"These comments hurt the game."

I was traveling most of the day and haven't followed the David Feherty situation very closely, but just taking a quick look at the wires it appears that while his apology was prompt, the Wanda Sykes controversy is bringing him back into the national debate over what constitutes tasteless. (You don't say bomb on an airplane and you don't joke about wanting to see die...is that hard enough?)

Based on what Michael Hiestand writes in a thoughtful and surprisingly-long-by-USA Today standards piece, the next few days will determine where the Feherty situation heads and his name being dragged into the Sykes situation may prove problematic. Unlike past CBS announcer brouhahas, Feherty's inflammatory comments were written instead of uttered, ultimately making it hard to see this as a well-intentioned joke gone bad.

Ron Sirak at Golf World comments on the situation, and compared to everything else I've read and the critical emails I've received for daring to touch a golf story making national news, he offers a nuanced and insightful take as someone who has interviewed Feherty. His conclusions ultimately raise more questions than the apology tried to put to sleep.

My first thought was that Feherty, who is known for his humor, may not be as sensitive to this issue because he did not grow up in the United States. But then I remembered an interview I did with him more than a decade ago in which he talked about growing up in Northern Ireland during "the troubles," the political violence between Catholics and Protestants centered around English rule of the North. David should know better. He saw first-hand the bloody results of extremism.

The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto drags Feherty into the Sykes mess and wonders why liberals aren't more upset at her remarks. He'd have a little more credibility if he didn't spell Feherty as if he were some distant relative of Rick Fehr.

Mike Lupica takes the same stance, and several others and I stopped reading because he was going all Nuke LaLoosh on us and I was getting dizzy.

Comments

[Taylor]

Sirak is way off on a number of counts in this article.

First, Letterman makes fun of murder and attempted murder all the time.

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/top_ten/index/php/20070206.phtml

So Sirak using another comedian who frequently uses jokes involving murder seems incredibly odd. I mean, how many Jean Benet Ramsey jokes have we heard over the years? Natalie Holloway? Do I need to go on?

Second, it's somewhat confusing that Sirak only cites Pelosi as the target of the joke.

"That's pretty much how I felt when I read the comments about Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi by CBS golf commentator David Feherty. I have known David a long time, and I like him and enjoy his television work. But I just don't find the suggestion of political assassination all that funny."

Is he not offended about the comments towards Harry Reid?

Third, he doesn't address the comments regarding the death penalty for pro-lifers and those against gay marriage.

Fourth, he insinuates that there was two days of silence before the apology. Well, the article was published in mid-April. (And the link to the article suggests it's been around since March...) Where was Sirak's righteous indignation for the (at least) last 4 weeks?

Fifth, Sirak says he, "scoured the internet all weekend" and came up with some random quote from an unnamed website from somebody claiming to be in the military. Does that actually pass for investigative journalism? I was on a message board today that had somebody claiming to be in the military that said jokes like this are made all the time.

Sixth, Sirak tries to somehow link an overused and common joke to Ireland and the Catholics and Protestants? And the assassinations through American history? I hope Sirak didn't hurt his back stretching on that one. I mean think about this for a second - Feherty makes a crude, overused joke in some barely read magazine and he gets lumped in with:

1. The assassinations of Kennedy, Lincoln, Garfield, MLK, RFK and McKinley
2. The attempted assassinations of Reagan, Ford and Wallace.
3. OJ Simpson
4. The Catholics vs the Protestants
5. Bigots
6. Racists
7. Chauvinists

What - couldn't fit Paunches Pilot in there Sirak?

And that was just in this article.

This is so beyond out of proportion that it's quite ridiculous.

[Tom M]

inflammatory comments my arse. This just proves the oxymoron American Sense of Humour.

[Pickworth]

Feherty has no case to answer, in my view. Apologise because he's offended people, sure. Then we can squeegee the excess emotion out the door and get on with the day. And everyone who's getting column inches out of this should leave off with the indignation. It's dishonest.

By the way, there is nothing sacred about the US military. Or democratic system. Someone jokes about a soldier shooting a politician? So?

[McStumpy]

I missed all this over the weekend (it doesn't seem to have registered with the UK press), and have only read the story for the first time this morning.

My reaction? Disbelief. Incredulity. Frustration.

This is obviously a clear clash between US and UK culture. In the UK, if he had replaced the characters with a UK solder, Tony Blair, Geoff Hoon and Osama, and made the same remark, 90% of the UK population would have nodded in agreement and afforded themselves a wry chuckle.

Lighten up, America. Politicians are by nature nefarious and self-serving (see current scandal around UK politicians and expenses claims), troops from both countries are unwitting pawns in a wider political game.

I'm actually slightly disappointed that Fehery has apologised. I genuinely can't see what he's said that's so bad? Does anyone else from the UK think he's crossed the line with this one?

[Jack]

"David should know better. He saw first-hand the bloody results of extremism."

Pure drivel. Has Sirak ever been to Ireland/No. Ireland? Making light of extremism is a national pastime. I'd be willing to bet no more than 1 in 20 Irish see this as anything but humorous.

I just thank God he wasn't wearing a white belt in the byline photo.

[Hawkeye]

I have to agree with McStumpy, the line that Feherty has crossed in the US of A is a bit further ahead in the British Isles and Scandinavia. While we might have regarded it distasteful, it would not have been regarded remotely unforgivable. We have our own little history of political assassinations (two major national traumas in the last 25 years here in Sweden) and armed conflicts, and have often used sardonic humour and self-deprecation as ways to get by on.

[PWag]

So this weeks gripping stories are:

1.) Ferherty
2.) Wanda Sykes
3.) Miss California

I'm trying to get worked up about any of this but... Zzzzz, Zzzz.

[walker]

Right on Lupica!

[thusgone]

this is not about feherty, sykes or delicate sensibilities. this is about american partisanship gone wild (and without the drunken boob flashing). for example, look at the hay being made by obama's choice of burger toppings or anything said by michelle bachman.

the game is as follows: step 1: find a person you can claim speaks for all of the group you want to damn. step 2: take a statement, whether in context or not, and gin up some outrage over it. countermoves: repeat steps 1 and 2. simulate outrage over hypocrisy of other side. step 3 (both sides) repeat ad nauseum according to the news cycle.

i love my country, but i hate this tit of tat deal.

[OWGR Fan]

Guess Lupica missed where Feherty already has issued an apology.

[GeorgeM]

IF Feherty's writings were indeed inappropriate (and I do not say they were), then why so much attention on the writer and none on the editor(s)?

Feherty did not advocate anything.
He expressed an opinion some disagree with.
He apologized to those possibly offended.
What is the issue?

[Mark H.]

We all say stupid things sometimes. What happened to sticks and stones? Or adult, common-sense reactions? You say something stupid, I call you out on it, you apologize, I forgive you, don't do it again. Moving on.

[Oy]

The guy wrote something really obnoxious and not even close to funny. Worse, he hid behind the troops to express his own view. Feherty's lame.

[PIA]

Mr. Sirak in the last paragraph of his artical said these things hurt. Let me tell you what hurts. I drive a 1996 Chevy, live in a house I can afford the payments on, understand what adjustable means, had one child that my wife and I could support and educate, do not have a big screen tv, do not have internet at my home, do not own a ipod or anything like it, my cell phone only makes and receives calls, I do not buy things I cannot afford. What hurts about this is our government is taking my money and giving it to people who are too stupid to be responsible about what they buy, or how many children they have. All this is not a joke.

I too remember the politicians being shot and some killed. However, I also remember the liberals saying "let's go to the white house and hang George Bush". I do not remember Mr Sirak being offended by this. So Ron - get a life and worry about something more important than a couple of left wing wackos.

[dsl]

McStumpy - I'm feeling decidedly unoffended up here in Canada. However, the author's point about Feherty not growing up in the US is a good one. Everyone should know that you never discuss religion, politics or 'the troops' with or around Americans. Do so and risk reactions like you would never imagine.

[Pete the Luddite]

dsl-

Too bad you weren't around to advise the Dixie Chicks a few years ago. I liked their music, and their exercise of the 1st amendment effectively ended their career. :)

[dsl]

Ha, yes that's some sage advice that I've learned over the years. My wife works in the US and I constantly remind her NEVER to discuss those subjects, no matter how tempted she is or which way her co-workers seem to be leaning on various issues. If you go down those roads, you just never know where you'll end up. For the record, I love your country, I'm just scared to death of talking to you about how it's defended & how it's governed.

[Power Fade]

Pete the Luddite, I think you would enjoy the Dixie Chics movie "Shut up and Sing", you will find that there careers are anything but over. There may still be a few right wing fundamentalist extremists that won't listen to their music, but they have a huge following with the people that matter.

PIA: You sound like a very miserable person. I hope you find some joy in your life somewhere, but in the meantime try and relax you may be stressing yourself out.

I also think you should so some accounting of how much or "your money" was spent waging war in the deserts of Iraq against nameless brown people that people like you don't seem to mind murdering, in the name of supporting the military-industrial complex that gives jobs to people like YOU. The government is trying to clean up a huge mess left over from a bunch of moronic, christian extremist war-freaks who spent more in one month of their war than you can even comprehend. Yes they are trying to losen the credit system and get people spending, because if everyone lived like you do, it would mean the end of the American economy.

[Falcon]

I'm sorry PIA, but you sound like you want a medal. Why can't you just be happy knowing that you are doing the right thing?

[Dredd]

People have been fired for less at sports networks. It's time for David to go.

[Pete the Luddite]

Power Fade-

I hear you. I guess my point was that they no longer command the same presence on the radio that they did beforehand. I still find and dig their music. :)

[RM]

The comments were made under the umbrella of comedy. As a writer, Feherty is a humorist. And the best comedy usually has s ring of truth to it.

[NRH]

PIA: If Adam Smith were around today, he would have a 50" LCD screen sunk into his living room wall.

[Tighthead]

Nobody commands much presence on the radio anymore.

[thusgone]

rush limbaugh seems to command a pretty hefty presence on the radio. he's like a government in exile all by himself.

[Geoff]

RM,
What's the truth in what Feherty wrote?

[thusgone]

geoff: by my parsing, feherty is saying that most of the troops he has interacted with do not like reid and pelosi/the democrats. my own unscientific poll of military personnel in my acquaintance bears him out on this.

[RM]

The truth is that the vast majority of soldiers liked W and hate Nancy Pelosi. He did go to the extreme in making his point, but inappropriate offense is common in humor. The entire piece was an absurd bit of writing, no serious journalism there, all in the name of ridiculousness. I'm not saying that he succeeded in being funny, just that's what he was trying to do. But I don't blame you for reporting on the issue, indeed that's why I frequent your site...often as you know!

[Styles]

Geoff, why do I get the impression that you are enjoying Feherty's discomfort?

Schadenfreude anyone?

[Polictical Correctness is a crime]

Jumping on Howard Stern's back to make a point is low and besdies, Letterman makes tasteless jokes all the time including topics relating to crimes.

What happened to freedom of speech? Oops, I forgot, republican or democrat, that freedom only applies to topics sportswriters and politicians agree with.

[Politico]

I think it is factually incorrect to say the vast majority of troops support (like) the republicans and don't like Pelosi (democrats).
This statement demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of the currents that are and have been flowing through American Society for the last 4 years. There was a time that Bush and Cheney enjoyed some support from the troops simply because they sent them off to actually do their job, but that sentiment quickly evaporated when Bush/Cheney started cutting vetrans benefits and soldiers pay etc. etc. The troops are generally made up of people from socio-economic groups that by definition support the policies represented by the democrats. Any party that is going to stop giving tax cuts to the rich and start to support the lower classes is going to be a hit with the troops. There is also the added frustration of being sent to fight a war with no clear objective and no hope of ever winning, at the same time as turning infinitely more people into haters of America to ensure that the troops' children will probably never live in peace.

No, I think Feherty's whole thesis is fundamentally flawed because although there are a few right-wingers who would like to shoot Reid and Pelosi, if the troops were given the choice, there would be a long line of people they would rather shoot long before they got to those two.

[RM]

Politico- I'll admit DF should not have written what he did...but you're applying rational thought to a piece of comedic creative writing. Are we going to start fact checking Leno, Conan, John Stewart, Colbert, etc. on every joke they tell? Rick Reilly said last year at the U.S. Open that watching Phil Mickelson play was like watching a drunk clown juggle balloons beside a cliff. I guess you would say, but what about so-and-so whose father was an alcoholic clown who fell off a cliff when he was 12, not so funny to him! And do we really think Justin Timberlake and Adam Sandberg really want to get it on with each other's mothers? If I said I would rather someone shoot me than have to play 18 holes with Rush Limbaugh, do I really mean it?