For the first time since George Floyd was killed May 25 in Minneapolis, and protests began to flood cities across the nation, the PGA Tour and Commissioner Jay Monahan addressed racial disparity in the United States.
The Tour had not commented publicly until Friday, when it released video of a conversation between Monahan and Harold Varner III about race and golf. Monahan said instead of a public statement, he wrote and sent a letter to Tour staff, players and tournaments addressing the racial tension and inequality in the United States. The Tour also released Monahan’s letter to Tour personnel on Friday.
In his conversation with Varner, Monahan said he spent the past week listening and learning what it meant to be part of the solution to racial inequality in America instead of being part of the problem.
“For me, I spent the weekend last weekend calling around to my black colleagues and black friends, people that I thought that I could really learn from and I, at that time, I felt vulnerable,” Monahan said. “I didn’t understand in a world where people say, ‘If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.’ I didn’t understand what the solution was in the short term, but I was committed to make certain I was part of identifying it as supporting it. So for me stepping back and trying to listen to those people that have been affected was the best place to start.”
An open and thoughtful conversation between Commissioner Jay Monahan and @HV3_Golf. https://t.co/wNPGqqyt33
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 5, 2020
As the Tour plans to play its first event since March, when the season was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, Monahan said the Tour will restart its season committed to diversity, inclusion and doing what’s right.
“What has happened here is not right and we’re going to be part of the solution. Let’s open up our discussion,” Monahan said. “Let’s make certain that we are listening to our players, listening to our colleagues and let’s do this the right way.”
In his conversation with Varner, Monahan admitted that in many ways, the PGA Tour has been stable for a long time, but not growing. He said he wanted the Tour to use this moment in history to commit to growing and diversifying the sport.
In return, Varner, who became one of the first Tour players to speak following Floyd’s death when he released a statement Monday, asked Monahan if the commissioner thought the Tour had been working to promote diversity and access to the sport before Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
“I think we’ve been trying for a long time,” Monahan said.
“That’s where I struggle,” Varner said. “I think it’s just really damn hard. Because if it was so easy, why wouldn’t we do it?”
Varner said while few of the golfers on the course are black, he’s encouraged by the Tour’s commitment to diversity because there are plenty of black people behind the scenes who are essential to the success of every Tour event. He said in an attempt to promote black voices in golf, he wants them to be more visible and to be heard.
“There (are) black people that make (the Tour) run every day,” Varner said. “I just don’t know how else to explain it. It’s why I’ve never worried about the PGA Tour. I worry about the golf part, yeah. I think most of it has to do with access, but I think that’s in any color, race, but I’m going to do my part for black people because there’s other people who gave me access.”
Varner leads the HV3 Foundation which gives back to children who will benefit from increased access and opportunity in golf. The foundation provides financial assistance for equipment, after-school programs, instruction and camps for young athletes.
Monahan and Varner also agreed the timing of the rise in Black Lives Matter protests and demands for social justice could not be better even though the calls for social and political reform come while the globe is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.
“You think about what we’ve been through since we left each other on Friday of the Players and you have COVID-19, which is a situation that we didn’t create. Then you have this racial and social unrest which is a situation we did create,” Monahan said. “I’ve had people tell me, ‘Gosh, what terrible timing.’ … And actually it’s really good timing because people have more time right now to reflect on what has happened, both looking back and looking at what’s currently happening, and to the point you’re making, we’re the greatest country in the world and we overcome and this is an opportunity for us to unite and for us as a sport as we come back to play. Sport is the ultimate uniter.
“It’s the ultimate source of inspiration… I think as we move forward, we move forward with more awareness and a commitment to be a great representative for what’s right.”
The PGA Tour returns Thursday at Colonial Golf Club with the Charles Schwab Challenge.
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