A Paige turner
Golfer Paige Spiranac reveals she had death threats and was blackmailed — as she denied being a glamorous “gimmick.”
Spiranac, 24, has 1.2 million Instagram followers and believes she is treated unfairly for being a woman who dresses differently in a sport dominated by middle-aged men.
But that attention — plus all her videos and photos on Instagram — helped send Spiranac’s critics on social media into overdrive.
“I was harassed, my family was harassed. I was receiving death threats, people were invading my privacy, I was being blackmailed. This was going on while I was trying to play,” Spiranac told English newspaper The Guardian.
“When it comes to the golf industry, I know that people see me as a gimmick. I don’t think I am. If I was a guy and I had the same social following, I don’t think people would call it a gimmick.”
Spiranac lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is attending college at San Diego State.
“For people to say, ‘You only show some cleavage, that’s why you have what you have’ is unfair,” Spiranac said. “That’s the injustice that we face every day as women and I see it a lot in golf. It’s such a male-dominated sport, it has been around for so long and there are traditions. People like their traditions without change.
“When someone comes in wearing leggings instead of trousers, it is like the world is ending. I have always had a different fashion style. I always felt like I never belonged and it is tough because I am a good player.”