Renowned golfer Phil Mickelson apologized on Tuesday following inappropriate comments he made about the possibility of a new golf circuit in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, he lost a long-time sponsor.
In a letter posted to his Twitter account, Mickelson “apologizes for his choice of words,” but adds that he believed his remarks were made in confidence and not meant to be made public.
KPMG was therefore the first company to dissociate itself from the 51-year-old man.
“I have made several mistakes in my life and several have been shared with the public. My intentions were never to hurt anyone and I apologize to anyone this may have negatively impacted. This process has always been about offering my support to the players and the sport and I appreciate everyone who has given me the benefit of the doubt.”
In an interview conducted in November, but whose remarks were only revealed Thursday, with journalist Alan Shipnuck, of the website The Fire Pit Collective, which also writes the biography of “Lefty”, Mickelson made controversial remarks concerning the owners of the Saudi circuit, saying they are “dangerous sons of bitches to get involved with”.
“We know they killed [le journaliste du Washington Post Jamal] Khashoggi and that they have a terrible human rights record. They execute people for being gay, Mickelson said at the time. Knowing all this, why am I considering joining them anyway? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape the way the PGA is done.”
Mickelson never hid when it was time to criticize the PGA on certain subjects, he who wants to see the conditions of the players improve.
“The world of golf is in desperate need of change and real change is often preceded by periods of disruption,” Mickelson added in his letter. I always knew that I would face criticism by exploring new avenues. I still chose to put myself in the forefront to inspire change and receive criticism publicly in order to work behind the spotlight.
Mickelson concluded by saying he needed a break and would walk away to work on himself.