Olympic legend Michael Johnson has slammed Tiger Woods for Woods' apology issued in response to the backlash that erupted after he handed Justin Thomas a tampon at the Genesis Invitational.
Woods sparked outrage for his prank when, at the ninth hole after he outdrove Thomas, he slipped a tampon into the 29-year-old's hand. Thomas reacted by chucking the tampon onto the ground. The pair then laughed together as they walked away.
Woods addressed the incident on Friday, saying it was intended to be a prank.
"It was supposed to be all fun and games and obviously it hasn't turned out that way," Woods said, according to Business Insider.
"If I offended anybody, it was not the case, it was just friends having fun," he continued. "As I said, if I offended anybody in any way, shape, or form, I'm sorry. It was not intended to be that way. It was just we play pranks on one another all the time and virally I think this did not come across that way, but between us it was — it's different."
Johnson, who won four gold medals at the Olympic Games as a sprinter, took to Twitter to criticize Woods for his apology.
"Apology starting with 'If I offended anyone' is no apology," he wrote. "But this is Tiger. Never been a leader and he's Teflon. Still heralded after all the mistakes so he's learned nothing. Media focus always on miraculous recovery. Never why the need for recovery."
Among those criticizing Woods was Karen Sugar, CEO of the Women's Global Empowerment Fund, who said the gesture was "misogynistic" and "tone deaf" and disrespectful to women and girls all over the world, according to TMZ. She also wondered whether Woods was implying that "periods are embarrassing or shameful or a sign of weakness?"
Golf influencer Paige Spiranac meanwhile, jumped to defend Woods.
"If anyone tries to cancel Tiger over this we riot. It's funny," she said, according to the Daily Mail.
"It's interesting to see women outraged by Tiger slipping JT a tampon after out driving him but those same women will quickly tear me down for how I've decided to build my business," she added. "You can't pick and choose when to be a feminist."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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