Golfweek Editor "Replaced"

Golfweek magazine replaced the editor responsible for illustrating the current cover with a noose and apologized Friday for its depiction of a Golf Channel anchor's use of "lynch" in a comment about Tiger Woods.

"We apologize for creating this graphic cover that received extreme negative reaction from consumers, subscribers and advertisers across the country," Turnstile Publishing Co. president William P. Kupper Jr. said. "We were trying to convey the controversial issues with a strong and provocative graphic image. It is now obvious that the overall reaction to our cover deeply offended many people. For that, we are deeply apologetic."

Turnstile is the parent company of Golfweek.

The company said Dave Seanor, the vice president and editor of Golfweek, has been replaced immediately by Jeff Babineau.

A copy of the Jan. 19 cover was removed from the magazine's web site Friday morning.

Kelly Tilghman, in her second year as anchor of PGA Tour coverage on Golf Channel, was suspended for two weeks because of comments she made during the second round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship, when she and analyst Nick Faldo were discussing young challengers to Woods.

Faldo suggested that "to take Tiger on, maybe they should just gang up [on him] for a while."

"Lynch him in a back alley," Tilghman said, laughing.

Seanor said in an interview Thursday night that he took responsibility for the cover, which showed a noose against a purple sky and the title, "Caught in a Noose." The sub-title said, "Tilghman slips up, and Golf Channel can't wriggle free."

Ok, when it was determined that Kelly Tilghman used poor judgment in her choice of words, I thought we had seen the last of any racially charged, motivated, or themed comments, jokes, or portrayals, but the Golfweek editor takes the cake.

Were you not awake during the past couple of weeks? What about the past couple of centuries, where the noose has been a symbol of hatred towards African-Americans? I don't doubt that Seaonor is an intelligent man, but where was the common sense when making this decision? Where were his assistants, or friends? Did he ask anyone fo their opinion?

I'm not sure if "replace" means fired, but I'm sure Al and Jesse are fired up about this one.

In case you missed the original comments on the Golf Channel, here is the video clip.