Justin Thomas said Wednesday he was « upset » but respected Ralph Lauren’s decision to ditch him as a brand ambassador after Thomas used a homophobic slur at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
« They had to do what they had to do, « Thomas told reporters on Wednesday at the HSBC European Tour Championship in Abu Dhabi. “You’re a huge global brand and I have to respect your choice. I was not disappointed because I put her in a terrible position. I was just more angry. I had a great relationship with a lot of people there and, like I said, we would have had the opportunity to do this together. I fully respect your decision and I assume it will. «
Thomas said he intended to do a » training program « but didn’t offer details and said he wanted to keep it on a » personal level « .
» Obviously, people are becoming part of this Process, « he said. “But what I do I want to keep internal and just go through the appropriate steps to get to where I need and want to be, so people understand that this is not who I am, the character I am like to portray. «
The Ralph Lauren Corporation announced on Friday evening that it » has decided to end our sponsorship of Justin Thomas « .
Thomas said he has contacted his other sponsors (Titleist, FootJoy and Citi Bank are among those listed on their website) and that “they understand that this is an opportunity for me to learn, grow, become a better person and just as you hope I know it will make me a better person Man and become a better person and they will somehow help me with that. “
Thomas muttered the homophobic bow to himself after missing a short putt in the third round in Kapalua. He apologized after the round and then again after the last round, saying that he had « clearly screwed up » and made a « terrible, terrible shout of judgment ». A few days later, Ralph Lauren announced that his relationship with Thomas was ending, saying his language was “incompatible with our values.” « I am clearly not proud of what I said. It is. » humiliating. It’s embarrassing. I’m not. It’s not a word I use, but for some reason it was in there, « said Thomas. » And that’s exactly what I’m trying to find out why it was in there. It’s going to be part of that process and training program or whatever I have to do, not just to prove myself but to prove to my sponsors and those people who don’t know who I am that in fact it doesn’t is who I am. «
Rory McIlroy, one of Thomas’ closest friends on the PGA Tour, said Thomas has » reacted really, really well « over the past few weeks.
» I think he realized he was Made a big mistake when he was brought to him in Hawaii last week and he’s totally resigned to it, « said McIlroy. » He said he screwed it up; he’s going to try to get better. Justin is True to his word. He will be.
« I got to know Justin really well and he’s as good as they come. He has a lot of integrity, a lot of character. Of course, what he said doesn’t make it any better, but I think it’s difficult these days because it looks like you can’t go wrong. Any mistake is skipped.
« Look, he made a mistake. He did it and will be better because of it. He may not be so ignorant of things that offend people, I think. Obviously what he said was offensive to a large section of the population, but he will do better. He will learn and he will move on and he will be as good a golfer as ever and it will likely make him a better person than he already is, which is difficult because he is already a great guy. ”
BY Rex Hoggard
FROM Golf Channel Digital
BY Brentley Romine
Ralph Lauren Corporation announced Friday night that it « has decided to end our sponsorship of Justin Thomas ».
Justin Thomas admitted after finishing third in the Sentry TOC that his thoughts are still on the Words from Saturday were.
Justin Thomas apologized for using a homophobic bow in the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Saturday.
Ref: https://www.golfchannel.com
