Tiger Woods isn’t going to win a popularity contest anytime soon but one of his peers has come to his defence following the golf legend’s recent DUI arrest.
Martin Kaymer, currently ranked No. 53 on the PGA Tour, posted a sympathetic video on his Twitter account pleading for fans and those in the golfing community to support Woods rather than criticize him during a difficult time.
“Obviously a lot of people know what happened to Tiger Woods the last few days, few weeks,” Kaymer said. “There’s so many comments, so many opinions. They are so unfair and so disrespectful, in my opinion.”
Kaymer, a winner of two majors, grew up in Germany and was one of the countless golfers around the globe who looked up to Woods.
“Everybody who’s involved in golf was changed by his legacy, by his play, by so many things that he has done,” he said. “He brought cultures together, he made races, Afro-Americans, feel more comfortable to play golf. He inspired kids, teenagers. He inspired kind of like all of us.”
Kaymer added: “I find it so nasty that people just kick him down, or kick him while he’s already on the floor, and at the end of the day, it’s just using someone else for your own sadness. Yes, he’s in the public eye, he’s in the spotlight a lot, so of course people will talk about him but why are you being so nasty? Why don’t you try to do the opposite and help him now the way he inspired us? That’s why we are where we are now. That’s why we can have what we have.
“So, he has a huge impact and my wish would be just stop being so nasty. Try to help. We all want to see be him happier and hopefully one day see him play golf again. That’s my only wish.”
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