Paige Spiranac may have gotten her start on social media, but that doesn’t mean she agrees with everything that occurs on it. During an eye-opening press conference on Monday at the Omega Dubai Ladies Classic, the Instagram star opened up about her experience with cyberbullying and what can be done about it. Last year while playing on a sponsor’s exemption, Spiranac missed the cut at the same event and was skewered on the internet.
“It was really bad,” Spiranac said. “Right after, I took about three weeks off, just not looking at anything. But when you see the comments that people say, they are extremely cruel. They attack not only me but my parents, my family, my friends, and you know, they say I’m a disgrace to golf. It’s really hard and I still get those comments and I still deal with it every day.”
“Cyber bullying is a huge problem and no one ever discusses it” Spiranac continued. “It’s no longer funny. It’s not the cool thing to do to make fun of other people, and you need to be supportive and I think that’s really important.”
Now, she’s using the perspective she gained and is applying it as best as she can.
“It doesn’t matter how I play this week, it really doesn’t,” Spiranac said. “But the fact that I’m here and I’m sharing my story, hopefully can save someone’s life, I think that’s so much more important than if I make the cut or miss the cut.”
Longtime professional, Suzann Pettersen, shared her thoughts on the matter as well:
It’s people like Ms. Spiranac who should be revered for taking a stand against something much bigger than golf.
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