Transgression.
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an act that goes against a law, rule, or code of conduct; an offense.
This past weekend we crowned a new Masters Champion. Patrick Reed. The man who I said was a “much-maligned Masters Champion” in my tournament re-cap editorial. By most accounts his victory was very unpopular. Why? Was it because of him outlasting Rory McIlroy? No and let’s face it Rory faded. In a way that makes Augusta National look like his “Kryptonite? Is it because Jordan Spieth really brought it on Masters Sunday just to fall a poor tee shot short of historical proportions? No… that isn’t it either. Maybe, it was because Reed never bogeyed the 72nd hole to fall into a playoff with Rickie Fowler who played his heart out. No it wasn’t that either.
When we look at Patrick Reed what do we (who aren’t in his inner circle) see? If we go by skeletons in one’s closet here’s what we see in a nutshell.
- A kid that was said to have a “checkered past” and questions about his character while attending the University of Georgia came into question. Talk of cheating and theft from teammates. This would turn into a transfer where Reed departed Athens and ended up in Augusta. He joined the Augusta State Jaguars Men’s Golf Team and led them to a National Championship.
- We see a young man that’s considered to be brash, cocky and confident. We hate that because he tells everyone how good he is. Remember the “I’m a Top 5 player in the world” comment? Controversial. We dislike controversial people right?
- There was the homophobic slur in China that was inadvertently picked up on camera during the WGC – HSBC Champions event.
- Many golf fans think that his wearing of red and black is taboo because that’s what Tiger wears. People seem to think that it’s disrespectful (I guess) that he’s wearing “Tiger’s Colors”. Note taken… I better not do the same. Then again, red is my Friday thing in support of those who’ve sacrificed or still do sacrifice (our military).
Transgressions. Have you gambled? Maybe you stole a pack of gum or a cassette tape because it had a song on it that your hopeful girlfriend liked (I did the latter here name was Adele). Maybe you’ve had a taste of the “Devil’s Lettuce” and liked the high that the marijuana gave you. Perhaps, you were once a drinker that consumed more than a couple of drinks every day. Maybe, you’re a chronic speeder and had a speeding ticket. Or maybe you had nasty stinky vices like smoking cigarettes. Maybe while you were hanging out with the guys smoking a cigarette or in your changeroom at the gym or arena you jokingly referred to someone as an (insert derogatory name here). Perhaps, in your younger days you were a bully at school that picked on the smaller, weaker kids. Or maybe you were affluent and made fun of kids who couldn’t afford nicer clothes or they had a bag lunch instead of buying lunch everyday. Driving under the influence… maybe one or two of you did that once or twice and hopefully nobody got hurt because of your judgement. The point is that as human beings at one point in time or another we’ve made a transgression or two along the way.
I think what my point is this. If we’re going to judge Patrick Reed for his past… transgressions we better look at ourselves very closely in the mirror. What have we done that makes us so different and better than him? Patrick ultimately made some bad decisions in his life… and he is no different from us. If you’re going to hold that against him then you most certainly have to hold Tiger’s actions against Tiger. I said it here… that I don’t condone whatever it was that Tiger did. He made a horrible decision and we’ll never know the real truth or how many times he did that without getting caught. People hate Patrick’s swagger and overzealousness. The same people who criticize him (American fans) I have no doubt were loving him and his antics at the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles (Shhhhh….). So it’s alright to love him then? Isn’t that the very definition of a double-standard? Oh yeah… his family life? Don’t even discuss that or hold that against him. This is not about family and if anything is taboo bringing family into any situation is the lowest of low. That’s private and personal. Much like Tiger and his break-up with Elin. That should have always been left behind closed doors because you don’t know what he or they were going through.
Patrick Reed like it or not won The Masters. You don’t need to like him and quite frankly he doesn’t care. But before you hold his past against him look at your past and think if you’re truly any better. I’m not!
Until The Next Tee!!
