On Friday, Ralph Lauren made a huge announcement when they said they were ending its sponsorship with Justin Thomas after he was heard muttering a homophobic slur to himself after missing a putt last week in Hawaii.
In the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions, he missed a 5-foot par putt on the fourth hole and responded by saying the homophobic slur under his breath. Unfortunately for him, a hot mic caught it and it was relayed on social media.
Ralph Lauren said it was “disheartened” by his language.
“We are disheartened by Mr. Thomas’s recent language, which is entirely inconsistent with our values,” the company said in a statement. “While we acknowledge that he has apologized and recognizes the severity of his words, he is a paid ambassador of our brand and his actions conflict with the inclusive culture that we strive to uphold.
“In reflecting on the responsibility we have to all of our stakeholders, we have decided to discontinue our sponsorship of Mr. Thomas at this time. As we make this decision, our hope is that Mr. Thomas does the hard and necessary work in order to partner with us again–truly examining this incident, learning, growing and ultimately using his platform to promote inclusion.”
Thomas apologized for using the slur.
“I screwed up,” Thomas told Golf Digest. “I have to be better. I will be better. I deeply apologize to everybody and anybody who was offended. It’s embarrassing. That’s not me and it’s inexcusable, there’s no excuse. I’m an adult and there’s no place for that. It doesn’t matter who you are, no one’s above that. I have no excuse.”
