Justin Thomas spoke publicly on Wednesday for the first time since the loss of his sponsorship Ralph Lauren last week due to public use of homophobic slander.
In his first public appearance since being released by his sponsor, Thomas answered questions from reporters on Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. One of the questions was focused on Thomas’ using the injury after losing a putt at the Sentry Tournament of Champions on January 9.
“I am clearly beyond (not) proud of what I said,” said Thomas on Wednesday. “It’s humiliating. It’s embarrassing. It’s not me. It is not a word that I use, but for some reason it was there and that is what I am trying to find out why it was there. “
Ralph Lauren announced in a statement on Friday, six days after the incident was captured by the cameras, that he would end his relationship with Thomas. The designer, however, left the door open for Thomas to rejoin the brand if he “does the necessary and hard work” to grow from the incident.
I’ll say it again …@ JustinThomas34 he’s an amazing guy.
He took all the questions about the Hawaii incident and answered it honestly.
“It is an opportunity for me to grow. They felt they needed to move on. It is exactly what I am doing too.” pic.twitter.com/0ub4Q0Voob
– Joy Chakravarty (@TheJoyofGolf) January 20, 2021
The 13-time PGA Tour winner spoke of his hope for growth and learning from his mistake on Wednesday.
“It will be part of that training process or program or anything that I need to do, not just to prove myself and my sponsors and to prove to those people who don’t know who I am, but that really isn’t the person who I am, ”said Thomas.
Thomas begins his first round at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Thursday morning alongside Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.