On Thursday, the head of the European golf tour, George O’Grady, used the word “colored” to refer to minorities during a live television interview. O’Grady was commenting on a recent remark golfer Sergio Garcia made in reference to fellow golfer Tiger Woods. When asked if he would have Woods over for dinner, Garcia said, “We’ll have him ’round every night. We will serve fried chicken.”
In a live Sky Sports interview, O’Grady stated that the European tour had accepted Garcia’s apology and that the “fried chicken” remark was a poor attempt at humor.
“We were convinced that he was trying to be funny,” said O’Grady. “We know the connotation in the United States. We accept all races on the European tour. We take it very strongly. Most of Sergio’s friends happen to be very, uh, colored athletes in the United States.”
Today, O’Grady has issued a formal apology to Tiger Woods and anyone else offended by the word he used.
“I deeply regret using an inappropriate word in a live interview for Sky Sports for which I unreservedly apologize,” said O’Grady.
Garcia has also apologized for his “fried chicken” remark.
“Most importantly, I want to apologise to Tiger and anybody that I could have offended by the comment I made and, you know, just say that I feel sick about it,” said Garcia. “I am truly, truly sorry and, you know, I hope that, you know, we can kinda settle down and hopefully move on.”