The only good thing that can come out of Sergio Garcia's "fried chicken" comments on Tuesday at a European Tour awards dinner is to have a conversation about inclusion and golf.
Sergio Garcia does not seem to be a racist, but he offered a racial epithet as an answer to a question asked in jest about an African-American, Tiger Woods. That answer being the first to pop in his head might suggest something about how Garcia thinks about race, or perceives Woods in particular, but his resounding mistake reflects poorly on the game as a whole.
To be frank, golf has a somewhat despicable tradition of exclusion. Unless you're a fairly well-off heterosexual white man, golf has not exactly opened its arms to embrace you.
Despite the game's most visible club, Augusta National, finally having invited female members last fall, the broader game still is intimidating to potential new players outside of that sweet-spot demographic the game knows is its bread and butter.
If the sports intends to stop hemorrhaging players, it has to act. Now.
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