American golfer Tiger Woods has plunged into a heated controversy after giving a tampon to his playing partner and friend Justin Thomas in the middle of a Genesis Invitational tournament match. An image of the golf legend discreetly handing Thomas a tampax during the event that will serve as his return to the PGA Tournament has gone viral on social media and drawn criticism from Woods.
The photo shows the 47-year-old golfer handing Thomas a hygiene kit just after he overtakes him on the ninth hole. Woods’ partner realized what was happening and quickly threw him on the grass, and the Tiger, laughing, hugged him on the way to the hole. What may have been a small joke between friends ended up causing an avalanche of rejection and was seen by many as a “sexist joke”.
Criticism of Tiger Woods
Such is the case with USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, who called the episode “immature”. “True, Tiger,” he wrote. “Woods’ message to Thomas was clear. For generations, this phrase has been the favorite phrase of stupid and often insecure boys: “You play like a girl,” Brennan added.
For their part, users of the social network Twitter also supported this fact and criticized the American golfer. “They might call me ‘offended’ or something, but giving another golfer a tampon is not funny,” the netizen said.
“Listen, this is funny because feminine hygiene products are inherently castrated, so when a man forces another man to touch a tampon, he says: “I am bigger and better than you, because SAD, I forced you to touch it!” Tampax!” lawyer Anne Olivarius tweeted.
“If Tiger spent three months of the year bleeding and battling menstrual cramps, she would make an entire documentary about how champions overcome insurmountable obstacles,” wrote Alex McDaniel, Editor-in-Chief of USA Today For The Win.
The CNN news network attempted to contact Excel Sports Management, the representation company that manages both players, for comment on the dispute, but received no response.
Tiger Woods finished the first round at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, California with a score of 2 under 69, five behind the leader.
The 15-time Grand Slam winner was reluctant to talk about the controversy and limited himself to saying “it was a great round (…), we pricked (Thomas) each other, cheered each other on and told stories.”
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Source: La Opinion
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