Well, 2008 has just begun and it proves to be a wild one. Roger Clemens has almost singlehandedly started the year off with a ####. And if I were Roger, the fact that Congress is pushing back its hearing with him, Andy Pettitte and Brian McNamee almost a month (from January 16th to February 13th) is an ominous sign. Clemens’ head lawyer Rusty Hardin responded to the news by saying, “Roger hasn’t done anything. The federal government looking at Roger is fine with me.”
At this point, if Hardin really feels that way, why not publicly declare that Clemens will not invoke the Fifth Amendment (the right not to incriminate oneself) during the hearing? Trust me, after the whole Mark McGwire debacle in Congress, if Clemens ever wanted to get the undecided sports people onto his side, waiving his Fifth Amendment right would be a heck of a way to do it.
What will probably happen is that the hearing will be abnormally uncomfortable for Clemens. He’s going to be grilled not only about steroid and HGH use, but also about his supposed lidocaine and vitamin B12 injections, as well as his own stated Vioxx abuse. He’s going to be grilled about various things he has said in public which just don’t line up with what really happened. He’s going to have every interview he ever gave lined up to show where he says something in one interview and then contradicts it in another.
And he’s going to be skewered for setting up a call to talk about McNamee’s son as a pretext for trying to entrap McNamee and get something to bolster his own case. What it demonstrates is that he’ll do anything to win, and that’s probably as good a reason to guess that he did steroids and HGH as any. Honestly, now Clemens is going to understand why lawyers want their clients to say as little as humanly possible.
So we move from that stupidity to the Golf Channel suspending anchor Kelly Tilghman for two weeks. Why? Because she complimented Tiger Woods by saying that his game is so dominant that the only way that other players could possible hope to challenge Woods would be to “#### him in a back alley”.
I know that the word “####” has some very negative historical connotations. But does Tilghman deserve a two-week suspension? The Golf Channel deserves a lot of blame for picking her to be the first female golf anchor. Maybe they did it as an affirmative action move, but there are very very few people who think that she got there on merit. And her most recent comment demonstrates that she’s far from a polished anchor.
Let’s be honest, a big reason she was picked is because she’s very attractive and athletic looking. Don’t believe me? Heck, why did they not groom Nancy Lopez for that position? Lopez has 47 LPGA victories and was inducted in to the World Golf Hall of Fame at age 30. She’s far more qualified than Tilghman will ever be. But Nancy has one disqualification: she’s not as attractive as Tilghman. That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.
Still, I think Tilghman’s suspension is ridiculous. She apologized in a sincere manner to Tiger Woods and the viewers. Shouldn’t that be sufficient? If she had slandered Woods, then it would be an entirely different story, but the irony of it all is that she’s being punished for actually complimenting his superb golfing abilities. What I kind of wish would happen is that Tiger Woods would take a break from protecting his image and do the right thing: call a press conference and/or write a letter to the Golf Channel that pleads with them to not suspend her.
Tilghman didn’t cheat or lie or steal, she just made a mistake. That’s all it was, and when we get so touchy that even the smallest mistake (in this case a single word) followed by an immediate and public apology is given a two-week punishment, then instead of having announcers and anchors who are passionate about sports and life, we’re going to have a bunch of corporate guys who measure every word that comes out of their mouths. Is that what we really want?
Some people might vilify both Tilghman and Clemens as two terrible people. Even if we ignore all the accusations against Clemens, it’s tough to condone his taping of that conversation with McNamee which was expressly supposed to be about McNamee’s ill son. Tilghman might be stupid, but Clemens taping that conversation was just plain wrong. That makes Tilgham and Clemens like 2 peas in 2 different pods.
Rescind Tilghman’s suspension. I think she’s already learned her lesson.
Hi Swine, we disagree about Tilghman - I think a two week suspension is well-deserved, but please don't misunderstand my position about her. I don't view her as a bad person, just someone who made a mistake, same as what you said in your post.
My personal opinion is that sometimes a sincere apology is not enough, and this is one of those times, but I do recognize that she's not a bad person, at least not because of this whole uproar....
Tilghman is getting hammered by the PC police and the racist double standard. When is Sharpton being suspended or fired from his job. What? He doens't have a job and hits the rubber chicken circuit blaming whitey for everything, even the innocent.
Baked, I'm sure you and I have both watched the Clemens fiasco on 60 Minutes, read the Mitchell Report and listened to the 17 minute taped phone call.
What's missing is obvious. On the call, Clemens never asked why McNamee lied! That blows me away. If you're having a man to man discussion, short, sweet and blunt come to mind. Strange Roger. Could that be because Roger is telling the lies.
People in America say blacks are living in the past - always saying/ acting like the Society owes them something from times of slavery.
This might be true of many blacks. But there are also some blacks that have worked hard to achieve a good respectful life amidst where they originated from. Tiger along with many others are examples. Now, even if Tiger and co have accepted her 'apology', and even if Kelly Tilghman 'expresses regret' for saying the word '####', lets put everything in a different perspective.
First of all, hopefully we all know that the word #### is from the last name of a slave disciplinarian from the past. It is named after him because of his techniques he used to hang slaves that were 'stubborn' (I dont see any reason why not be stubborn).
So now, in this mordern day America, where Americans say we should have moved on, we still have racism going on. Look at the black family that moved into the suburbs and had hate words sprayed on their garage door. These incidents happen, but are not publicized. So has America moved on?? We as whites see something 'wrong' going on, and we look the other way, because it does not affect us.
Look at my example in regards to Kelly Tilghman's statement. Imagine if Kelly Tilghman was a black anchor, Tiger Woods was a Jew. And Kelly Tilghman said:
`to take Tiger on, maybe they should just gang up for a while.''``Incinerate him in a gas chamber'' .
Can we as whites tell me what would happen to the black Anchor? Would she be fired? Would the Jewish community accept her apology and say case closed?
I'm not a big fan of
Last edited by Reverend_Smoke on January 11th at 8:37 AM.
I think the suspension is warranted for the denotation of her words.
Her intent, however, was accurate, if misworded: the only way you're beating Tiger in a PGA event is if he does not play. And even then, he'll still win the FedEx Cup.
you don't have to apologize for a thing. some people believe that mistakes should be punished. i'm just not so sure about it. the problem is that these days a lot of people are a bit two-faced in saying that all they wanted was a sincere apology, and then when they get it they want further retribution.
i'm curious about what kind of mistakes a sportscaster can make where an apology is sufficient (with the understanding that not apologizing is going to lead to widespread outrage). are there any?
hi sls,
part of the problem is that Rev. Sharpton is the type of guy who thrives on creating controversy. he's also done some good things, but unfortunately he loves to be in the spotlight. it's a problem that a lot of people, including Roger Clemens have.
as for the Clemens-McNamee call. it was bizarre, and this is where i just think that Rusty Hardin has completely misjudged things. without a confession by McNamee that he had lied to federal prosecutors and the Mitchell Committee, the tape makes Clemens look bad. it really shouldn't have been released.
steveo,
good points. maybe it has helped her career in the same way that Alyssa Milano's plastic surgery and the speculation and later confirmation of it helped her career.
at the least, she gets a 2-week vacation with pay. but the situation just reeks of people being PC, and Tiger also knowing that he's not angry with her but refusing to openly fight for what he believes is right. if i have a friend of a decade (that's how long Tiger and Tilghman have been friends) who innocently and accidentally said something offensive to me, I would accept the apology and not look for any other punishment. and because I'm that person's friend, I would speak out against anyone who wanted to punish that person. but then again, I'm not enamored with my own image.
Rev Smoke,
First, thanks for making me look up a few things. Education is a wonderful thing, and your comment definitely forced me to check a few things.
Second, we don't all know the etymology of the word "####". I've asked several of my black friends and they didn't know. So, I looked it up and there is no clear answer. There are a couple of people named #### to whom the word's derivation is attributed.
The person you cited is Captain William #### (1742-1820) and your interpretation of things is a bit narrow. He actually came up with the idea of "lynching" and vigilante justice NOT to punish blacks, but to punish criminals who were not being prosecuted due to the fact that in some areas of the U.S. the courts were too distant. Therefore, people of ALL colors who committed crimes not punished by the courts were lynched.
As for your example, my answer is simple. If the anchor sincerely apologized to the person he/she offended and issued a public apology and was put on notice that any similar problems would result in severe punishment, I would accept the apology without any further punishment.
here's a question: if she had used the word "####" with a white or Asian person, do you think she would have warranted a suspension?
my problem with all of this is that we want those words to lose their terrible power, but when something like this happens, too many people are ready to fan the flames of political correctness. the final result is that giving her a suspension actually is also giving the word "####" more power, especially when it's used with a black person.
divineswine
You're obfuscating the responsibilties that Tilghman firs and foremost has an on air personality and broadcaster. Even if here intent wasn't malicious the remark was still stupid and unwarranted. She could've used a better analogy to put her point across. She's not stupid just the comment made in this case.
See my own take on this very topic. It's titled Look I'm Just Trying To Be Funny By Adding Some Levity !
And as precursor to the piece there's When We Were Soldiers And Then We Came To Home To Ridicule And Insults !
Let me know what you think as to the merits of both pieces ? I'll look forward to reading your comments.
divine.."...the final result is that giving her a suspension actually is also giving the word "####" more power, especially when it's used with a black person..."
Kudos dude. That's one of those: "I wish to hell I'da thoughta that," statements...
There's a LOT more to that then people think...and after awhile people are jus' gonna throw their hands up and say, "F--k 'em if they can't hang widdit."
I'm all for equal/civil rights, always have been, but when you're messin' with mine..that's crossin' borderlines pal...I don't tell YOU how to put your rap out there..don't tell me how to put mine out there.
divineswine
As for Clemens as of now his days in the spotlight may well be numbered. Much like McGwire and Palmeiro he could go the same way.
Into oblivion to be heard from no more.
Some'll feel that's the way it ought to be. But at this juncture I believe that the whole hierarchy of baseball ought to be brought to account for their actions.
It's no use in just blaming the players when management , the players' union and trainers enabled what has happened. They're all culpable in the subterfuge.
Yes, I do think she should still be suspended under those circumstances. Her choice of words was poor regardless of Tiger's ethnicity. Words have power, maybe too much power.
Last edited by DarkFirebird712 on January 11th at 12:17 PM.
hey tophat,
here's my problem with reading your posts. i read them and have all these things to comment on, but then i get to the end of your post and see the final picture(s) and my mind suddenly draws a blank. there's something about seeing an incredibly beautiful woman wearing a bikini in a professionally airbrushed photo which scatters my thoughts to the winds. is anyone else out there having the same problem?
top,
as for your second comment about everyone in MLB being brought to justice, that's the reason i've been pushing for a general Amnesty Period. let's clear out the skeletons in the closets, put all the cards on the table, and then move on. trust me, if the American public were to find out that 90% of all current and past players during the past 15 years had tried steroids, nobody would really be surprised.
i agree that a lot of people in MLB share blame for this whole mess. but if we take this hard-line stance that we're going to hunt down and punish every one of them, we'll go through decades of denials and multiple millions of dollars used up investigating steroid and other PED allegations. who really wants that?
Although her and Tiger are supposedly "tight" like that, you still shouldn't make a comment like that on air. Obviously Tiger did somewhat save her job. She could have gotten fired, but she didn't. Basically she is given another chance.
As for The Rocket, I think he dug himself into a hole. He thought that by recording the conversation with him and McNamee would help his case. No it really hasn't because McNamee didn't really admit anything at all. Since congress has gotten involve with this issue, Rocket is really in some deep ####.
Last edited by What_More_Can_I_Say on January 11th at 7:03 PM.
divineswine
If I ended my posts with pictures of Phyllis Diller or Rosie O'Donnell there'd be an uproar.
And at this juncture I'm not about to start to do that.
As for a amnesty to let the players continue. I think it sets a dangerous precedent. Because at the first sign of someone being caught with a positive test. What'll they do then ? As the player could allude to the fact that preferrential treatment has been meted out to thers. Either they draw a line in the sand and stick to it or they just continue as usual.
The incompetence under Selig's regime has been profoundly inane !
He's got all the forthrightness of a snail and the backbone of an amoeba.
top,
i'm not sure there would be an uproar, but disgust is a word that comes to mind.
the goal of an Amnesty Period is to give strong incentives for people to confess. It should clearly be stated that anyone caught after the Amnesty Period will be erased and banned from MLB and future HOF considerations.
just prior to such an Amnesty Period, all current and future players must sign an agreement saying that they understand that any substance (other than regular food) which they put into their bodies must get clearance from MLB, and also that they will not take any substance which is banned on the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) list. the agreement should clearly state that getting caught will result in immediate banishment from baseball. it couldn't be any clearer than that.
with such an agreement, every current and future player would understand that it's a zero-tolerance policy, as long as steroids and other PEDs are banned. i say this because there may come a time when they will not be banned.
divineswine
Do you honestly think that many of those accused would confess ? Especially of they're paid to endoorse certain products on behalf of corporate America. Those sponsors also have an image to uphold and having someone like say Clemens come out and say that they've took steroids won't exactly sit right with many of 'em.
We all saw what happened to Vick didn't we. What makes you think that the same situation wouldn't happen to a recognized athlete ?
As for the pics posted at the bottom of my posts. I'm just doing it to have some fun and at the same time provide some jocular humor for the guys who love that sort of thing, myself included.
Let's see what the conressional hearings will bring with regard to Clemens and the others. It should provide a great deal of humor along the way.
