Tiger Woods Tampon Incident: Women Around the World Call out Golfer for Sexist Gesture

tiger woods crouching with his hands on his head. Wearing a blue shirt and khakis.
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Last weekend, Tiger Woods was involved in another controversial episode as he was pictured handing fellow golfer, Justin Thomas, a tampon after he hurt the ball further than Thomas. The “joke” here was that Justin Thomas must be a girl because he couldn’t hit the ball as far as Woods. And as that means you are at a disadvantage when playing golf, being a girl is an insult. 

Understandably, this display of casual sexism from Woods, whose career has been full of incidents on and off the golf course, didn’t go down well with viewers across the world. Maybe 10-15 years ago, he would have gotten away with it but thankfully times have changed and he was rightfully called out. 

The 15-time major champion is one of the most recognized athletes on the planet, so his actions are important, especially as he is a role model for so many young children. As such, it didn’t take long for plenty of famous women and men, to come out and criticize his behavior. Let’s take a look at some of the most impactful quotes in relation to the incident. 

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‘Woods has Never Been a Leader’

Perhaps the most damning quote came from Michael Johnson, the former American sprinter and world record holder. Taking to Twitter, Johnson didn’t hold back in his criticism of the golfer. He said:

“This is Tiger. Never been a leader and he’s Teflon. Still heralded after all the mistakes so he’s learned nothing. Media focus always on miraculous recovery. Never why the need for recovery.”

By labeling Woods as ‘teflon’, Johnson is effectively saying that no matter what Woods does, he will be immune from criticism from the majority of people due to his sporting performances. Johnson also referred to Woods’ previous controversies – these include drunk driving offences and a number of cheating allegations. 

Some of the biggest names in Women’s sports were also quick to condemn Woods’ behavior. The England Women’s football team head coach, Sarina Wiegman said:

“It is very inappropriate, and I think he has realized that too. He is such a big role model and he can have a positive impact on society. He should be conscious of that at all times.”

Meanwhile, Manchester City defender Alex Greenwood said:

“He is a massive role model within the sport and if he looks back at it, he will be really disappointed with what he did and I am sure he will apologize for it.”

There was also backlash from Alex McDaniel, the managing editor of USA Todays For The Win. She tweeted:

“If tiger spent three months a year bleeding and coping with period pain, they’d make a whole-ass documentary about how champions overcome insurmountable obstacles.”

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The apology 

As Alex Greenwood predicted, Woods did issue an apology for his actions over the weekend. Speaking after the Genesis Invitational, an event he was hosting, the 47-year-old said:

“It was supposed to be all fun and games and obviously it hasn’t turned out that way. If I offended anybody in any way, shape, or form, I’m sorry. It was not intended to be that way. 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 different.”

While any apology that starts with “If I offended anyone” isn’t particularly meaningful, we guess it’s better than nothing. 

This article is inspired by the internet and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Motherhood Life Balance.

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Image Credit: Depositphotos – Thousandwords