Citi’s decision to stand by endorser Justin Thomas after the golfer made a homophobic slur earlier this month and the company’s mandate that Thomas contribute a “meaningful” financial amount to LGBTQ+ causes drew a range of reaction on Golf Channel yesterday. Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch said Citi’s statement “seems to sit somewhere in that gray area between concrete steps and mere posturing, because the language here is really quite insipid.” Lynch: “When you talk about what is meaningful, who’s going to determine what is a meaningful portion?” He added, “There was a notable absence of any comment from Justin Thomas, so I'm not sure if that was set up as an internal communication at Citi that was a good-faith effort, or if it was an exercise in scolding.” However, Golf Channel’s Jaime Diaz said it was a “good step to make a grand public gesture.” Diaz: "There’s plenty room for skepticism, but I think J.T. initially made a good impression in terms of taking it on very personally and saying he was very sincerely sorry." He added this also is an “opportunity for Citibank -- for any corporation -- to look progressive in a moment of time when the culture is changing very rapidly.”
TURNING A NEGATIVE INTO A POSITIVE: Golf Channel’s Anna Whiteley noted the slur is “going to follow Justin Thomas for a long time, but not necessarily in a bad way.” She said Thomas is a “superb global ambassador of this game (and) so many youngsters look up to him.” Whiteley: “If he is starting to sort of openly speak out about the LGBTQ community and kids being able to identify that it’s nothing to be ashamed of, and golf embraces that community, this could really turn around into a positive thing” (“Golf Today,” Golf Channel, 1/26).
