European Tour CEO apologizes for use of ‘coloured’

Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Friday, May. 24, 2013

VIRGINIA WATER, England -- The head of the European golf tour apologized for using the term "coloured" during a live television interview Thursday in which he was reacting to the spat between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/05/2013 (4850 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VIRGINIA WATER, England — The head of the European golf tour apologized for using the term “coloured” during a live television interview Thursday in which he was reacting to the spat between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia.

European Tour CEO George O’Grady said that “most of Sergio’s friends are coloured athletes in the United States.”

The word “coloured” was once widely used in the United States to refer to African-Americans but it is now considered antiquated and offensive. In some African countries, it is used to denote individuals of mixed racial ancestry.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
George O’Grady was in hot water Thursday after a live TV interview. — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES George O’Grady was in hot water Thursday after a live TV interview.

“I deeply regret using an inappropriate word in a live interview for Sky Sports for which I unreservedly apologize,” O’Grady, who is British, said in a statement released later Thursday.

Woods and Garcia have exchanged barbs over the past two weeks, dating to the third round of The Players Championship when Garcia implied that Woods purposely stirred up the gallery as the Spaniard was playing a shot.

But the situation got uglier Tuesday when Garcia and his Ryder Cup teammates were at a dinner. The emcee, Golf Channel’s Steve Sands, jokingly asked Garcia if he would have Woods over for dinner during the U.S. Open.

“We’ll have him round every night,” Garcia replied. “We will serve fried chicken.”

The remark was reminiscent of Fuzzy Zoeller’s similar comment about Woods during his record-setting victory in the 1997 Masters, when Woods became the first player of black heritage to win a major.

Certain foods, fried chicken and watermelon in particular, have been used in dehumanizing caricatures of blacks as far back as the beginning America’s segregation era in the 19th century. The imagery has become less common in the decades since integration, though Woods — the only player of African-American heritage on the PGA Tour and the top player in the world — has occasionally endured racially tinged insults.

— The Associated Press