CBS Analyst Feherty Apologizes For Comments About Pelosi, Reid
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CBS' Feherty Catching Heat For
Comments About Pelosi And Reid |
CBS golf analyst David Feherty yesterday apologized to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for a "morbid joke that went bad" in D Magazine in Dallas, according to Doug Ferguson of the AP. Feherty said in a statement, "This passage was a metaphor meant to describe how American troops felt about our 43rd president. In retrospect, it was inappropriate and unacceptable, and has clearly insulted Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid, and for that, I apologize. As for our troops, they know I will continue to do as much as I can for them both at home and abroad" (AP, 5/10). The AP's Ferguson noted Feherty was "among five Dallas residents who wrote" for the magazine about former President Bush moving to Dallas. Feherty near the end of the column wrote, "Despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. solider a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death." CBS Sports Senior VP/Communications LeslieAnne Wade: "We want to be clear that this column for a Dallas magazine is an unacceptable attempt at humor and is not in any way condoned, endorsed or approved by CBS Sports." The PGA Tour in a statement said Feherty's "attempt at humor in this instance went over the line, and his comments were clearly inappropriate." Ferguson noted Feherty is "involved with 'Troops First Foundation,' with hopes of raising $15[M] for soldiers who return wounded, many of them without limbs." Feherty created "his own division -- 'F Troop' -- and last year took eight soldiers to South Dakota for pheasant hunting" (AP, 5/9).
LEAVE THE COMEDY AT HOME: Pelosi spokesperson Nadeam Elshami said of Feherty's comments, "Such comments are unacceptable and beyond the pale and an insult to our patriotic men and women in uniform" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/10). MSNBC's Keith Olbermann named Feherty his "Worst Person in the World" during Friday's edition of "Countdown." Olbermann said, "There is free speech and then there is abuse of free speech and when you start predicting the hypothetical murder by the U.S. military of two democratically elected officials of this country, it's not exactly rocket science to tell which this is. Even Feherty should be able to figure it out" ("Countdown with Keith Olbermann," MSNBC, 5/8). In N.Y., Mike Lupica writes it is "worth pointing out that Feherty has become a tireless, passionate advocate for injured soldiers," but that "doesn't get him over on what he said" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/11). GOLF WORLD's Ron Sirak wrote, "I have known David a long time, and I like him and enjoy his television work. But I just don't find the suggestion of political assassination all that funny. And it angers me that Feherty has placed golf in a position of having to explain itself. These comments hurt the game" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 5/10).
SHOULD HE BE SUSPENDED? USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand writes unlike the "usual gaffe" analysts make on TV, Feherty "served up what might be the end of his on-air career in writing," as he "can't play the I-didn't-know-any-better card." Hiestand: "If history is any guide, Feherty's fate will be decided in the next few days based on public reaction -- or lack of it." But Feherty "deserves ... another chance at CBS" (USA TODAY, 5/11). FANHOUSE.com's Greg Couch wrote CBS "needs to take real action" against Feherty, and that means "firing him, or at least suspending him for a long, long time." Couch: "No matter what it says, CBS absolutely is endorsing these words if it takes no action" (FANHOUSE.com, 5/9).
CONSIDER THE SOURCE: In St. Petersburg, Tom Jones wrote, "The larger point is why we should even care about what a golf analyst, for crying out loud, has to say about politics. ... When he gets into the war, I care as much about what he thinks as I care about what Tiger Woods thinks about the economy" (TAMPABAY.com, 5/10).
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