Euro Tour CEO Apologizes For ‘Colored’ Comment

The ‘colored’ comment by the European Tour’s CEO, George O’Grady, has landed him in hot water on Thursday after he made the remark on live television. O’Grady was reacting to the battle between Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods in which Garcia also used the wrong choice of words earlier this week.

In response to Garcia’s “fried chicken” comment, O’Grady said Thursday that “most of Sergio’s friends are colored athletes in the United States.”

The Euro Tour’s CEO quickly apologized for using the offensive word, though he didn’t really explain any reason behind it. He said he regrets “using an inappropriate word in a live interview.”

Though he doesn’t get into detail, he went on to add, “I unreservedly apologize.”

Ever since The Players Championship, Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods have been exchanging jabs through the press and it all boiled over when Garcia made the “fried chicken” comment at an event for the BMW Championship on Wednesday.

Tiger considered the racist remark to be “hurtful,” and Garcia has since apologized over 10 times. Throughout the majority of the smack talk between the two golfers, Woods has kept particularly quiet while Garcia seemed to keep coming back with more talk.

All that talking has turned against him, and now George O’Grady has joined him by adding the “colored” comment to the situation. The original dispute could have been avoided in the first place, as Garcia was upset during The Players because he believed Tiger Woods distracted him during a shot in the third round.

The back-and-forth smack talk obviously didn’t affect Woods on the course as he went on to win the tournament that Sunday while Garcia found the water off the 17th tee-box on two straight shots to knock himself out of contention.

There’s no telling if the “war of words” will go any further, but it’s almost a certainty that nobody will be mentioned anything about race going forward. It’s one thing to get upset with a fellow golfer because of on-the-course habits or disagreements, but it’s another when those exchanges turn personal.

Do you believe George O’Grady’s “colored” comment has pushed the dispute even further?

Photo by Craig ONeal