Tiger Woods' Ex-Coach Offends With 'Lee' Quip About Women

By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2019 7:14 AM CDT
Tiger Woods' Ex-Coach in Hot Water Over LPGA Talk
Hank Haney gives a golf clinic at the Saginaw Country Club in Saginaw, Mich., on May 17, 2012.   (Jeff Schrier/Saginaw News via AP, File)

Tiger Woods' former coach has been suspended from his SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show after Wednesday comments viewed as racist and sexist. On the "Hank Haney Show," Haney laughingly predicted "a Korean" would win this week's US Women's Open, adding "I couldn't name you, like, six players on the LPGA Tour." He continued, per Golf Digest, "Maybe I could. Well ... I'd go with Lee if I didn't have to name a first name, I'd get a bunch of them right." Later in the program, Haney said he was sorry "if I offended anyone," concluding, "I am definitely not a racist." Pro golfer Michelle Wie wasn't appeased. "As a Korean American female golfer, these comments … disappoint and anger me on so many different levels," she tweeted, while Karrie Webb of Australia called for Haney and his co-host to be removed from the air.

Wish temporarily granted in regards to Haney. "At the PGA Tour's instruction Mr. Haney has been suspended from the SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio channel. SiriusXM is reviewing his status on SiriusXM going forward," reads a Thursday statement from the two parties that labeled the comments "insensitive." Golf Digest reports Haney's program didn't air in its usual 10am time slot Thursday and won't air Friday but is scheduled to return on Monday. "I accept my suspension and apologize again," said Haney. In a Wednesday statement he noted he had "the highest respect for the women who have worked so hard to reach the pinnacle of their sport." He said he'd intended "to make a point about the overwhelming success of Korean players on the tour." The New York Times points out the six tournament leaders as of Thursday hailed from six different countries. (More golf stories.)

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