Corporate America loves the game of golf. Some executives close deals on the golf course, and many Fortune 500 companies are sponsors of major professional tournaments that offer multimillion-dollar purses.
During the past couple of weeks there has been a controversy in the golf world about the word "lynching" and what has fast become an infamous picture of a noose. An announcer on cable television's Golf Channel, Kelly Tilghman, used a poor choice of words when she and a colleague were discussing whether there was any way for others on the pro tour to stop the dominance of Tiger Woods.
Tilghman said some of Woods' competitors might need to "lynch" Tiger in an alley. She apologized in short order for the remark and was suspended by the Golf Channel for two weeks, though Woods came to her defense, saying that he personally knew her and felt there was no malice involved.
African-Americans cringe when they hear the word "lynch," because it was employed for decades as a very cruel and inhuman device to instill fear. This story more than likely would have faded from the headlines, but it did not.
Days after the incident, the editor of Golfweek magazine decided to publish an edition that featured a picture of a noose on the cover. The editor was quickly fired for his incredible lack of judgment, and Golfweek issued an apology.
But you have to ask, how did this happen?
If Golfweek had any sort of diversity initiative or had key minority employees in place, they likely would have ended up with a different picture on the cover of their magazine. Now advertisers could be, and probably are, rethinking their commitments to the magazine.
I hope that at least one company or organization has learned that words and pictures carelessly employed can damage your reputation and also cause a potential loss of business.
