Tiger Woods was caught in a “prank” in which he was seen sliding a tampon into the hand of his golfing rival, Justin Thomas during the first round of the PGA Genesis Invitational today.
The incident was picked up by an eagle-eyed camera person who zoomed into the Tampax label exposed in Thomas’ hand– a smug Woods strolling beside him.
Thomas laughed, before dropping the tampon on the ground (because while you’re being a boring sexist, you may as well trash the planet too).
Naturally, social media shot into overdrive with many commentators quick to condemn the behaviour.
“Really, Tiger,” wrote USA Today columnist Christine Brennan.
“Woods’ message to Thomas was obvious. It has been the go-to line of silly, often insecure boys for generations: You play like a girl.”
Sky Sports’ Sarah Stirk criticised Woods’ behaviour, describing it as “crass” and “disappointing”.
“I’m a female working in sport. I’m passionate and love the game of golf. I think we’re all striving for equality and we’ve all seen massive inroads which everybody is doing when it comes to promoting women’s sport, media exposure and increase in participation levels,” Stirk said.
“We want women’s sport to be on a playing field with men and I think this incident was extremely disappointing. I think it was crass to be honest.”
Woods issued a hollow apology, which saw him miss the point entirely. (Not exactly surprising for a man who was caught cheating on his wife with up to 120 women).
“It was supposed to be all fun and games and obviously it hasn’t turned out that way,” Woods said.
“If I offended anybody, it was not the case, it was just friends having fun.
“If I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I’m sorry. It was not intended to be that way.
“It was just we play pranks on one another all the time and virally I think this did not come across that way, but between us it was — it’s different.”
Ah yes, friends having fun. Boys being boys. Blah, blah, blah. Aren’t we over this yet?
To be fair, it’s unlikely men like Tiger Woods will ever act differently. They will never see the bigger picture of why these small “games” are harmful. Woods has displayed an active disrespect for women throughout his lifetime. It’s ingrained in his character.
More bizarre than Tiger’s puerile joke however, are the thousands of people currently defending him.
Let’s be real, Woods isn’t a victim of “cancel culture”. This is just… unfunny. And sexist. And, dare I say, a bit sad.
And for anyone defending Woods, and minimising this act as just a funny joke between friends, you should know that you’re doing a massive disservice to the women and girls in your lives. You’re telling them that they will never be, in your mind, on a level playing field to you.
If you’re a woman defending Woods, you’re sending that same message to yourself as well.
Let’s aim for equality in sport. And at the very least, some genuinely funny gags on the green.