Bishop's dismissal inevitable, but hardly necessary

Ted Bishop who had a month left in his term has been sacked as president of the PGA of America over what in this day and age has been interpreted as sexist tweet and Facebook post directed at Ian Poulter. Unhappy with comments Poulter made in his book about the Ryder Cup captaincy of Nick Faldo in 2008 and Tom Watson last month at Gleneagles. Bishop was with Faldo at The Greenbrier for the Faldo Series when he tweeted to Poulter, “Faldo’s record stands by itself. Six majors and all-time RC points. Yours vs. His? Lil Girl.”

Also on his Facebook page, Bishop stated “athletes with lesser records or accomplishments in a sport never criticized the icons.” and objected to Sir Nick and Watson getting “bashed” by Poulter saying “Really? Sounds like a little school girl squealing during recess. C’MON MAN!” He deleted the tweet and the Facebook post later but he never apologized.

Nor should he in my opinion ! C'mon man ! This is hardly worth getting the sack for is it ? Saying someone who has the right to openly criticize Bishop's selections as Ryder Cup captain in his book sounds like a little girl squealing is every day language, not demeaning at all to women, nor intended to offend any little girls.

Why should Poulter have the right to write it for public consumption and of course to sell copies, but Bishop not have the right to criticize and of course you are saying has the right to criticize but should have chosen his words more carefully, I am saying in the realms of racist or religious or in this case sexist remarks this one is as innocent and unintended as Mary had a little lamb.. 

After sacking him the PGA of America, stuffy as always had this to say “The PGA of America understands the enormous responsibility it has to lead this great game and to enrich lives in our society through golf, we must demand of ourselves that we make golf both welcoming and inclusive to all who want to experience it, and everyone at the PGA of America must lead by example.”

Derek Sprague, expected to be voted in as the next president at the Nov. 22 annual meeting, was appointed the interim president and he had more of the same to say..

“The members and apprentices of the PGA of America must uphold the highest standards and values of the profession, as well as the manner in which we conduct ourselves at all times and we apologize to any individual or group that felt diminished, in any way, by this unacceptable incident.”

Poulter now in China had this to say “Is being called a `lil girl’ meant to be derogatory or a put down.That’s pretty shocking and disappointing, especially coming from the leader of the PGA of America.”

For the record Poulter said that Watson’s decision-making “completely baffles me.” and if you missed it Faldo during his Ryder Cup coverage said that Sergio Garcia was “useless” in 2008 during the European loss at Valhalla and that he had a “bad attitude.”which pissed off both Sergio and his team mates.

In the book Poulter noted “Faldo has lost a lot of respect from players because of what he said,” pointing out that it was Europe’s only loss in the last 15 years and Faldo was the captain. “So who’s useless? I think Faldo might need to have a little look in the mirror.”

In this day of political correctness it doesn't surprise me Bishop got the sack, but C'mon man it was hardly necessary.


Edit...A day after I wrote this Ted Bishop issued the following statement...

I want to apologize to Ian Poulter and anyone else that I might have offended with my remarks on social media that appeared on October 23, 2014. Particularly, I have great remorse that my comments contained the words “little girl” because I have always been a great advocate for girls and women in golf.

My two children, both girls, have made their careers in golf. I have a 4-year old granddaughter who I hope will someday play the game. In my 37-year career in golf, I have worked with many women to grow the sport and I have been a champion for inclusion and equal rights for women in golf.

However, this is a classic example of poor use of social media on my part and if I had the chance to hit the delete button on the things that I sent out yesterday, I would without hesitation. The PGA of America asked me to avoid any interaction with the media in the past 24 hours and that is why I did not issue a formal and public apology, which I have wanted to do since early this morning.

This afternoon I was asked by my fellow Officers to resign my position as President. I declined because I wanted to speak to our PGA Board of Directors, offer a personal apology and let the due process take place in this matter. The Board heard me out and then voted to impeach me as the 38th President. That is the due process and I respect that, as painful as it might be.

The PGA has also informed me that I will not become the Honorary President nor will I ever be recognized as a Past President in our Association’s history. These, along with the impeachment are drastic consequences for the offense I have committed, but I must live with them. I take great pride in what we were able to accomplish in the last 23 months. Hopefully, we laid the groundwork for a successful future for the PGA of America. Today, all I have left is my PGA membership and that will always mean the world to me.

Bryan Angus

(notes from AP, BBC, Reuters..)