Tiger Woods has responded to racial remarks Sergio Garcia made on Tuesday night in England, asking for the golf world to move on from what the Spaniard said.
At the European Tour's annual awards dinner in England, ahead of the BMW PGA Championship, Garcia was asked in jest if he would be dining with Woods at the U.S. Open next month. According to the Guardian, Garcia responded, ”We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken.”
The reference to fried chicken is considered a racial epithet in the United States. At the 1997 Masters, former champion Fuzzy Zoeller made a similar comment about Woods and what food he would select for the annual champions dinner.
“You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not serve fried chicken next year. Got it? Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve,” Zoeller said.
Garcia apologized via a statement released through the European Tour after the dinner.
”I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players’ Awards dinner," Garcia said. "I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner.”
Woods reacted to Garcia's via a series of three tweets.
The comment that was made wasn’t silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate...
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) May 22, 2013
I’m confident that there is real regret that the remark was made.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) May 22, 2013
The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it’s long past time to move on and talk about golf.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) May 22, 2013
Woods and Garcia have been trading verbal barbs since an incident in the third round of The Players Championship two weeks ago, where Garcia accused Woods of breaking etiquette and causing a distraction that resulted in a bogey for Garcia.
Add Comment