LISTEN: Tony Finau and Others Speak Out on Latest Protests

Caught in the excitement of getting back to golf this week, many fans are looking forward to a distraction from all of the events going on in the world today. But some PGA TOUR professionals have decided these are topics that they can’t stay silent on.

By now, all of the country knows the story of what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis. Protests and demonstrations have broken out around the country and everyone wants to share their thoughts and experiences related to the event. The PGA TOUR has already taken steps to honor Floyd, with all tee times this week starting at 8:46 a.m. to represent the 8 minutes and 46 seconds that an officer restrained Floyd by putting his knee on Floyd’s neck.

Players are taking it a step further, however, voicing their opinions and sharing stories of their own interactions with officers. Tony Finau is the most recent to break his silence.

On Instagram, Finau chronicled a story of how he was arrested by officers in 2014 and slammed against the car simply because the driver had a warrant out for his arrest for having unpaid tickets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Tony Finau (@tonyfinaugolf) on Jun 9, 2020 at 7:45pm PDT

“Within seconds my face was slammed up against the passenger door, and I was in handcuffs. Shortly after that, I was in the back of [the police] car,” Finau explains. “To try to describe the feeling of injustice, unfairness at this time, and try to portray that to those who have never been treated this way, it’s a very inhumane feeling and wrong on all levels. And it’s a criminal act for law enforcement to treat anyone this way but especially those of color.”

Finau is far from the only player to come out and speak on this issue. Tiger Woods also released statements on social media supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Both of their statements were soft compared to Harold Varner III, however, who came out to say there are “tons of racists on the PGA TOUR.” It’s only a matter of time until more players come out and speak up on this issue.

There is a lot of of beauty and love in this world. I pray for equality & social justice as we all so desperately deserve that in this day and age. I pray for humanity even more because regardless of color, WE need each other to make that change. Stay safe. Love you guys ✊🏿✊🏽✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/LrFEff94IF

— Harold Varner III (@HV3_Golf) June 1, 2020

As many PGA TOUR pros start to make their own voices heard, we may just want to listen and see what we can do to help make our country and the game of golf, a better place.