Behold the power of social media.
In a move rarely seen on the PGA Tour, two primary sponsors of 11-year veteran Scott Piercy — Titleist and J.Lindeberg — have severed ties with the four-time winner in response to two posts Piercy published to his Instagram account earlier this week.
Piercy, who is competing this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the first time since February’s Genesis Invitational, posted a “story” of a homophobic meme at the center of which was former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.
PGA Tour golfer Scott Piercy apologized for a homophobic message on Instagram directed at Pete Buttigieg.https://t.co/U5zQjk5GF0
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) March 4, 2020
He also posted a reference to the far-right conspiracy theory group “QAnon,” which “accuses the United States government of orchestrating a massive criminal enterprise,” according to Golf.com.
The backlash of the post came quickly, and Piercy removed the message, posting an apology shortly thereafter.
“Whenever I post, my intent is NEVER to offend,” Piercy wrote. “I want to apologize if any of my recent story posts have been offensive. I will do better!”
The apology wasn’t enough to keep two of Piecy’s highest-profile sponsors from jumping ship.
“As a global lifestyle brand, we strive to support and show our love and compassion for all demographics around the world,” J.Lindeberg said in an emailed statement to Golf.com. “When we choose our ambassadors, we choose individuals we know will represent us well on and off the golf course. The claims from Scott Piercy were unacceptable and far from our views and beliefs. We have since terminated our contract with Mr. Piercy.
“We, J.Lindeberg, as a company do not stand by the statements made by Piercy and we want to make sure our customers, employees, and other ambassadors know we support all communities and have no room for hate or discrimination in our company.”
Confirmation from @Titleist that it cut ties with Scott Piercy on Tuesday. Good to see companies hold those who represent them accountable.
— Mike Johnson (@EMichaelGW) March 5, 2020
Acushnet, the parent company of Titleist and Footjoy, also confirmed with various media outlets that they were cutting ties with Piercy.
Piercy is currently ranked 94th in the world and 72nd in the FedEx Cup.
