Charles Barkley, who’s one of the few people immune to cancel culture, blames it for the backlash received by Tiger Woods for his recent tampon incident.
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Tiger Woods was playing at his first tournament since The Open in July 2022 at the Genesis International. After hitting a 9th-hole drive longer than playing partner Justin Thomas, Woods was spotted handing a tampon to the latter.
This gesture drew the ire of quite a few observers. Woods was widely panned for his insensitive, sexist joke by people from across the sporting spectrum. In response, Woods issued the following apology on the next day:
“If I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I’m sorry. It was not intended to be that way. It was just we play pranks on one another all the time and virally I think this did not come across that way, but between us it was — it’s different.”
Yes, Tiger Woods 100% handed Justin Thomas a tampon after he outdrove him. pic.twitter.com/VJbfldyXhw
— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) February 17, 2023
Charles Barkley is appalled that Tiger Woods had to issue an apology
Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson sat down recently for the latest edition of their podcast – The Steam Room. The episode involved Barkley and Johnson setting a personal record for number of phone calls answered.
At the start of the podcast, Barkley had a few statements to make. One of them was his take on the latest Tiger Woods fiasco. As an outspoken media member, Chuck’s stance was not surprising as he blamed cancel culture for forcing Woods’ apology:
“I was deeply disturbed by how people overreacted to the tampon joke situation. I’m disgusted that he apologized, I’m not gonna lie. These people, who try to cancel – I ain’t never tried to cancel anybody.”
“If somebody makes a mistake, apologize and keep it moving. But I don’t know when we got to the point where we can’t even tell jokes anymore. And I’m not gonna let that happen on my watch and just sit back out about and let people do that.”
“So Tiger, you’re the GOAT. You should not have apologized, and for you big-mouthed people out there, if y’all wanna get mad about something, get mad about the lack of black coaches in the NFL.
Barkley and Tiger have been friends for a long time
Tiger Woods first burst onto the spotlight after winning 3 PGA Tour titles within a year of turning pro. It was during this initial wave of fame that he became friends with NBA legends Michael Jordan and Barkley.
The Chuckster has often spoken about his friendship with the 15-time Major winner over the years. Woods, similarly, has acknowledged their friendship in various interviews. He’s also expressed his disgust at Barkley’s golf swing, which involved a hitch for over 2 decades before Chuck rectified the mental block he’d developed.