NBC's Miller Apologizes For Comments Made About Rocco Mediate

Miller Apologizes For Making Comments About Mediate During U.S. Open Broadcast

NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller Friday apologized for comments he made about PGA Tour member Rocco Mediate during the final round of the U.S. Open which viewers complained could be "interpreted as anti-Italian slurs," according to Neil Best of NEWSDAY. As Mediate was battling with Tiger Woods for the victory, Miller said Mediate "looks like the guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool." He later added, "Guys with the name Rocco don't get on the trophy, do they?" Miller: "My intention was to convey my affection and admiration for Rocco's Everyman qualities and had absolutely nothing to do with his ethnicity. I chose my words poorly and in the future will be more careful." Best noted the apology came a day after the "anti-defamation arm of the Sons of Italy demanded an on-air apology as well as a suspension of Miller" (NEWSDAY, 6/21). National Italian American Foundation Chair A. Kenneth Ciongoli sent a letter to NBC Tuesday saying in part, "This type of humor is problematic as it reinforces a demeaning and damaging stereotype about an entire ethnic group" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/21). Miller: "Every third tournament, I'll say something I shouldn't have said" (CALGARY HERALD, 6/22).

NO BIG DEAL: In Pittsburgh, Mike Dudurich wrote Mediate "got a text message from Miller, who apologized and said what he said had nothing to do with Mediate's ethnicity." Mediate: "Johnny says a lot of things. He doesn't think before he engages, and that's just Johnny. It really didn't bother me all that much" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 6/22). In Orlando, David Whitley writes, "This naturally triggered the latest installment of As the PC World Turns." Whitley: "Our society continues to be troubled by hypersensitivity" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 6/23).