Friday,
June 20,
Sons of
The
ANNOTICO Report
The
Anti Defamation arm [The Commission for Social Justice (CSJ)] of the Sons of
Italy [Order Sons of Italy in
Suspension
of NBC's lead golf analyst Johnny Miller after discriminatory statements about
Rocco Mediate he broadcast during the U.S. Open on Sunday, June 15.
Rocco
Mediate, was a finalist in the competition, who was tied with Tiger Woods at
the end of Regulation play (72 holes) ,and therefore pushed Tiger
Woods to an 18 Hole head-to-head Showdown Round. When still tied at the
end of those 18 holes, they played Sudden Death, and Tiger
then won on the next hole by ONE stroke.
Mediate
said. "It could have been. I'm a little bit tired today, I'm a
little old. He's got me by 14 years. He's got me by a thousand
yards off the tee. And I kept hanging in there, hanging in there."
Mediate shined as
A
crowed of 24,000, chased the players from hole to hole, in an Open that
was as exciting as has been seen in a long time.
Mediate
came within one shot of becoming the oldest
So
instead of a David and Goliath story, sportscaster Miller demeans Mediate, and
the Incredible Drama, Miller said, "Mediate looks like the guy who
cleans Tiger's swimming pool," and "Guys with the name of Rocco don't get
on the trophy, do they?"
PS:
A considerable number of Italian Americans have distinguished
themselves in golf, including Gene Sarazen (Eugenio Saraceni), Johnny Revolta, Vic Ghezzi, Donna Caponi, Fred
Couples (Coppola) and Ken Venturi,"
Commendations
to Sons of
Italian
American Anti-Defamation Group Demands Suspension of NBC Sportscaster Johnny
Miller
Washington, DC-- June 19,
2008
The Commission for Social Justice (CSJ), the anti- defamation arm of the Order
Sons of Italy in America, the nation's biggest Italian American organization,
is demanding an on-air apology and the suspension of NBC's lead golf analyst
Johnny Miller after discriminatory statements about Rocco Mediate he broadcast
during the U.S. Open on Sunday, June 15.
Referring to
Mediate, who was a finalist in the competition, Miller said, "Mediate
looks like the guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool," and "Guys with
the name of Rocco don't get on the trophy, do they?" They were aired
nationally and then spread worldwide via the Internet.
"If
Johnny Miller had made a similar remark about Tiger Woods, he would have been
fired," says Anthony Baratta, national
president of the Sons of Italy CSJ. "In 1998, Fuzzy Zoeller
lost millions of dollars in endorsements after he jokingly asked Woods, who had
just won the Master's, to request "fried chicken and collard greens"
on the next year's tournament menu.
"And I would
remind Mr. Miller that a considerable number of Italian Americans have
distinguished themselves in golf, including Gene Sarazen
(Eugenio Saraceni), Johnny Revolta,
Vic Ghezzi, Donna Caponi,
Fred Couples (Coppola) and Ken Venturi," he
says.
Baratta also cites an incident
involving broadcaster Kelly Tilghman, reported in the
New York Times January 11 article, When an Apology Is Not Enough, which
states, "that when Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman
said that one way for young golfers to stop Woods is to 'lynch him in a back
alley' . . . her words earned her a two-week, unpaid suspension."
The article also
mentions, "Tilghman now belongs to a group of
experienced broadcasters who have paid for their missteps about race, religion
or gender, including Don Imus, Michael Irvin, Jimmy
(The Greek) Snyder, Steve Lyons, Rush Limbaugh and Ben Wright."
Baratta and the CSJ have written
NBC asking for the same justice, "NBC should suspend Johnny Miller
immediately and demand a retraction of his statements as well as an on-air
apology to this nation's estimated 20 million Italian Americans," he said.
Baratta is urging all concerned
citizens to contact NBC at the following addresses:
Email:
nbcsports@nbcuni.com
Address:
Mr. Richard Ebersole
Chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics
30
Order Sons of
The Sons of Italy CSJ
is the anti-defamation arm of the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), the
largest and oldest national organization for people of Italian descent in the
U.S. Email the CSJ at csj@osia.org
OSIA works at the
community, national and international levels to promote the heritage and
culture of an estimated 16-26 million Italian Americans, the nation's fifth
largest ethnic group, according to the
OSIA:
http://www.osia.org
The
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