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The president of the PGA of America is under fire after a disastrous interview in which he appeared to downplay the appalling abuse directed at Rory McIlroy.
While Team Europe successfully held off a late surge to conquer Team America in the Ryder Cup, Rory McIlroy and his family were subjected to horrendous chants from the audience.
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Credit: BBC
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Credit: PA
The Northern Irish golfer was subjected to homophobic slurs and had objects thrown at him byrowdy fans on Saturday.
In a startling BBC interview, Don Rea seemed to trivialize the gravity of the abuse.
He even implied that the European fans at Bethpage Black faced no worse treatment than when Team USA played in Marco Simone in 2023.
Prior to the singles matches on Sunday, he remarked: “I haven’t heard some of that. I’m sure it’s happened. It happened when we were over in Rome, and Rory understands.
“I thought he handled the press conference yesterday remarkably, but incidents like this are bound to occur.
“I don’t know exactly what was said, but I do recognize that golf is a positive influence.”
Rea further claimed that Team USA encountered similar crowd reactions due to their early struggles in the Ryder Cup.
He commented: “When our American players have to deal with the crowd, it can distract them from their game.
“Thus, our message today to everyone present is: cheer for the Americans as energetically as possible, as that consistently aids their performance.
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“Keep them away from crowd management and let them focus on their game.
“We advise fans that booing does not affect performance; it typically boosts it.”
Online responses included one fan stating: “Jesus wept. What hope do we have when the leadership reacts in this manner?
“Don Rea, the president of the PGA of America, resorting to ignorance and distraction in response to fans hurling homophobic slurs and more at Rory McIlroy and his Ryder Cup teammates.”
Another stated: “How oblivious can they be? It’s simply pathetic.”
A third commenter said: “He should step down over this entire affair. An absolute fool.”
Another added: “That’s appalling.”
American actress and comedian Heather McMahan stepped down from her role as the MC of the first tee after apparently encouraging crowd chants of “f*** you Rory.”
