What Person Is In Deep S%#t This Week?

I am amending my "famous person in trouble" idea to recognize Dave Seanor, former vice president and editor of Golfweek magazine, who was fired Friday for illustrating a noose on the magazine's cover in the wake of broadcaster Kelly Tilghman's lynching comment in reference to Tiger Woods. For those not familiar with the story, while talking about challengers to Woods during a Golf Channel broadcast of the Mercedes-Benz Championship on January 4th Tilghman, in the booth with former PGA pro Nick Faldo, said that young players should "Lynch him in a back alley," implying that this is the only way to beat the dominant Woods. According to a statement by the Golf Channel four days later Tilghman, who has known Woods for 12 years and has a very good relationship with him, apologized to him and the matter was for all intents and purposes resolved.

Not quite. The Rev. Al Sharpton got wind of media coverage of the story and demanded that Tilghman be fired immediately, leading to the channel's decision to suspend Tilghman for two weeks. To this point my reaction to the story was that Tilghman made a very irresponsible and inflammatory choice of words, should have known better, and probably deserved to be suspended just based on her stupidity alone. Then Seanor comes along and makes the job-killing decision to illustrate a noose - that's right, a noose - on the cover of the January 19th edition of Golfweek magazine. Are you serious? PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem called the Golfweek cover "outrageous and irresponsible" and accused the magazine of tabloid journalism. "It was a naked attempt to inflame and keep alive an incident that was heading to an appropriate conclusion," Finchem said.

That Seanor would put a noose on the cover of the magazine under any circumstances is galling, but to do it on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday when sensitivity to it would be even higher showed a whole new level of ignorance. I'll be the first one to say that this country is too politically correct in general and needs to lighten up a bit. However, in this case Seanor screwed up and got what he deserved.