Steve Elkington bungles attempt to clarify Michael Sam comments
Steve Elkington just can’t help himself. Even when he’s trying to make a situation right, his attempt seems to have the opposite effect.
At least that appears to be the case this week, when the former PGA Championship winner tried clearing up his controversial comments about a gay football player while using a word considered offensive toward another group of people.
On Tuesday morning Elkington tweeted a couple of now-deleted comments on Michael Sam, the former Missouri defensive end who came out publicly as gay earlier this month. Elkington wrote, “ESPN covering Michael Sam as a gay athlete is embarrassing .....” and “ESPN reporting Michael Sam is leading the handbag throw at NFL combine.... No one else expected to throw today.”
He later explained to Yahoo Sports’ Shane Bacon in another tweet, “I’m for Sam I’m against ESPN telling me he’s gay.”
Elkington then went back to Twitter to try to explain himself and, well ...
It goes back to “a ball hit an oriental spectator”.There’s no oriental spectators..There just spectators..”like m Sam...He’s just an athlete — Steve Elkington (@elkpga) February 25, 2014
Apparently Elkington didn’t get the memo that we don’t use the word “oriental” to describe people of Asian descent anymore.
Plus, if he’s “for Sam” and if Sam is “just an athlete,” then why did Elkington make a joke about the player’s sexual orientation?
Seems like more explanations may be in order ... although maybe Elkington is better off just keeping his mouth shut.
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