Golfer Faces Charges in Hawk Killing

[DogPoundPup]

Source: Associated Press

PGA Tour player Tripp Isenhour was charged with killing a hawk on purpose with a golf shot because it was making noise as he videotaped a TV show.

Isenhour was with a film crew for "Shoot Like A Pro" on Dec. 12 at the Grand Cypress Golf course. The 39-year-old player, whose real name is John Henry Isenhour III, was charged Wednesday with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 months in jail and $1,500 in fines.Isenhour apologized in a statement and said he was only trying to scare the hawk away.

According to court documents, Isenhour got upset when a red-shouldered hawk began making noise, forcing another take. He began hitting balls at the bird, then 300 yards away, but gave up. Isenhour started again when the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine indicated in a report.
Isenhour allegedly said "I'll get him now," and aimed for the hawk.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/03/06/sports/s101752S20.DTL

[Lautremont]

1. Birdie?

[petronius]

26. Eagle!

[tachyon]

2. My friend hit a bird with a golf ball by accident years ago in Florida

we felt terrible about it! It was a big white one they called it a herran I think... we couldn't believe what happened at first.

[DesertRat]

5. That would be awful

Randy Johnson accidentally hit a bird while pitching a few years ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzZh92YtaBs

Also, welcome to DU! :hi:

[gristy]

22. that is amazing!

[rocktivity]

41. The only thing I know about Randy Johnson

is that he is THE hardest-throwing pitcher in the big leagues. That bird couldn't have made a worse choice of who to get hit by. At least it was quick.

:headbang:
rocknation

[CONN]

23. simalar story...

Few years ago a college student joined us, on the 16th hole at Rutgers GC the students tee shot slammed into a goose. The other geese gather around while the hit goose flopped on the ground. It stopped flopping and the other gees walked away. The kid had tears streaming down his face and walked off the course. One of those rare, moving events in my life.

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

3. You've got to be one HELL of a good golfer

to kill a bird with a golf shot at 75 yards. I probably couldn't even hit an SUV at 75 yards.

[LiberalFighter]

4. If it was one attempt yes. But it was quite a few.

At first, when I heard about it I thought it was some ridiculous story.

[depakid]

10. I bet that's one shot he wish he'd missed....

[FreepFryer]

6. Sick fuck.

Yes, testosterone poisoning can make you act like a complete asshole, but this is a sick guy to have done this.

"About the sixth ball came very near the bird's head, and (Isenhour) was very excited that it was so close," Baine wrote.

A few shots later, witnesses said he hit the hawk. The bird, protected as a migratory species, fell to the ground bleeding from both nostrils.

"As soon as this happened, I was mortified and extremely upset and continue to be upset," Isenhour said in a statement issued through his management company, SFX Golf. "I want to let everyone know there was neither any malice nor deliberate intent whatsoever to hit or harm the hawk. I was trying to simply scare it into flying away."
Isenhour said his family has adopted three cats from a local shelter.

"I am an animal lover," he said. "We ask that everyone accept my sincerest apology, and please be respectful of my family's privacy."
Humane Society executive vice president Michael Markarian said Isenhour should face charges.

[selador]

9. i've always found the term "testosterone poisoning"

disturbing, and similar comments of that ilk

i know people wouldn't accept criticism of a woman doing X as "estrogen poisoning", and i feel the same way about "testosterone poisoning" in reference to men.

certainly, testosterone has profound effects upon behavior, but so does estrogen. referencing the latter and behavior is considered sexist, but not the former.

it doesn't offend me personally, i just detest double standards.

i also know there are many media myths about testosterone fueled by the mainstream media, and not supported by scientific data.

[FreepFryer]

13. I use it because it's testosterone, not estrogen, that is associated both with aggression and sport.

Not to refer to the gender or sex of the attacker. Certainly no offense intended.

[nightrain]

14. I second your comment...

[Hobarticus]

45. "Please be respectful of my family's privacy"...I love this line

Only gets used when forcing oneself into the spotlight doesn't go as planned.

[Gman]

7. I once killed a duck trying to hit a 5-wood off of hard pan dirt

The duck was about 30 yards in front of me which should have been plenty of room to get the ball up and well over the duck's head. It was a good clean shot, but being hit off the hard pan (packed dirt, no grass), the ball never got above temple high on the duck. The ball hit the poor creature square in the side of the head and he dropped straight down. I felt absolutely horrible. There was nothing I could do either. He was killed instantly. what's worse, when I played the next hole that runs next to the dead duck hole, 3 hens were just standing around him and looking at him. Like they were waiting for him to get up. I felt even worse now and my friends were calling me things like duck "widow maker". This was about 20 years ago now.

To this day every time I play that hole the ducks there quack at me and no one else.

[LibertyLover]

11. Well, at least they only quack and don't chant "Doom on you,

doom on you." while coming towards you.:) Seriously, I'm sorry that happened to you. It sounds like a freak accident. This hawk incident however sounds deliberate - I hope that the golfer in question is fined and penalized by the tour.

[THUNDER HANDS]

12. LOL

:rofl:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

20. My boys still call me 'bird killer'...

15 years ago, we got to the lake after a long drive to find a wren wedged head-first into the grill of the car. :(

[ben_meyers]

8. Dave Winfield & the Sea Gull Incident

While warming up at the bottom of the fifth inning in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays in August 1983, New York Yankees left fielder Dave Winfield threw a ball - and hit a sea gull which was waddling along near the Yankees dugout. His feat was met with a chorus of boos from Toronto fans.
Despite protesting his innocence, Winfield was arrested, charged with "willfully causing unnecessary cruelty to animals," and required to post a $500 bond before leaving Canada.

Among his supporters was Yankees manager Billy Martin. "They say Winfield hit that bird on purpose," he remarked. "They wouldn't say that if they saw some of the throws he's been making all year!"

http://anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=18302

[appleannie1]

15. My son-in-law hooked a goose that came

in for a landing as he cast a lure. He tried to catch it to cut the line off it's leg and take the hook out but it broke the line and took off. He felt horrible.

[rocktivity]

16. Unlike with Dave Winfield, he exhibited criminal intent

In Canada, pro baseball outfielder Dave Winfield tossed a ball he'd been practicing with toward the infield. It struck and killed a bird. Perhaps it was undiplomatic of Winfield to take off his baseball cap and put it over his heart, but that was no reason for him to be criminally charged with animal cruelty.

Enraged by the implication that he decided to harm the bird, Winfield argued that he had lobbed that baseball toward the infield UNDERHANDEDLY, not thrown it OVERHAND, and it struck the bird after it bounced once. Indeed, throwing practice balls the infield underhandedly was standard procedure precisely BECAUSE the velocity of an overhand throw could injure someone! The court agreed it had been an accident, and Winfield made a donation to a Canadian wildlife foundation.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Alcibiades]

19. Underhand is good

I knocked out my team's first baseman's two front teeth throwing practice balls around the bases. He completely wasn't looking when I threw from second, and I called out his name just in time for him to turn his head and hit him in the mouth.

Wish I'd thought of throwing underhand. That was seventh grade--that kid has had to have caps his whole life.

[minnesota_liberal]

17. He'll be his prison's top golfer

Isenhour's "only trying to scare it" excuse is complete bullshit. Considering the lack of noise made by a golf ball, the only way it would "scare" a bird is by hitting it. Hitting a bird with a golf ball would either kill or fatally wound the animal. Nice try. Thanks for playing. See you in 14 months. Next case.

[Aviation Pro]

18. Most male pro-golfers, with a couple of notable exceptions....

...are pasty faced white men who are even below NASCAR drivers in terms of relative worth. The very definition of oxygen thieves, these people earn a living by hitting a dimpled ball with a stick and chasing it around rich Republican enclaves. No wonder they are considered heroes by the fat bags of shit that idolize them and follow them around hoping to sniff their fetid flatulence.

[Traditional Liberal]

21. here's a dollar, go buy a clue

Yea, those golf pros are out there sponsoring dogfighting operations, committing assault, armed robbery, spousal abuse, abusing drugs, and getting DUI'd every season aren't they? They are especially known for their gang affiliations and use of performance-enhancing drugs, and then lying to Congress about it.

And oh, go look up how much money the pro golfers, the PGA Tour, and the various tournament sponsors finance charities in the US and around the world, compared to the rest of the sports world COMBINED.

[Aviation Pro]

27. So does Amway....

...big fucking deal. Oh, did I add that most of them are racist crackers, and if you need any proof of that, before Woods began dominating the untalented masses he may have been allowed to caddy at the Masters. I stand by my statement.

[ProfessorGAC]

32. Then You're Standing By A False Assertion

So, be wrong! If you're ok with being wrong, i'm ok with it.
The Professor

[Forrest Greene]

29. Golf:

"A good walk, spoiled."

-- Mark Twain

[minnesota_liberal]

40. The only thing worse than TV...

is golf on TV.

- Malcolm of "Malcolm in the Middle"

[scarface2004]

24. most?!?!

you mean all!!!! they re dimwitted brainwashed right wing assholes!

[ProfessorGAC]

31. I'm Not

So, that would be NOT all. I play competitively, i'm pretty good at it, and at 51, with MS, it's not like i could play basketball or run a marathon.
The Professor

[Neshanic]

30. That is the best description of golfers I have seen, and the most accurate.

[hughee99]

44. Do you paint houses?

With your broad brush, you could finish a house in 10 minutes. You managed to denigrate all pro golfers (with a couple of un-noted notable exceptions), golf fans, and Nascar drivers but the only one who really came off looking bad from these comments is you. Nice work. :thumbsup:

[lonestarnot]

25. What a stupid fucker.

He'll get a $50.00 fine, and a spanking.

[Forrest Greene]

28. Another Scumbag

...who ought to be laid in wait for.

(And spoken to politely, of course, about his values.)

[Mendocino]

33. 300 yards away!

Almost a fifth of a mile and the noise is bothering him? During the taping of a show and not a tournament, a non pressure situation and where money is not on the line. Then when the hawk is closer, he continues to fire balls at it (the article doesn't state if the bird was still making noise, but that's beside the point). A pro golfer is accurate enough to put a ball through an open window. To me it seems obvious that he wasn't going to stop until he hit it.

Throw the book at him. If it were up to me: a month in jail, maximum fine, $10000 contribution to HSUS and 500 hundred hours community service at a wildlife rehabilitation facility.

[northzax]

38. there is a good reason he's a journeyman

The PGA tour is the ultimate meritocracy, there are no managers of owners to play favourites, it doesn't matter if anyone likes you, all that matters is if you can get the ball in the hole in fewer strokes. Below about the top five or six guys (maybe even except just for tiger) the hundred or so middle-range pros are all rougly the same skill wise, it is purely mental. This sort of behavior is why Trip is in the 80-100 range, instead of the 20-30 range. Asshole.

[dbackjon]

34. What a fucking asshole

He needs the maximum - 14 months in jail.


And then, get tied to a tree, while Tiger Woods hits shots at him...

[douglas9]

35. Why?

Can anyone enlighten me as to why animal cruelty stories are invaribly moved from "news" to various dicussion boards by the moderators? Have read the posting rules but can not seem to find the answer there. Perhaps "animal cruelty" stories fall under "frivolous"? This is by no stretch of the imagination a sports "discussion" topic. TIA.

[Upton]

36. What a jerk

I know they won't, but he ought to be thrown in jail.

[Awsi Dooger]

37. He came across horribly on Golf Central tonight

Hardly seemed sincere, and he placed more emphasis on how he gave the hawk a decent burial than killing it in the first place.

It was an incompetent interview by Kraig Kamm. He never tried to pin Isenhour down to describe what happened, and did not mention the, "I'll get him now," quote.

If this happened on mid December, why did Isenhour wait until now, a day after being charged, to come forward? If he were truly regretful it seems to me we would have heard about this months ago.

I've played golf for 40 years and it's hardly uncommon for guys to take potshots at the caged golf ball retrieval cart on driving ranges. I've seen people pull out 1 or 2 irons, when 1 or 2 irons were still in vogue. Golfers seldom get to shoot at a moving or unusual target. As soon as I heard this story I was certain the apology was BS, that the episode was merely an extension of the idiotic practice on driving ranges. It's generally the most talented and cockiest guys who try that sort of thing, desperate to show off.

I wonder if the camera crew filmed the target practice? I'd guess a tape existed at one point but probably was destroyed. Let's hope several among the 15 in attendance are gutsy enough to come forward with a full description.

[joeybee12]

39. Can this piece of shit bunk with MIchale Vick? All those with him

seem to be saying it was intentional...what a major asshole.

[Auggie]

42. I say we tee up his balls and swing away

[joeybee12]

43. Good idea...EXCEPT...

...the ass probably doesn't have any.