WJR radio personality Frank Beckmann, who loves to rail against political correctness, now says he went too far in defending golfer Sergio Garcia in his Detroit News column.
"After talking with some good friends and reflecting on my Friday Detroit News column, “Sergio Garcia ‘chicken’ gaffe reveals our thin skin,” I think I was off base," Beckmann wrote in an apology published today online on the Detroit News website.
In his column Friday, Beckmann wrote: "Garcia jokingly remarked that he’d try to make amends for his recent on-course dispute with Tiger Woods by having the world’s most famous black golfer – Garcia never mentioned race – over to the house for a dinner of fried chicken."
Beckmann, then wrote:
The politically correct elites immediately condemned him as racist, Woods chose to take offense, and Garcia was forced to make a public apology though his intent was clearly not malicious.
What the Spanish golfer – wonder if he favors paella? – didn’t realize is that fried chicken was once a popular dish among American slaves who were not allowed to own livestock and couldn’t avail themselves of other southern delicacies like steak and ham.
In today's apology he wrote:
In my effort to emphasize my disdain for political correctness, I conflated it with the Sergio Garcia/Tiger Woods situation and that was a mistake on my part. I failed to properly consider the sensitivity of racial comments which stereotype people and the pain that causes.
That was a mistake on my part and I regret it. Sometimes we need the input of others to make us realize our errors and I’m thankful for the friends who were candid enough to share their thoughts with me on this and show me how I was misguided and wrong. The intent of the column is immaterial and I’m sorry for adding to the pain this may have caused to those who had a right to take issue with me.
I’ve always felt that we’re all human and not defined by our mistakes but, rather, how we grow from those shortcomings. I hope I can become a good example of that.
Deadline Detroit columnist Jeff Wattrick weighed in Saturday:
If Frank Beckmann can’t understand the clear and obvious implication of Garcia’s remarks then to call Frank Beckmann dumber than a pile of sawdust would be insulting to sawdust. Maybe Beckmann is that feeble-minded, or maybe he’s simply more comfortable with a society that tolerates Sergio Garcia’s bigotry than Tiger Woods’ presence on a golf course.
