At 8:27 this morning, Fox co-anchors Sterling Riggs and Lindsay Allen were discussing a news story about Tiger Woods. A fan threw a hot dog at Woods during a tournament over the weekend.
In the awkward exchange, Allen makes a comment that sure sounds like something you should never say on TV. It sounds like she said “This nigga blamed the hot dog on some of his poor performance.”
That caught the attention of a guy named Anthony Fresh, a 19-year-old African-American student, who got a tape of the incident and went down to the station to demand an apology. He watched it with news director Barry Fulmer, repeatedly, as there is some confusion in the exchange. You can decide for yourself here (see the :20 mark):
Fresh said of his exchange with Fulmer: “The first time he seen it he said he couldn’t catch it. He said I see where you might get that impression because it does sound like the N word, but I think she was trying to say ‘at least.’ He said I don’t think she’s racist. He admitted he heard her say the N word. I think she got her words mixed up.”
“He said he would try to get her to apologize for it,” Fresh said.
I spoke to Fulmer, who said he’s listened to the tape about 50 times. He responded “That’s not what she said. She was trying to say “at least” and stumbled over her words. It sounds wrong, but when you listen to it closer it’s not. He’s convinced she used the N word. I say she didn’t use it and it wasn’t malicious.”
I also talked with Allen, who said she had listened to the tape and didn’t mean to say anything offensive. “I was reading the news and someone thought he had heard a word I didn’t say. Sterling and I were talking about Tiger Woods. What I believe I said was something to the effect 0f – maybe he’s blaming the hot dog on the poor performance. That’s a word not even in my vocabulary. Honestly I don’t think it sounds like that, why would I say that in that phrase.”
“I’m just being honest, if somebody heard something different there’s not anything I can do about it. I certainly didn’t mean to offend anybody,” she said.
It sure sounds like the N word, and I’ve listened to it several times.
Fresh said he’s contacted several civil rights organizations about the incident.
