in charge - the final "say". Yes, you could fire every writer and every staff member involved but this guy had to go for not thinking about consequence. When I saw this cover I thought - "dear god, why did you publish this cover photo now? What timing? We had just gotten over the KT issue and now this".

If I were the (fired) editor I would have kept the race in golf article intact, changed the cover to something a little more benign (for timing sake) and back burnered it for 2 months. It's a valid editorial with some interesting points about race issues.

IMHO this was the right thing to do. Since he didn't do the smart thing he got fired for "symbolism" and more importantly for making poor executive decisions.

Oh! So let's only report what's bland and safe? Give me a break!

We are so fu^&ing politically correct that you can't say anything without offending someone, somewhere. I'm sure this post will offend someone and you know what? I don't really care!

Let's inflame it more - I am an American! Not a German American, or a French/German/English American. And I'm sick as heck about losing my free speech because I might offend somebody. They are even going after comedians now for political or race insensitivity. Where do you think most jokes come from? The older I get, the more I realize that generalizations are generally correct. Prove to be the exception.

Lynching and nooses are not the sole property of Black Americans. The American Indians lynched and hung white settlers, too.

I am not a predjudiced man, but where did our free speech go? Give us a break already!

I know now that Golfweek will only print what's "safe". In my book, they just became a useless publication.

What are the odds Rev. Al is not finished with the issue? Does he now let everyone know Golfweek did the right thing in firing the editor and why can TGC not do what is right and fire KT?
If I rememebr correctly, he was looking for the TGC to fire KT orignally.

He was looking to get Kelly fired, and that was wrong too. On all levels.

No, he got fired for inflaming a situation with a cover photo designed to sell more magazines in an Enquirer-esque marketing style.

HE GOT FIRED FOR BEING DUMB, not for ignoring political correctness. He got fired for the cover, not the article!

Understand where I am coming from. I am the anti-PC guy.

Not that it needs to be said again, but glad that this action was taken (firing Editor over GW Cover)

As the Editor, the person has a key role in shaping the way the publication wants to engage itself into the issue (if it even needs to be called that, as was said, and agreed on this end, this is sorta a non issue now and should have been blowing over by now). This was just a plain dumb move on their part.

But I just cant sit here and see people try to get all worked up about the defination of `noose` and how it has a meaning distinctly different that what might have been implied.

Im mean..jesus, not for nothing, but what the heck is wrong with some of you ppl?

These are the same arguments used by White Supremists for continued use of the Swastika (ancient Easter Indian symbol with a long history of usage before Nazi Germany) and closer to home, using a certain flag to represent pride.

Both of these arguments are total cop-outs and a way of deflecting the issue regarding the continued uses of these symbols today in, hopefully, a modern and informed world, were we hopefully understand and are sensitive to the enormous amounts of baggage and connotations these symbols carry.

So to come onto a golf board and see the same line of reasoning being used is just pathetic.

Amen brother...

Not that I like, know, or agree with the man or his tactics, why wouldn't your line of think apply to Al Sharpton as well? He suggested what the Golf channel should do, they did HAVE to suspend Kelly, because Al Sharpton said so!. Who appointed him as the "offical" spokesperson for "Black Americans"

For the records As far as American Indians and Lynching, who did what to whom first has something to do with that situation

Seriously, what in the world was GolfWeek thinking? Did they honestly think they could let this fly and nothing would be said? The editor deserved to be fired.

According to South Park, Jesse Jackson is the official spokesman for Black America. I guess Rev. Al is going for the title.

Which is why some prominent person of color..... ala Tiger Woods....needs to tell Sharpton otherwise.

If I were a minority individual I would be offended at the arrogance of someone who felt they gave me a voice. I have my own damn voice, thank you very much, and don't need pimp/preacher antics to get my point across. BTW good Reverend, cut your damn hair.

Perhaps not in Wales, but in the U.S. they used to Lynch blacks for a variety of reasons. Maybe they whistled at a pretty white girl, maybe they were learning to read; maybe they were trying to escape from slavery, or inspire others to escape. The list goes on. Basically it’s a tool and symbol. Both part of a terror campaign to keep people in bondage, and horrible way to kill innocent people, leave them hanging around to make an impression. Fundamentally, lynching has been a reaction to civil rights not just the 1800s but in the US as recently as the 20s/30s and even the sixties.

In case I've not made the image grim enough, there is an old expression about strange fruit, which meant people hanging from trees.

The GOLF CHANNEL and GOLF WEEKLY are a bunch of wimps! They only take action AFTER someone complains. Give me a break and ask your wives for your balls back.

From talking with many people on the floor, the consensus was what KT did was a mistake and she admitted it. What GW did was really not smart and no one can figure out the logic....It was the front cover.

No question that KT made a mistake and she apologized, even though she did not intend it as some may have taken it. She acknowledged her mistake and owned up to it. Kudos to KT.

Golfweek's move probably wasn't the smartest, but no question about it ... KT was lynched. I was surprised GW had the gutts to say it. Now to fire the editor over it shows me weakness and lack of backbone. If I had a subscription, it would be dropped. Not because of the cover, but because of the firing.

Hopefully Comcast will do the same to Kelly T. Not for her comment (which Tiger has accepted her apology for) but for the stupid move of making her the lead announcer, who has agrueably become the worst golf announcer in the history of televised golf. The executive at the Golf Channel should get the axe as well who gave her the job in the first place. Rich Lerner and Faldo are 4 orders of magnitude better than Kelly and Nick. Hopefully the Golf Channel is watching all the articles about the seamless transition and more enjoyable telecasts since Rich Lerner took over. Nick doesn't act like some dopey high school kid trying to respond in a cutesy way like he was always doing with Kelly...

I guess the 1297 white guys that got lynched (according to the Tuskeegee Institute) were all accidents and not part of a terror campaign to keep them in bondage.

The hangman's noose was color-blind. It wasn't just black people that got lynched.

That is an interesting point about whites being lynched, but liberated from bondage..........please.

From the Tuskeegee Institute

Also, as far as this stupid magazine cover. I don't take this too deeply or seriously. Its my opinion that sportswriters often blow things out of proportion and in an effort to make things controversial so they can sell papers, and I think that’s what they were trying to do here. Unfortunately for them, the PGA and the Golf Channel wanted this lynching business to end faster than Golf Week.

Wow, It is amazing how quickly public companies change their viewpoints after public opinion swings against them.

Golfweek did nothing wrong. While I do not agree with making racist statements, I do believe that it is the place of the media to lead the way to intelligent discussion. Hence reporting on news stories. While I did not read the issue of Golfweek, I imagine that the article therein did not come out and say that Golfweek was pro-lynching. I am pretty sure that they reported on a news story.

The image of the noose was intended to strike people who see the cover. It is no different than Time or Newsweek showing an inflamatory image on their cover. It is intended to provoke people to read the magazine and send in letters. It is nothing more than an image that another person said which created a news story.

I am very suprised how quickly people cry RACISM!!! The cover is not racist. Racism is defined as: NOUN:

1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

(source: http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/racism )

Sorry if this comes off the wrong way, but I believe that the only way to get past racism, sexism, etc. is to engage in intelligent discussion. Any magazine that encourages this and encourages us to learn more about issues should be encouraged.

Remember, an image does not have power unless a person chooses to give that image power.

Can't we just point to the other threads and end this now? Or do you want me to wade into this again?

Don't make me do it... it is a good weekend shaping up and I'd hate for the thought police and thin skinned to ruin it.

Boo f'in hoo, someone's feelings were hurt. Welcome to life. We all get our feelings hurt. Most of us know how to deal with it.