‘That Isn’t Cool’: Rory McIlroy Slams Disrespectful Fans

Last year, there was a lot of talk from PGA TOUR pros about how disrespectful and rude that some fans have begun to act at golf tournaments. That talk has subsided some this year, mostly because the rule changes have taken a major focus, but Rory McIlroy just opened up that can of worms again.

If you broaden your sports experience beyond golf and dabble into the NBA, you’ll know that recently there have been a lot of confrontations between basketball players and fans during games. That resulted in the media asking McIlroy his thoughts on unruly fans this week. And as we all know, Rory doesn’t shy away from the hard questions.

McIlroy took the opportunity to slam fans that act like idiots during events.

“I think one of the wonderful things about PGA Tour events — golf events, in general — is a lot of kids come out to watch,” he stated to the media. “It’s great for the game. They’re the future. So I think profanity is one thing, if you’ve got guys that are shouting obscenities and swear words and stuff and there’s kids around, I think that isn’t cool.”

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/rory-mcilroy-of-northern-ireland-throws-autographed-pin-news-photo/1131391734

McIlroy then continued talking about how things can get even worse than simply shouting profanity at an event. He addressed how he believes it is crossing the line to bring up golfer’s private lives to try and get in their head. Then actively rooting against someone without any real good reason to do so, that’s what Rory sees happening and he thinks it’s going too far.

McIlroy is honestly an expert when it comes to this area. Being a former number one player in the world and still one of the most dominant, he hears a lot of jeers on the course. He also had fans bring up his private life at the 2016 Ryder Cup, leading to their removal from the event. Rory seems to link this to the high alcohol sales at PGA TOUR events and has even advocated for putting a cap on alcoholic sales at events to curb this problem.

While there are just mean people out there who will do this regardless, I think Rory has a point with the alcohol problem. This may be a back burner issue for the PGA TOUR right now but once other issues are settled, this may be something they want to look more into.

Cover Image Via Instagram