No one could’ve predicted things escalating quite this far.
In the wake of one of the most impressive Ryder Cup performances in the history of the competition, the topic de jour for some time will be the abuse endured by McIlroy and rest of the European team. Rightfully so.
For anybody who pays attention to sports, you know New York sports fans can very easily cross the line to being quite obnoxious—especially when their team is losing. Just ask Chipper Jones, who was Public Enemy No. 1 for quite some time as a star of the Atlanta Braves, which competed against the New York Yankees in the World Series in 1996 and 1999, and against the New York Mets for every season of his career.
Jones, the Hall of Fame third baseman, chimed in on social media in the wake of the outrage over the video of McIlroy’s wife going viral.
In the video Rory appears to be wiping her hat off & asking if she’s okay, then moves further away from the USA fans.
Another tough look for the fans today if true.
Some commenters took issue with Jones’ tweet, pointing out that he seemingly didn’t condemn the behavior of the fans at Bethpage Black. Jones wrote back to one of these replies, saying he did “call out” the poor behavior from the fans. But he did double down on the fact that he wouldn’t have allowed his wife or kids to attend the games.
That’s an unfortunate reality, and also something that you wouldn’t expect to be the case in golf. Our game is born out of respect and etiquette, and Ryder Cup players’ wives and girlfriends are a big part of the week—attending the gala in the lead-up to the event. And the WAGs can often be seen following a lot of the matches in the crowds.
Should the WAGs have watched some of the action from the clubhouse at Bethpage Black instead of being out with their husbands on the course? Hindsight is 20-20, but we’re not sure anybody could’ve expected things to escalate to a degree to where family members would be in physical danger for following the matches.
But this week really took things to new levels. If the Ryder Cup ever returns to New York, we might expect the family members of European competitors to tread lightly, and perhaps, take Jones’ advice to heart.
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