Thomas to go through training program after anti-gay slur
Justin Thomas intends to go through an individual training program to “become a better person” after he was picked up uttering a homophobic slur under his breath when he missed a putt at the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this month.
Clothing brand Ralph Lauren ended its long-time sponsorship with Thomas following the incident two weeks ago, which the No. 3ranked American golfer described as “humiliating and embarrassing and it’s not me.”
Thomas has spoken to his other sponsors — Titleist, FootJoy and global bank Citi are among those listed on his official website — and hopes they will stand by him as he looks to educate himself and restore his reputation.
“It’s not a word I use,” Thomas said Wednesday, referring to the slur he blurted out when missing a 5-foot par putt on the fourth hole of the Kapalua Plantation Course, “but for some reason it was in there and that’s what I’m trying to figure out — why it was in there.
“And like I said, it’s going to be part of this process and training program, whatever I need to do, not only to prove to myself but to prove to my sponsors and prove to the people who don’t know who I am that that is indeed not the person I am.”
Pushed on the training program he intends to follow, Thomas said he would be keeping it “at a personal level.”
“Obviously people are going to be a part of that process,” he said. “But what I’m doing I’d like to keep internally and just go through the appropriate steps to get where I need to be and want to be, so people understand that’s not the person I am, the character I like to portray.”