Justin Thomas axed by sponsors Ralph Lauren after American golfer’s homophobic slur following a missed putt
RALPH LAUREN have terminated their sponsorship deal with Justin Thomas after his homophobic slur last weekend.
The American golfer used the highly-offensive term 'f****t' when he missed a putt at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
Despite the 27-year-old apologising for the offensive language, the fashion company have announced Thomas’s actions are ‘entirely inconsistent with our values’.
However, they did leave the door open to renewing their partnership with the star, who is ranked No.3 in the world, if he ‘does the hard and necessary work’ to promote inclusion.
A statement read: “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' recent language, which is entirely inconsistent with our values.
“While we acknowledge that he has apologised and recognises 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.”
Thomas, whose worth has been estimated at around £30million, reportedly earns around £1.5m a year from endorsements.
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His foul language was picked up by microphones on the course on Saturday night.
Afterwards Thomas said: “It's inexcusable. First off, I just apologise. 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.
“Unfortunately, I did it, and I have to own up to it, and I'm very apologetic. It's bad. There's no other way to put it.
“I need to do better, I need to be better. It's definitely a learning experience.
"I deeply apologise to everybody and anybody who I offended, and I'll be better because of it.”
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The PGA Tour also slammed Thomas' comment as ‘unacceptable’ in a statement.