PGA Tour player Scott Piercy has been dropped by golf equipment and apparel companies in the wake of a social media post directed at former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg as a well as a reference to QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory.
Piercy, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, apologized for the shared Instagram post following criticism earlier this week, but both Titleist as well as Footjoy and apparel company J. Lindeberg dropped him as an endorser, according to golf.com and Golf Digest.
The golfer shared a homophobic meme referencing the withdrawal of Buttigieg, who is openly gay, from the Democratic presidential race. Piercy’s post also referenced QAnon, whose supporters have been condemned by the FBI.
In a statement earlier this week, Piercy said: “Whenever I post my intent is NEVER to offend. I want to apologize if any of my recent story posts have been offensive. I will do better!”
That wasn’t enough to keep Titleist and J. Lindeberg from cutting ties.
“As a global lifestyle brand, we strive to support and show our love and compassion for all demographics around the world,” J. Lindberg said in a statement to golf.com. “When we choose our ambassadors, we choose individuals we know will represent us well on and off the golf course. The claims from Scott Piercy were unacceptable and far from our views and beliefs. We have since terminated our contract with Mr. Piercy.
“We, J. Lindeberg, as a company do not stand by the statements made by Piercy and we want to make sure our customers, employees and other ambassadors know we support all communities and have no room for hate or discrimination in our company.”
Titleist and Footjoy are owned by Acushnet, which did not provide a statement but told Golf Digest that Piercy was let go Tuesday.
He could also face discipline from the PGA Tour, which said in statements that it is “disappointed in the lack of judgment used” and that “it has been addressed with Scott directly.”
Piercy was unavailable for comment. He shot 1-under-par 71 in the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday.