the nomad
Banned
- 2,452
- 736
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2012
[h1]Tiger blasts Garcia for 'fried chicken' slur, calls it 'wrong, hurtful'[/h1]
According to the Guardian newspaper, at the European Tour’s awards dinner last night at the BMW PGA Championship in Virginia Water, England, Garcia was jokingly asked if he would invite Woods for dinner during next month’s U.S. Open and Garcia responded by saying, “We will have him ’round every night. We will serve fried chicken.”
Garcia issued a semi-apology through the European Tour for the remark, saying, “I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players’ Awards dinner. I answered a question that was clearly made toward me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner.”
Getty Images
NO LOVE LOST: Sergio Garcia (left) — who has had a series of run-ins with Tiger Woods — said he “apologized for any offense that might have been caused” for saying he would serve fried chicken at a dinner for Woods.
SERGIO GARCIA
In hot water over remark.
Woods responded on Twitter this morning, rebuking Garcia for the line and disagreeing with the spin the Spaniard tried to put on it .
"The comment that was made wasn’t silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate, " Woods said. "I’m confident that there is real regret that the remark was made."
The last time someone ignorantly used a “fried chicken’’ racial joke referring to Woods, Fuzzy Zoeller’s career as golf’s funnyman ended abruptly.
After Woods won the Masters in 1997, Zoeller said, “You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year [at the annual champions dinner]. Got it? Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.”
Zoeller was skewered so severely after making those off-handed comments, his career was never the same.
Woods added on the social network that he hopes this is the final chapter in the increasingly ugly feud between him and Garcia.
"The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it’s long past time to move on and talk about golf," he wrote.
Garcia is still ticked off at Woods for their spat at The Players Championship two weeks ago when the Spaniard accused Woods of intentionally distracting him during the third round, in which they were paired together.
That turned into a verbal tiff through the media.
On Monday, Garcia ripped Woods in an interview with golf.com, saying, “He called me a whiner. He’s probably right. But that’s also probably the first thing he’s told you guys [the media] that’s true in 15 years. I know what he’s like. You guys are finding out.”
On Monday, Woods told reporters he had no intention of reaching out to Garcia to clear the air about their Players Championship set-to.
Garcia, asked the same thing, said, “First of all, I don’t have his number, and secondly, I did nothing wrong and don’t have anything to say to him. And he wouldn’t pick up the phone anyway.
“But that’s OK. I don’t need him as a friend. I don’t need him in my life to be happy and that’s fine. It’s as simple as that.
“I try to be as truthful as possible. That’s why I think sometimes most of the people love me and some hate me. I understand that but I’m not going to change. That’s what makes me who I am and that’s what makes me happy. And that’s what makes the people I care about happy because they know they can trust me.
“Tiger doesn’t make a difference to my life. And I know that I don’t make a difference to his life.”
Garcia said he doesn’t anticipate his relationship with Woods getting any better.
“This is not just one thing; this has been going on for a long time,” he said. “It’s happened in other tournaments. The problem is I’m one of the guys that just has to say something. A lot of people think about it, but don’t want to say anything. Tiger can and will beat me a lot of times in tournaments, but he’s not going to step on top of me. I’m not afraid of him.”
- By MARK CANNIZZARO
- Last Updated: 9:16 AM, May 22, 2013
- Posted: 1:56 AM, May 22, 2013
According to the Guardian newspaper, at the European Tour’s awards dinner last night at the BMW PGA Championship in Virginia Water, England, Garcia was jokingly asked if he would invite Woods for dinner during next month’s U.S. Open and Garcia responded by saying, “We will have him ’round every night. We will serve fried chicken.”
Garcia issued a semi-apology through the European Tour for the remark, saying, “I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players’ Awards dinner. I answered a question that was clearly made toward me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner.”
Getty Images
NO LOVE LOST: Sergio Garcia (left) — who has had a series of run-ins with Tiger Woods — said he “apologized for any offense that might have been caused” for saying he would serve fried chicken at a dinner for Woods.
SERGIO GARCIA
In hot water over remark.
Woods responded on Twitter this morning, rebuking Garcia for the line and disagreeing with the spin the Spaniard tried to put on it .
"The comment that was made wasn’t silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate, " Woods said. "I’m confident that there is real regret that the remark was made."
The last time someone ignorantly used a “fried chicken’’ racial joke referring to Woods, Fuzzy Zoeller’s career as golf’s funnyman ended abruptly.
After Woods won the Masters in 1997, Zoeller said, “You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year [at the annual champions dinner]. Got it? Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.”
Zoeller was skewered so severely after making those off-handed comments, his career was never the same.
Woods added on the social network that he hopes this is the final chapter in the increasingly ugly feud between him and Garcia.
"The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it’s long past time to move on and talk about golf," he wrote.
Garcia is still ticked off at Woods for their spat at The Players Championship two weeks ago when the Spaniard accused Woods of intentionally distracting him during the third round, in which they were paired together.
That turned into a verbal tiff through the media.
On Monday, Garcia ripped Woods in an interview with golf.com, saying, “He called me a whiner. He’s probably right. But that’s also probably the first thing he’s told you guys [the media] that’s true in 15 years. I know what he’s like. You guys are finding out.”
On Monday, Woods told reporters he had no intention of reaching out to Garcia to clear the air about their Players Championship set-to.
Garcia, asked the same thing, said, “First of all, I don’t have his number, and secondly, I did nothing wrong and don’t have anything to say to him. And he wouldn’t pick up the phone anyway.
“But that’s OK. I don’t need him as a friend. I don’t need him in my life to be happy and that’s fine. It’s as simple as that.
“I try to be as truthful as possible. That’s why I think sometimes most of the people love me and some hate me. I understand that but I’m not going to change. That’s what makes me who I am and that’s what makes me happy. And that’s what makes the people I care about happy because they know they can trust me.
“Tiger doesn’t make a difference to my life. And I know that I don’t make a difference to his life.”
Garcia said he doesn’t anticipate his relationship with Woods getting any better.
“This is not just one thing; this has been going on for a long time,” he said. “It’s happened in other tournaments. The problem is I’m one of the guys that just has to say something. A lot of people think about it, but don’t want to say anything. Tiger can and will beat me a lot of times in tournaments, but he’s not going to step on top of me. I’m not afraid of him.”