Euro Tour Chief Defends Sergio: Most of His US Friends Are 'Colored'

George O’Grady, the chief executive of the European Tour, clumsily tried to defend Sergio Garcia on Thursday by saying most of the Spaniard’s friends in the United States were “colored athletes.”

O’Grady was responding to Garcia’s comments on Tuesday night in which he said he would serve Woods “fried chicken” if he ever had the world’s top-ranked golfer and 14-time major champion over for dinner. 

“We know the connotation in the United States. We accept all races on the European Tour, we take it very strongly,” O’Grady said on Sky Sports. “Most of Sergio’s friends are coloured athletes in the United States and he is absolutely abject in his apology and we accepted it.”

O’Grady later apologized for his clumsy remarks. According to the Daily Mail, he said, in a statement, “I deeply regret using an inappropriate word in a live interview for Sky Sports for which I unreservedly apologize.”