Feherty Loves the Troops

by Jeff Skinner

The golfing world had a very busy weekend; The Players, The Michelob Ultra Open, Tiger, Henrik, John Daly, and David Feherty. Yes, David Feherty the CBS on–air comedian and commentator. Feherty wrote an article in a Dallas magazine that was not well received, to say the least. Ron Sirak has a great piece in GolfWorld. Here is the quote that has Feherty in a major pickle:

“From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this though,” Feherty wrote toward the end of his column. “Despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Osama bin Laden, there’s a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death.”

Feherty made a mistake. He could have made his point using less volatile words. He could have been a little more controlled and politically correct, but that’s not Feherty. He is out there on the edge, pushing the envelope. It’s too bad for Feherty, he seems like a good guy that has had some rough times and has worked through them. He has a great gig with CBS but he may have bit the hand that feeds him. It would be sad if CBS let him go, he is a funny and entertaining part of their programming. He also is one of the most active people in the golfing community for the support of our troops. He has been to Iraq and hospitals and military bases to visit thousands of soldiers. No one supports the troops more than Feherty. The danger here is that he will be remembered for this unfortunate incident and his years of work spent helping and entertaining the troops will be forgotten. Funny thing is Feherty has probably help lift the spirits of more military personnel than anyone in Washington ever has. It would be a shame if he never had that chance again.

***** The LPGA is a progressive organization. They have recognized the fact that the “New Media” is the way to go. They have started to issue press credentials to websites and bloggers. I was fortunate to get credentials to this week’s LPGA’s Sybase Classic. I’ll be there later this week to watch the ladies play and get some interesting stories.