I’m sure you heard about the Golf Network anchorwoman who joked last week that young players who wanted to dethrone Tiger Woods should “lynch him in a back alley.” The cable news networks, looking to capture some Imus-style ratings, went ga-ga over the story. Despite Woods calling the matter closed, despite the anchorwoman and Woods being long-time friends, and despite the anchorwoman apologizing for her politically incorrect words, the non-scandal lingers. She has now been suspended. But that ain’t enough for nosybody, race-hustling Al Sharpton.

He wants 15 more minutes on TV–and a scalp:

“While we believe that Kelly’s choice of words was inadvertent and that she did not intend them in an offensive manner, the words were hurtful and grossly inappropriate,” Golf Channel said in its statement. “Consequently, we have decided to suspend Kelly for two weeks, effective immediately.”

Woods and Tilghman have known each other 12 years. She was picked to host a club demonstration with Woods in south Florida when he talked about new products from Nike Golf.

Tilghman was helped when Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent at IMG, said it was a non-issue and considered the matter “case closed.”

“Tiger and Kelly are friends, and Tiger has a great deal of respect for Kelly,” Steinberg said Tuesday night in a statement released by Golf Channel. “Regardless of the choice of words used, we know unequivocally that there was no ill-intent in her comments.”

That should be the end of it.

It’s not, of course:

Before her suspension was announced, Sharpton spoke earlier on CNN’s “Prime News” and continued to push for her firing, saying he wanted to meet with Golf Channel because the comments were “an insult to all blacks.”

“Lynching is not murder in general, it’s not assault in general,” Sharpton said. “It’s a specific racial term that this women should be held accountable for. What she said is racist. Whether she’s a racist … is immaterial. She’s a broadcaster. The channel has to be accountable to the public.”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Woods directly addressed Sharpton and his ilk and told them to bug off and pitch their circus tents somewhere else?

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