Ralph Lauren Drops Justin Thomas After Use Of Slur

Ralph Lauren -- At the Ralph Lauren Corporation, we believe in the dignity of all people, regardless of age, race, gender identity, ethnicity, political affiliation or sexual orientation. This is part of our longstanding commitment to foster cultures of belonging – in the workplace and in communities around the world.

We are disheartened by Mr. Thomas’s recent language, which is entirely inconsistent with our values. While we acknowledge that he has apologized and recognizes the severity of his words, he is a paid ambassador of our brand and his actions conflict with the inclusive culture that we strive to uphold.

In reflecting on the responsibility we have to all of our stakeholders, we have decided to discontinue our sponsorship of Mr. Thomas at this time. As we make this decision, our hope is that Mr. Thomas does the hard and necessary work in order to partner with us again – truly examining this incident, learning, growing and ultimately using his platform to promote inclusion.

The apology:

NPR -- "It's inexcusable," he said. "First off, I just apologize. I'm an adult. I'm a grown man, there's absolutely no reason for me to say anything like that. It's terrible. I'm extremely embarrassed. It's not who I am, it's not the kind of person that I am or anything that I do."

He added, "Unfortunately, I did it and I have to own up to it and I'm very apologetic."

Little Friday evening news dump: Ralph Lauren drops world no. 3 Justin Thomas following his use of the hard f-bomb last week. Honestly I'm stunned. The only possibly cool thing about Ralph Lauren was Justin Thomas. No one can rock Polo head to toe and not look like an asshole, but at least JT gave it his best. At least he won golf tournaments, hit it 320 and roasted Charles Barkley.

What JT said is obviously wrong and hurtful. It's unacceptable for a grown, mature man, especially in the spotlight. But he immediately apologized in a sincere way. He's been a Ralph Lauren ambassador since 2013, building a reputation over years as a great role model, a candid personality, and a world class talent. Are we supposed to act like elite golfers aren't human? Like people don't make mistakes? Like terrible, terrible things aren't said every single day in the frustration following a shitty golf shot? 

Hundreds of tournaments JT has played in. Hundreds and hundreds of hours he's competed under intense pressure on live television with hot mics everywhere. One slip and you abandon him?

That is why I am stunned.

…our hope is that Mr. Thomas does the hard and necessary work in order to partner with us again – truly examining this incident, learning, growing…

Polo saying "our hope is that someday Justin Thomas will be good enough for us" as they abandon him is ridiculous. What the fuck does that even mean? If true then stick with him. 

I fully expect Justin Thomas to sign a new apparel deal worth lots of money, to look significantly better in that apparel, to truly learn from his mistake like he said, and thus to end up better off as a result of all of this.