Hank Haney files suit against PGA

[Holy Moses]

It was ignorance and more. If it’s not a well-known American LPGA player or foreign-born player, Hank doesn’t care and doesn’t want to care. He won’t seek out the next wave of young LPGA players. Their games don’t interest him. What he doesn’t realize is that those players are far more interesting than talking for far too long about the lives of his co-host and his producer.

[tacklingdummy]

Well it is called "PGA Tour Radio" and not "LPGA Tour Radio."

[Outlier]

Maybe now Hank and "Sideshow Steve" can join Patrick Reed at the "table for 1" that they used to laugh about. This guy is a real treat....a 64 yr old adolescent, who actually seems to feel he is entitled to be a bully and get paid for it. Butch and Leadbetter seemed to rolled on with life past being let go by #1 Haney not so much. This guy has shown his true colors and the (Independent Contractors) tour players seem to have also voted....

[ExTrumpet]

Not sure what roll the PGA Tour played in Haney's firing...if they tried to influence Sirius XM, then yes, they overstepped their boundaries--unless they own that channel. If they own it, they can do what they want.

 

[davep043]

I can't say I KNOW, but I'd find it hard to believe that they could call it PGA Tour Radio without involvement from the PGA Tour. Something that might be similar, the Masters doesn't "won" CBS, but they sure manages to dictate who works on their broadcasts. The NFL can dictate to Fox and CBS and the other networks who is allowed to work on their broadcasts. I bet the PGA Tour has similar clauses in their agreement with Sirius.

[davep043]

[ExTrumpet]

 

I would think you are correct, just not sure. I would also think that the tour would have a say in the programming as people would associate the comments with the tour.

[tacklingdummy]

I'm Asian and named Lee and had absolutely no problem with what Haney said. He was 100% correct on his predictions. Haha.

[braincramp52]

I believe one of the LPGA players named herself Lee6 so people knew who they were talking about when speaking of her. We try not to let facts get in the way here too much. It's much more fun to just guess and claim it's the facts.

[easyyy]

But looking back...

 

Why would you write a book about Tiger after he put you on the map as he did?

Why say Jordan Spieth has the yipes on record when it isn't clear if he has them or not. There was no video that showed a twitch as we have seen with other players.

Just don't get it. The rip on the LPGA Tour was a rip. If you were on the LPGA and heard that you would be horrified. He was basically saying the LPGA Tour is not relevant. Well to him it might be correct but to all the young girls that aspire to play on the tour or look up to players on the tour, what he said was not good. Also the tone he took was that there were no names (players) that inspired him and they were all asian. Really? In todays world? You cant go there. Anyone that is halfway connected to the events of the last 5 years know that.

I don't know the stats on the PGA Tour radio show but I would be surprised it is a big money maker. Haney was probably more harm than good.

[Sean2]

I believe it was the Korean LPGA that gave her that designation as there were at least six women with the exact same name.

[Sean2]

The thing is though...consider the source. I mean, how "relevant" and how much does what he says impact the game? I would guess not much. I would further opine that if I walked up and down my block and queried every one of my neighbors, maybe one would know who Hank Haney is. Maybe.

I don't agree with what he said, but I also think what he said is getting far too much attention, and is a bit overblown. I can't control what Hank Haney says, but I can control how I react to it. And, if I get all upset and outraged I am letting what he said have more power over me than what I think. Sure, call him on it, but I don't think he needed to be fired over it. People are people and on occasion they will say things that are found offensive. We have all opened our mouths and inserted are feet.

Some are advocating prison for those that say something "hateful" (however that is defined). I think this is a very slippery slope and we need to tread carefully before we find ourselves in a place not much to our liking.

[Hawkeye77]

Actually most people had completely forgotten about what he said since sometime last spring - but Hank's lawsuit gets it some attention again. I think it's interesting that it was a tiny blip on the news radar but we can go back and have the same discussion that was had when he got suspended, then again when Tiger made his remarks and Haney got snarky.

Most people that even read he filed a lawsuit have probably already forgotten about it and if he got any play on anyone else's golf talk radio (that few listen to) that's over with by now, or will be very soon.

Still thought the book was a really poor move from a coach, and Haney made sure he let a media member know about his ending his relationship with Tiger just before he actually texted (lol) Tiger (he's no less self-absorbed than Tiger).

 

[Outlier]

I am not sure his schtick was necessarily racist, to me it was just crass and in keeping with his general mode of being an unlikeable putz.

[tacklingdummy]

PGA tour and Sirius likely dropped him because of all the racist accusations. Once one person publically called it racist, all the people just ganged up like sheep to parrot the same thing.

Also, how many people actually heard that comment listening to that show? I'm sure very few and didn't think much of it. However, the media blew that thing up to crazy levels. It would have never gotten to those extreme levels had the media not blown it up. They dig to extreme depths to find material like that. The media is the equivalent of Godzilla smashing down buildings. Lol.

[caniac6]

I listen to this station on XM a lot, and I don't miss him. He seemed very negative, and snarky with a lot of the callers. He seemed to need to feel like he was always right, and the smartest guy in the room. I wouldn't be at all surprised if XM was just waiting for an excuse to get rid of him. I don't miss him.

[Outlier]

I listen to the station most days till noonish...heard this incident live, was it "shocking" coming from him? No! and that is kind of the point.....he was obviously a "butt hurt" bully. Frankly sounded like early stage dementia to me where you are just unnecessarily grumpy and testy ALL the time. His favorite, oft repeated line was to refer to Patrick Reed as "table for 1". Apparently this sort of hateful name calling, snarky behavior and constant feuding with others followed by "I am gonna sue them because they are out to get me", is a popular style for certain Senior Citizen aged guys these days.

Many, many people disagreed with Mike Davis and his approach to our National Championships. But narcissistic Haney made HIS disdain for Davis and the USGA such a focus (after Davis outsmarted him on his own radio show) that HANK declared the "Blue Blazers hate ME...."

 

So to keep score:

-MIke Davis & USGA are out to get Hank because HE criticizes them;

-Tiger is out to get him because HE spilled the beans;

-PGA Tour is out to get him because HE: disrespectfully joked about Asains, disrespectfully joked about the LPGA, disrespectfully joked about American female pro golfers;

-Patrick Reed is out to get him because he jokes about him and his family;

-He has picked a feud with Sean Foley....

In the textbook narcissistic psychopathic mindset: "Everybody is out to get poor Hank and his perfect show"...and for no reason the radio folks up and impeached him.....so of course he'll sue.

-

 

[Hawkeye77]

And it definitely isn't called Hank Haney Radio. ;-)

[tacklingdummy]

Wow, that is a lot of conspiracy theories. ?? Interesting psychoanalysis. Thanks Dr. Phil.

[Outlier]

Nope, mostly stuff verbatim from Haney himself...crazy right? In case you weren't a frequent listener that's what his radio gig was, I didn't make that stuff up, he said it REPEATEDLY.......

(Yes absolutely, I do think he is a mean-spirited narcissistic jerk).

[bscinstnct]

Your honor, the plaintiff was the host of a golf radio show and proudly proclaimed on air....

 

“I couldn’t name you six players on the LPGA Tour.”

 

Judge: case dismissed

 

; )

 

[tacklingdummy]

Why do you guys listen and follow him so much if you hate him so much? I think you guys are way too emotionally involved and offended by him just how deep your analyzing his mental psyche. Be happy. Personally, if I don't watch, listen, or follow people I don't like. Maybe that is just me, though. Merry Christmas.

[johnseg]

I liked and listened to the show. In fact it was really the only PGA show I listened to. What I liked was his use and approach to statistics. I though it gave good perspective on some issues. Granted, a lot of his show was the Tiger angle and then the JS issues but no show is perfect entertainment. That was were he got into the same trouble that so many do in today's world. When you are trying to entertain and you have a lot of time sometimes you say things that you think will come off as humor but completely miss the mark.

His biggest crime was being dismissive of all tours that are not the PGA tour really. For better or worse I kind of hold the same view. I don't ever follow or care about the results from the LPGA, Champions, Korn Ferry, Symetra, etc. I also don't really care about the guys toiling from #75 on. I think the tour would be better if the cuts were tighter.

I realize this is just me. I know these lesser players are trying to make a living and are great players in their own right, but I watch to be entertained and it is the best players that entertain me.

[potfh]

If his ratings were better, he would have been suspended and not fired. It’s business.

[Kwheat]

So true. Also his rating are predicated on what he can stir up on a radio show that has how many listeners....? I'm guessing not many so maybe he is trying to channel his inner Howard stern. Ad money is tough to survive on these days lol

[marmaduk]

 

Although a Korean with the last name Lee is the most shared combination Of name and country there are way more players who do not fall under that category and therefore statistically a non-Korean non-Lee should have won.

[QuigleyDU]

 

Not totally True Collin Cowherd was fired from ESPN and he was at the very top of popularity for their radio shows. Hence Fox snatched him up instantly.

[QuigleyDU]

You can blame Alanis for everyone using irony wrong.

 

Irony = the largest dog in the world is named Tiny.

Coincidence = Rain on your wedding day.

Irony = weatherman caught in a flashflood

coincidence = 10k spoons when all you need is a knife

Ironic statement= "“Wow, I just LOVE getting paper cuts at work.”"

 

[golfortennis]

 

It is hilarious when you look at the specifics. Who won the tournament? not just Lee, but Lee6. Why is her name Lee6? Because she went to a tournament, and saw 6 players with the exact same name as her, so since she was the 6th one, she put down Lee6. If that isn't on the nose to what he said...."A significant tournament in US Golf?" I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, because you have plenty of credibility, but calling the US WOmen's Open a "significant tournament in US Golf" has a tinge of virtue signalling to it. On what basis is it significant? The ratings are.... well, not that great. The vast majority of people, just don't care. The LPGA designates it as a major, but they also change which ones are majors far too often for that to mean as much as one would hope. So what makes it "significant?"

 

If you want to say the job description expected him to be "prepared", well, ok, maybe there is a point there, although given how is off the cuff prediction was spot on, one could say he was more prepared than one would think he was. If Mike Whan complained about the dismissiveness came across, sure, can him. But let's not overstate how important the tournament was in order to make the case. A lot of times it seems like many say "this is a very important tournament" in order to be on record as being on the "right" side of an issue. As I said, you have credibility, and your PoV is supported with a cogent argument, even if I may disagree, so I don't think you're simply virtue signalling, but it does approach something in that range.

[Valtiel]

Whether or not it is "on the nose to what he said" is irrelevant in this case. It speaks to a larger, in this case western, issue. There is a much greater emphasis on individual identification via surnames in western countries and a greater sense of individuality comes from that. South Korea however has a far, far different history with surnames only afforded to the aristocrats who pulled them from the major Chinese dynasties. It was all about prestige and class, not individualism. So the fact that "Lee6" had to name herself such was less because there are too many Lees and more because the American system of using surnames for identification does not fit into Korean culture and should be changed to better suit the players in the field.

Bringing this back to Haney, the reason what he said could be considered so inappropriate is because it takes only minutes of research to familiarize yourself with this and adjust to identifying via given names instead of surnames. Not doing that makes him look like the stereotypical "We're #1" lazy American that can't be bothered with other cultures. Slightly understandable if you have no personal or professional need to know such things, but tacky and unprofessional when you do, especially given the immediate availability of all this information.