We're barely into 2008 and we've already had another Imus-like episode on the airwaves.

Recently, during the Golf Channel's broadcast of the Mercedes-Benz Championship tournament, color analyst Nick Faldo and anchor Kelly Tilghman were discussing the difficulty young golfers would have competing with Tiger Woods this season. Faldo jokingly said that the youngsters should "gang up for a while" on Tiger, to which Tilghman responded, "Lynch him in a back alley."

Tilghman was trying to add humor to Faldo's comments, but no one was laughing at the end of the day. Now Tilghman has the infamous distinction as a female sports broadcaster to be added into the historical pantheon of male commentators who have put their foot in their mouths on live TV.

We can go back in the day to 1988 when Jimmy the Greek Snyder got the ax from CBS for saying black athletes were genetically gifted due to the slave owner breeding his big woman so she would have "a big black kid." Or we can point more recently to Rush Limbaugh's short-lived stint on ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" pregame show for his disparaging remarks about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Now in some fairness to Tilghman, she does not have a reputation for making racy comments, and since she covers what many still view as a genteel sport, there is no way she could say outlandish things and keep her job. Also, she is a friend of Woods, having known him for a little over a decade, and she immediately apologized to him and to viewers for her offensive gaffe. Tilghman's remorse, however, was not good enough for the Rev. Al Sharpton, who as in the case of Imus, has demanded that Tilghman be fired. Woods has dismissed the incident as a non-issue.

Now after I got over my "here we go again" moment, I had somewhat of a different take on this story since I follow the sports media very closely. I began to think about the double standard I have noticed in sports when blacks make racist comments about whites. Now don't get me wrong. I was offended by Tilghman's remarks and believe that she should be punished for what she said. I think the Golf Channel's actions in this case were appropriate. Hopefully, during her time off she will reflect on how lynching is still very much in the nation's psyche. We've had Jena Six and the noose incident last year at Columbia University's Teachers College.

However, unlike Tilghman, some black sports journalists have also used offensive language when talking about whites, but have not received equal punishment for their blunders on race . Take Michael Irvin's comments two years ago that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's scrambling abilities were the result of black ancestry. Irvin too said he was joking. ESPN reprimanded him, but let him continue with his television appearances. Hundreds of email posts were calling for Irvin's head, as well as citing the obvious: Sharpton was not going on the defensive for Romo.

Another example that caught my attention last year was CBS Sportsline columnist Mike Freeman's Nov. 26 piece in which he said the possibility of the BCS championship game could feature hicks versus hee-haws if Missouri played West Virginia. Freeman, who is black, did not stop there. He went on to say: The West Virginia mascot is the Mountaineer. He carries a rifle and wears a coonskin hat. Why not go for the stereotype trifecta, Mountaineer dude, and date your sister?

Again, as in the case of Irvin, there were hundreds of posts demanding CBS Sports.com fire Freeman, but no action was taken and his column appeared in its regular spot the following week. If Freeman was white and had written such distasteful copy about black athletes, Sharpton would have trotted onto the scene as soon as the column posted.

There is no difference between the slip-ups of Tilghman, Irvin, and Freeman. All said they were joking, but Tilghman is the only one who was really disciplined, although ESPN did part with Irvin last year. The double standard in the sports media is very much like the N-word. Certain ones can say it and certain ones can't. This needs to change if we are really serious about eradicating racist language overall, not just in the broadcasting booth.