Gather the lynch mob

There has been quite the uproar about comments made by golf announcer Kelly Tilghman jokingly saying Tiger Woods should be lynched--read about it here--

I think when most African-Americans that:

a) know the history of slavery
b) have heard the stories of violence and abuse against African-Americans, and
c) understand the discriminatory practices (past and present) against us

hear the word 'lynch', it evokes an immediate negative response. So yeah, when I read the title of a news article saying "Kelly Tilghman calls for Tiger Woods to be lynched" it definitely produced an "Are you freaking serious?!" reaction. But when I read what she said in context and watched the video, I'm not convinced that her comments were inherently racist.
The comment was ridiculously stupid, thoughtless, and inconsiderate, but I don't think it was malicious.
I think her intention was to express that since Tiger Woods is dominant in his sport the only way young golfers have a chance to excel is to get him out of the picture. Her word choice of lynch was horrible given Tiger is a black man, and the American history of lynching black people, but I get her point. She was trying to make a joke and it backfired. Heck, I could see myself making the same kind of joke (possibly with or without the use of the word lynch). She could have chosen another word and still made her point, but I don't think she made the connection in her mind.
I think it's important for African-Americans to remember that while the word lynch does have a painful history behind it, the word can and often is used without reference to Black history. On the flip side, I think it's important for non-Blacks to realize that the treatment of African-Americans in this country has produced some deep scars that will take a quite a while to heal.
Just my .02 cents.