The man saga that was the Robert Allenby v. Anthony Kim Celebrity Deathmatch officially ended, not by knockout, submission, reality show, but, by a crafted public relations statement on behalf of the PGA Tour communications department.
PGA TOUR Executive Vice President & Chief of Operations Rick George:
“Robert Allenby and Anthony Kim were both part of a fantastic week at The Presidents Cup in San Francisco, representing the U.S. and International Teams, respectively, with utmost professionalism, competitive spirit and good sportsmanship. Concerning the reports published after the fact with unfortunate comments attributed to Robert regarding Anthony, we understand that both players have since spoken and have put the incident behind them. We wish them both the best as they play out the remainder of their 2009 schedules.”
Robert Allenby:
“While I feel like the comments published were taken out of context, I did call Anthony to apologize for anything that I said or inferred that could possibly portray Anthony as anything less than a professional of the highest caliber. He was a key member of the U.S. Team last week and a formidable opponent on Sunday when we faced each other in singles competition. I am glad we had the chance to speak and clear the air.”
Anthony Kim:
“Robert and I have spoken about the comments he made after the final day of competition, and I’ve accepted his apology. We are both moving on, and I don’t have anything more to say about the issue. I had a great experience at my first Presidents Cup and look forward to competing in many more international team competitions for my country.”
While I'm at the front line in appreciating when public relations should settle disputes or, on the positive, advance a cause or organization, this doesn't seem satisfactory to me. Allenby still needs to apologize through the media in a direct interview with an American publication.
Also, not that Kim needed to exacerbate the situation, but the world would have loved a strong statement. Although the "he may need to practice a little bit more" statement was superb, a "that is not true, I just drummed him and he's just whining through the media" would have been amazing.
Geoff Shackelford
PGA TOUR Executive Vice President & Chief of Operations Rick George:“Robert Allenby and Anthony Kim were both part of a fantastic week at The Presidents Cup in San Francisco, representing the U.S. and International Teams, respectively, with utmost professionalism, competitive spirit and good sportsmanship. Concerning the reports published after the fact with unfortunate comments attributed to Robert regarding Anthony, we understand that both players have since spoken and have put the incident behind them. We wish them both the best as they play out the remainder of their 2009 schedules.”
Robert Allenby:
“While I feel like the comments published were taken out of context, I did call Anthony to apologize for anything that I said or inferred that could possibly portray Anthony as anything less than a professional of the highest caliber. He was a key member of the U.S. Team last week and a formidable opponent on Sunday when we faced each other in singles competition. I am glad we had the chance to speak and clear the air.”
Anthony Kim:
“Robert and I have spoken about the comments he made after the final day of competition, and I’ve accepted his apology. We are both moving on, and I don’t have anything more to say about the issue. I had a great experience at my first Presidents Cup and look forward to competing in many more international team competitions for my country.”
While I'm at the front line in appreciating when public relations should settle disputes or, on the positive, advance a cause or organization, this doesn't seem satisfactory to me. Allenby still needs to apologize through the media in a direct interview with an American publication.
Also, not that Kim needed to exacerbate the situation, but the world would have loved a strong statement. Although the "he may need to practice a little bit more" statement was superb, a "that is not true, I just drummed him and he's just whining through the media" would have been amazing.
Geoff Shackelford
Photo(s): Anthony Kim
2 comments:
Well I am satisfied that Robert has apologized to AK. . . I always think the old "man to man" is best. . . But, if Robert were to give a "face to face" interview with an American media giant - how about the proprietor of this site doing it?
Allenby seems like the type of guy who hits the golf ball well and thinks the game should not involve putting. . . Kind of like Ben Hogan said after his putting went South. . . Too bad Robert, Kim will almost always whip your skinny behind because he can putt - and you can't!
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