PGA Tour Commish Jay Monahan Says Yelling "Brooksie" At Bryson DeChambeau Will Now Be Considered Disrespectful And Can Result In Expulsion From A Tournament
Golf Channel- Fans who yell “Brooksy!” at tournaments may now be shown the exit. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said Tuesday at East Lake that harassing or disruptive behavior and comments would no longer be tolerated at tournaments and could lead to expulsion from events, per the Tour’s updated fan conduct policy.
“By coming to a PGA Tour event, you’re expected to contribute to a welcoming and safe environment by refraining from and reporting any unsafe, disruptive or harassing behavior,” Monahan said in his opening remarks ahead of the season-ending Tour Championship. “Comments or gestures that undermine the inclusive and welcoming nature of the game will not be tolerated, nor will any harassment of players, caddies, volunteers, officials, staff or other spectators.
“Fans who breach our code of conduct are subject to expulsion from the tournament and loss of their credential or ticket.”Singling out the few “bad actors” recently who have caused issues at tournaments – mostly the jeers directed at Bryson DeChambeau – Monahan said that fan calls of “Brooksy!” would qualify as “disrespectful” and therefore be subject to harsher penalties, such as removal from a tournament.
“The reason I say yes is, the barometer that we are all using is the word ‘respect,’ and to me, when you hear “Brooksy!” yelled or you hear any expression yelled, the question is: Is that respectful or disrespectful?” Monahan said. “That has been going on for an extended period of time. To me, at this point, it’s disrespectful, and that’s the kind of behavior that we’re not going to tolerate going forward.”
Oh boy. Slipperyyyyyyyyy slope here for the PGA Tour. Just a bad idea in my opinion. I get that the Brooks vs Bryson rivalry has reached a fever pitch and the Tour feels like the whole situation is getting away from them but I'm not sure this is the right move. It's a slippery slope of telling fans what they can and can't say at tournament. And when you break it down even further, they're basically threatening to toss people who call a golfer by a different name. The whole thing is pretty outrageous when you break it all the way down to what it actually is.
And listen, do I think the whole Brooskie thing is super played out at this point? Yes. Do I think it's now bordering on mean because it's become clear that Bryson doesn't know how to handle a situation like this and it's driving him insane? Yes. Bryson is in way too deep and Brooks is a guy who loves trolling and turning the screws on a guy like Bryson. It has big time Jock vs Nerd vibes, it's a tale as old as time, and it can be brutal to watch at times. But the PGA Tour making a point to say they're making it a rule and will be BANNING people from tournaments for saying it seems a little crazy. What other sport would even think about doing this other than golf? None of them. I mean we just had the Mets GM a couple days ago basically encourage fans to boo his players. Fans have been trying to get under the skin of professional athletes since sports have been a thing. The PGA Tour deciding to try and tell fans what they can and can't say is very golf.
How are they even gonna police this? Seems almost impossible. Not to mention it'll probably backfire. Sure some people will take it seriously and not yell Brooksie out of fear they'll get kicked out but people are 100000000% still gonna yell it. And on top of that it just makes it look like Bryson is being babied by the Tour (which he is) and his image is already in shambles with fans. This latest move makes him even less like-able to the casual fan. I don't know what the answer to this whole thing is, or if it even needs an answer, but the PGA Tour deciding that they're gonna try and put a stop to it all by banning people is likely only gonna make things worse.