Over the past two months, leagues and athletes around the world have joined in to promote the Black Lives Matter movement and racial equality following the death of George Floyd at the hands on Minneapolis police officers.
From English Premier League players taking a pregame knee (and wearing Black Lives Matter patches) to MLB players kneeling during the anthem, the messaging has spread far and wide.
But it was a different story on Sunday when it came to PGA golfer Richy Werenski.
Playing in the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities — about 20 miles from the site of Floyd’s death — Werenski was spotted wearing a “Blue Lives Matter” wristband.
Playing 20 minutes away from where George Floyd was killed by police officers, Richy Werenski has been wearing a Blue Lives Matter band this week at the 3M Open pic.twitter.com/LGJ4mOGAqB
— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) July 26, 2020
Someone should inform PGA Tour player Richy Werenski that wearing a “blue lives matter“ wristband in a golf tournament in Minneapolis is tone deaf at the very least. pic.twitter.com/CCvWo8gJKM
— Mark Friedman (@freesoder) July 26, 2020
Both the “Thin Blue Line” flag and “Blue Lives Matter” messages have been in used in direct opposition to those protesting police brutality.
Back in June, the PGA held a moment of silence for George Floyd before each round of the Charles Schwab Challenge — an event that Werenski participated in. A photo search showed that Werenski had been wearing the wristband for over a year. This was from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2019.
But he’ll almost certainly face questions after deciding to wear the wristband near Minneapolis two months after Floyd’s death.
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