Magazine's Noose Cover Reignites 'Lynch Tiger' Controversy

Jan 18, 2008 — -- If we've learned anything from the numerous "Law and Order" series in primetime and countless marathons that litter the cable airwaves, it's this: Premeditated crimes are considered more heinous than unplanned acts and a conscious decision to break the law will always receive a more stringent penalty than a spur of the moment mistake. Let's keep that in mind while exploring the levels of disdain in golf's most recent major controversy.

Last week, Kelly Tilghman's "lynch [Tiger Woods] in a back alley" comment occurred during the course of a live, four-hour telecast on the Golf Channel, blurted in response to analyst Nick Faldo's estimation that the world's younger players would need to "gang up" on the No. 1-ranked man in order to defeat him at a major championship. Using the term "lynch" was undoubtedly a poor choice of words and, in the minds of many, an inexcusable offense.

The situation immediately transcended the game of golf -- and sport entirely -- becoming a sociological hot-button topic, as parties took sides on whether the word was a blatant breach of civil rights conduct or political correctness gone horribly astray.

The latest fragment of this controversy to hit the fray is the most recent issue of Golfweek magazine -- and it's worthy of discussion because there was a viable thought process behind it. As part of a package of stories on the controversy, the publication used the image of a noose on the cover of its Jan. 19 issue, complete with headline "Caught in a Noose."

Simply put, the cover image is classless. We can debate for eternity whether it was offensive, childish, journalistically irresponsible or all three, but it's difficult to argue that the cover-image selection wasn't in extremely poor taste.

So, how should we react? Let it go. Pay it no mind. Like the first-grader whose sole motive is to gain more attention from the teacher with each wailing tantrum, this cover was simply Golfweek's way of letting everyone know it exists, a means of getting the brand into the mainstream consciousness via a promotional, any-publicity-is-good-publicity attention-grabber. Just as many of the people who were discussing Tilghman's indiscretion had never even heard of the announcer before the incident, I'm sure there will be people criticizing Golfweek who have never opened the magazine.