Ted Bishop removed from office for calling Ian Poulter a lil girl

[dbuck]

Erik, you have articulated most of what I have been wanting to say in a succinct manner.

I will go a bit farther and say that I have two daughters and a son, all over 21 now, and I can say from experience that somewhere between 9 and 15, girls go through some very emotional times, and boys become stinky and more aggressive and insecure at the same time. It is not a put down or sexist, it is several thousand years of human biology. It is the reason that pharmaceutical companies spend millions on the advertising of products that in later years make us feel like "little girls" and "little boys"--or rather teenagers.

In case folks haven't noticed, there are some differences in boys and girls, which I didn't understand but later became grateful for. I would never say to one of my daughters however, "You can't do that because you are a girl."  I believe in equal rights, equal pay for the same job, equal opportunity.

I had lunch with one of my daughters yesterday and discussed this event. I asked her if "acting like a little girl" was offensive to her. She said, no, that is the way little girls act. I find it more that a touch hypocritical that the Golf Channel is discussing the sexism of the remarks while there is a link at the bottom of the webpage to the Caddie Girls and dresses their very attractive and knowledgeable female personalities in clothing designed to show legs and other attractive features. I am not complaining about the legs or Caddie Girls, just the hypocrisy.

I know I am an old fart, but I thought juvenile jabs and comments were expected when you entered the Twitter world, especially with such flamboyant figures as Ian Poulter.

[mvmac]

http://golfweek.com/news/2014/oct/28/ted-bishop-pga-america-response-social-media/

In a 27-minute interview with “Morning Drive” co-host Gary Williams, Bishop apologized, took ownership for his misdeeds, reviewed the 21-hour timeline that led to his dismissal, said his punishment did not fit his crime, and admitted the painful realization that the many things he has tried to do in the game for women have been “flushed down the toilet.”

“That’s going to be my legacy,” Bishop said. “That’s it. That’s the situation I created for myself.”

Bishop, the 38th president of the PGA of America, will not have the opportunity to become an honorary president of the PGA and enjoy the perks that others do after their two-year term as president runs out. He said he was saddened that he never would have the chance to take his grandchildren to the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. “But you know what?” he said. “I created that situation. I created this mess. It’s my fault. It’s not the PGA of America’s fault.

“And you know, people have said, ‘How do you think you should have been punished?’ And I have to be honest with you. I don’t think the punishment fits the crime. But it is what it is, and I have to accept that, and I’m not bitter about that in any way, shape or form.”

After seeing disparaging comments that Ian Poulter made about fellow Englishman Nick Faldo, the 2008 European Ryder Cup captain, in Poulter’s new book, “No Limits,” Bishop, who was spending several days with Faldo at a junior event at The Greenbrier, shot back at Poulter, first on Twitter, then in a Facebook post. Bishop’s Twitter post read, “Faldo's record stands by itself. Six majors and all-time RC points. Yours vs. His? Lil Girl.” Bishop also made a post on his Facebook page that took aim at Poulter, the end reading, “Sounds like a little school girl squealing during recess. C'MON MAN!“

The timing could not have been worse, as the PGA of America was in the midst of hosting the 3rd Sports Diversity and Inclusion Symposium in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where CEO Pete Bevacqua had this to say in his remarks two nights before Bishop’s social faux pas: “For us, diversity and inclusion in golf is a strategic priority. … It’s critical that we get out ahead of this. It’s critical that golf changes its own story.”

Bishop’s posts two nights later sent the PGA of America reeling. By the time he took a break at dinner Thursday evening, Bishop took a look at his phone and realized some of the implications of what he had said. A firestorm began to swirl on Twitter. Somebody had labeled Bishop a “sexist.” He took both posts down and began discussions with PGA of America headquarters on how best to defuse the situation. According to Bishop, LeslieAnne Wade, a former CBS public-relations executive who was one of Bishop’s dinner companions Thursday night, told him, “You know, Ted, there’s going to be implications here that are going to cause you to give an apology.”

Bishop’s first stab at an apology, sent to Associated Press reporter Doug Ferguson on Thursday night, was low-key, and should have been worded more strongly, Bishop said in hindsight. But Bishop, who had gone through media training before becoming president, said he was trying to follow script and be consistent with an initial statement issued by the PGA of America.

“A huge mistake,” Bishop would term it Tuesday morning. “I should have just apologized from the get-go.”

[BENtSwing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 18rounds

On your other point we will agree to disagree. I feel like anytime you use a person or a group of people as a way to slam or insult someone else it is degrading. Whether that is gays, blacks or women. I farther believe that it is in poor taste even if the buddies I am with at the moment all use that kind of language.

No it's not.

Saying that someone is acting like a "little girl" is not degrading to women. If it's degrading to anyone, it's degrading to little girls. And then one must ask themselves: how do little girls act? Pretty much the same as little boys - lots of crying, stomping, and throwing fits. Begging. Etc.

It's called a simile. It's a way of comparing two things. Ted Bishop raised two daughters - perhaps he knows how "little girls" behave?

Inappropriate? Yes. Not cool? Yes. But degrading to women?!?! You've gotta be kidding me.

I'm glad someone has some common sense on here.

[18rounds]

No it's not.

Saying that someone is acting like a "little girl" is not degrading to women. If it's degrading to anyone, it's degrading to little girls. And then one must ask themselves: how do little girls act? Pretty much the same as little boys - lots of crying, stomping, and throwing fits. Begging. Etc.

It's called a simile. It's a way of comparing two things. Ted Bishop raised two daughters - perhaps he knows how "little girls" behave?

Inappropriate? Yes. Not cool? Yes. But degrading to women?!?! You've gotta be kidding me.

Lighten up, people. Learn to brush the little things aside. Stop going out of your way to be offended. If you want to be offended, spend some energy tackling ACTUAL problems in society.

Maybe you are right. Maybe degrading is the wrong term. What is it about the comment that you would say makes it inappropriate and "Not Cool?"

We are on a golf forum. I think that in and of itself should say that just because we discuss something doesn't mean we think it is the biggest problem facing our world.

I mean, me duffing my wedges is a big deal but in the scope of things... No its a really big deal. :)

[iacas]

Maybe you are right. Maybe degrading is the wrong term. What is it about the comment that you would say makes it inappropriate and "Not Cool?"

That he publicly taunted a player. I don't care what particular insult he chose.

We are on a golf forum. I think that in and of itself should say that just because we discuss something doesn't mean we think it is the biggest problem facing our world.

I feel that clearly wasn't directed at you. There are many, many more people who are having rather large reactions.

[dbuck]

We have gone over the top on political correctness to the destruction of free speech, and at the same time created for lack of better words, a double standard.

It is de rigueur for a prime time network drama to have a "hot chick that kicks ass". How is this "hot" or exciting, if it is not somewhat unusual, or at least unusual to the target audience? The characters are portrayed as tough and professional, but at the same time their sexuality is marketed and projected overtly through the scripts. Then on the same network's news or morning talk show, the anchors/hosts will talk in stern and concerned tones about the sexism of someone's Twitter comment.

Negative racial and gender slurs should not be in polite conversation nor heated public debate, but are the norm on stand-up comedy and some genres of music.

Perhaps Bishop's greatest mistake was resorting to Twitter in the first place. If he had kept himself in more traditional forms of communication, perhaps his communication would have been more formal. I personally don't think what he said was that bad in and of itself, and I don't think he meant it as derogatory toward women.

As Erik said, people need to quit searching for excuses to be offended.

[turtleback]

I disagree. The reason Sterling has a problem is because he is a racist.

It's like saying "The reason I had a triple bogey is because my playing partner saw me hit it out of bounds" nope the reason I had a triple bogey is because I suck at golf.

Same as it's not TMZ's fault Sterling got in trouble. It is because Sterling is a rasist.

Racists still have freedom of thought and conscience and a right of privacy.

Saying "even Obama" is a really odd way to put that.  If you polled the "gotcha" media people and asked them who they'd want to catch saying something stupid, I would say it's a pretty safe bet that the President of the United States (no matter who it was) would be, far and away, the winner of that poll.

Not so much when you reflect that the same media that hounded Dan Quayle for misspelling potato has hardly noticed the many and varied entertaining gaffes by Mr. Biden.

This is interesting. 33 weeks ago. "Girlie shaft".

http://instagram.com/p/lOPxW2pg8U/?modal=true

Ooops.  This is the problem when you try to be vindictive by playing gotcha with someone, like Poulter did to Bishop but you do it in a completely hypocritical way.  This is not going to go well for Poulter if this gets picked up more widely.  Sadly it could even lead to some sympathy for Bishop.  Since I don't really care for either of them, I will sit back and enjoy the schadenfreude.

I think he sensed their was blood in the water and the chance to level the score, and when this was suggested to him, he's probably smiled, stroked his white cat, and pressed the button in the arm of his chair as Ted Bishop descends into the shark infested pool. Doubtless the first chapter of his next book will be entitled "how I took down the USPGA and won the Ryder Cup"

. . . and then got skewered when they found out that I used the same "slur" himself."

Hypocrisy sucks

Too many people are looking for reasons to be offended.

As Erik said, people need to quit searching for excuses to be offended.

Too many professional offense takers out there just waiting for gotcha opportunities.

And opportunists like Poulter.  Notice in the instagram how so many of the respondents to Poulter's girlie shaft statement objected and were ready to tar and feather Poulter - yup, none.  But now the same thing drives Bishop into disgrace.

But I do not think this is over.  The combination of hypocrisy and opportunism may just take a serious toll on Mr.Poulter.

[mvmac]

Ooops.  This is the problem when you try to be vindictive by playing gotcha with someone, like Poulter did to Bishop but you do it in a completely hypocritical way.  This is not going to go well for Poulter if this gets picked up more widely.  Sadly it could even lead to some sympathy for Bishop.  Since I don't really care for either of them, I will sit back and enjoy the schadenfreude.

I tweeted it to Poulter, we'll see if he says anything.

[ScouseJohnny]

Quote:

Perhaps Bishop's greatest mistake was resorting to Twitter in the first place

Perhaps his greatest mistake was interjecting any comment at all, in the first place.

It's a tawdry situation. British golfing legend of decades past couldn't resist rising to the bait when asked about Garcia's contribution to the European team under his captaincy, when he'd have been better off keeping his own counsel.

All of a sudden, another British golfer of a later generation is vicariously offended by this, and his ghost writer expresses his outrage in true sportsman's-autobiography-ghostwritten-prose, just in time to keep the book topical as it hits the shelves for the Christmas stocking book market:

Quote:

Sergio puts a brave face on it but the rest of the guys are fuming. I’m shocked that he has said it. It’s highly disrespectful. It’s a cheap shot and it’s the worst possible timing.

If "Sergio" had nothing to say about it publicly, then his teammate would have been advised to keep his gob shut, too. I wonder which hack sports journo authored that cliched little paragraph? Injured parties are always "fuming" in accounts of previous slights described in ghostwritten autobiographies - usually in the present tense. Boundaries of "respect" have been breached, usually at the most inopportune time...

Poulter's book looks simply dreadful. Happily, it's previewed in Google Books, so a determination of its quality can be made without having to buy the wretched thing: http://books.google.com/books?id=J78SBAAAQBAJ&lpg;=PP1&dq;=%22ian%20poulter%22%20%22no%20limits%22&pg;=PP1#v=onepage&q;=%22ian%20poulter%22%20%22no%20limits%22&f;=false

Ah, Ian, the blokey working-class golfer from darn Sarf , swapping out his rusted Vauxhall Astra for a Fiesta XR2i with his early winnings, watching Faldo the superstar hitting beautiful shots on the range at some kind of corporate event in the mid-'90s and reflecting that plenty of people didn't like him very much then, either... Very down to earth lad, Ian. The prose is littered with mild profanity so we can all see what a proper salt of the earth jack-the-lad he is - shoulda been a footballer (soccer player) don't you know - but the fates intervened and he wound up on the PGA tour. Still, there's probably a big part of Ian that really wants to be back down the boozer somewhere in the south of England of a lunchtime, wearing his Arsenal shirt, 'aving a few Stellas, and watching the Sky Sports footy coverage on the box. Geezer!

[Lihu]

Ah, Ian, the blokey working-class golfer from darn Sarf, swapping out his rusted Vauxhall Astra for a Fiesta XR2i with his early winnings, watching Faldo the superstar hitting beautiful shots on the range at some kind of corporate event in the mid-'90s and reflecting that plenty of people didn't like him very much then, either... Very down to earth lad, Ian. The prose is littered with mild profanity so we can all see what a proper salt of the earth jack-the-lad he is - shoulda been a footballer (soccer player) don't you know - but the fates intervened and he wound up on the PGA tour. Still, there's probably a big part of Ian that really wants to be back down the boozer somewhere in the south of England of a lunchtime, wearing his Arsenal shirt, 'aving a few Stellas, and watching the Sky Sports footy coverage on the box. Geezer!

I just read the first three chapters of Ian's book (No Limits) during lunch. He seems like a modern day rags to riches golfer. He is a really hard worker, and enjoys playing golf. His formal education stopped sometime before 10th grade by USA grade standards? He then dedicated his entire life to golf.

Based upon what I've read about him in the past, I am surprised that I could like him.

[trickyputt]

From a business perspective, the board erased a manager for antagonizing professional members of a multibillion dollar business venture because he didnt have the mentality to let the game come to him. Its a currency decision at the end.

[turtleback]

Perhaps his greatest mistake was interjecting any comment at all, in the first place.

I agree with this and, IMO, it has been a problem for Bishop.  I think it was wrong of him to inject the PGA into the anchoring ban issue, I thought it was wrong of him to inject himself into the Watson/Mickelson issue, and I thought it was incredibly wrong of him to inject himself into the Poulter/Faldo issue.

[Spitfisher]

I know I am late to the dance on this subject, but I think there is much more to this story than " lil girl" I believe bishop was on some sort of double secret probation on any number of matters and this was icing on the cake .......N ice knowing you, don't let the door hit you in a$$ on the way out. That said, time to move on for the PGA. And develop a strategy of bring golf back to popularity as the number 1 new focus and mission statement. If not they can't see this as a threat to the game they can fire them selves and dissolve. For all I care.

[No Mulligans]

Regarding Bishop not resigning...

That is consistent with what I've witnessed in the corporate world.  Whenever I've seen a high level employee like CEO or President "leave" a corporation there is usually a large payout.  Somewhere to the tune of 2 years salary or more.  This kind of settlement seems to be standard and has the benefit of keeping the legal fees down for the corp. and the ex-employee.

You'll often see headlines like "CEO leaves to pursue other opportunities"... which means he was fired.

[newtogolf]

Regarding Bishop not resigning...

That is consistent with what I've witnessed in the corporate world.  Whenever I've seen a high level employee like CEO or President "leave" a corporation there is usually a large payout.  Somewhere to the tune of 2 years salary or more.  This kind of settlement seems to be standard and has the benefit of keeping the legal fees down for the corp. and the ex-employee.

You'll often see headlines like "CEO leaves to pursue other opportunities"... which means he was fired.

When there's a payout it means both sides negotiated a settlement to avoid a "wrongful termination" suit or other litigation and agree not to disclose the terms or reasons for the termination with outsiders.

Given what we know about the way the PGA handled Bishop I'd say it was more like how a company would handle firing an employee with cause.  They give them a chance to resign in order to avoid the stigma of being "fired", if they refuse, they're fired.

[iacas]

I know I am late to the dance on this subject, but I think there is much more to this story than " lil girl" I believe bishop was on some sort of double secret probation on any number of matters and this was icing on the cake .......

Everything from the PGA (and the people I know in various spots in the PGA) say that's absolutely not the case.

So let me translate that for you. The reason this is being said is because the punishment didn't fit the crime. His punishment was a 9 on the scale of 1-10, while his offense was somewhere in the 3-6 range. So, the conclusion many come to is the same one you came to: that he must have been on the bubble.

That's easier to believe than "The PGA Board of Directors massively over-reacted."

I believe, based on everything I've heard from people (many in confidence) that Bishop was not on the bubble. He was fine. The PGA just reacted very harshly. Too harshly IMO.

---

A comment I posted in a group chat earlier today:

[trickyputt]

I wonder about the over-reacted part. I wonder if it was a pitch perfect reaction relative to the invironment in which his office existed. The ancient egyptians couldnt chisel your name off stone records faster than the pga erased his history even if you were moses.

[FarawayFairways]

The next board meeting might be fun

Agenda item 1

"we wish to congratulate ourselves on our zero tolerance and firm and decisive action in removing the former Presdient from his post"

cheers and applause all round

Then someone says, "you do realise that we've adopted an incredibly low tolerance threshold now that we'll have to meet don't you? the Bishop test. He's gone, but we're still here, and you know what, I think a few of us could easily make similar mistakes"

Emergency motion

The USPGA over-reacted and perhaps ought to rescind a little bit of Ted Bishop's punsihment - all those in favour?

Does Bishop not have some kind of right to an appeal anyway if he was subjected to a formal disciplinary hearing?