Here in Washington, we’re very familiar with “Kinsley gaffes,” which are truthful statements told accidentally, usually by a politician.
Of course, politicians aren’t the only ones who commit Kinsley gaffes, and the world of sports has just supplied a rather hilarious example. Matt Every, a golfer who was suspended by the PGA in 2010, stormed to the lead after two rounds of the Sony Open in Hawaii this past weekend. After his round was over, Every sat for an interview with the Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman. No stranger to gaffes herself, Tilghman was reaching for a way to ask Every about his 2010 arrest for marijuana possession.
“But then, the word ‘lost’ might also be a fitting word to describe the state of your mind two years ago when you were arrested on drug charges and suspended from the PGA Tour,” Tilghman said. “Take us back and tell us what it was like?”
Every’s answer, which you can watch here, wasn’t exactly a canned act of contrition:
I just got three months off. It was just golf. I didn’t think I did anything wrong. I’m the same person, I have the same friends. I don’t think it’s that big a deal, what I got in trouble for.
Am I the only one who heard the jaw of Every’s agent hit the floor in the background? I guess we can forget about any new endorsement contracts for a while.
Later on, ESPN’s Michael Collins grabbed Every to give him a chance to “revise and extend” his remarks, but it’s safe to say this interview hasn’t drawn nearly as much attention as the first. In the end, I’m guessing there’s some serious media training in Mr. Every’s future.
Eric McErlain blogs at Off Wing Opinion, a Forbes “Best of the Web” winner. In 2006 he wrote a “bloggers bill of rights” to help integrate bloggers into the Washington Capitals’ press box. Eric has also written for Deadspin, NBC Sports and the Sporting News, and covers sports television for The TV News. Follow Eric on Twitter.
