If in last Monday's blog post I came across as a sanctimonious prig on a high horse, then I’m saddled up again today. Monday's target was a politician; today’s is a sportsman. Actually I’m not so sure – there’s a difference between playing sport and being a sportsman, because the latter requires adherence to sportsmanship. Anyway his name’s John Daly (pictured) and he plays golf. He’s a very overweight power hitter who has problems with alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and, manifestly, anger. Despite this list, he was invited to compete in this year’s Australian pro golf circuit – apparently because the same list makes him a drawcard, which tells you all you need to know about golf fans. Anyway as you can read here, last week at the Australian Open a fan took a close-up photograph of Daly who promptly snatched the camera and smashed it against a tree. Apparently the fan had breached a condition of entry that spectators can’t carry cameras, and so Golf Australia won’t take any action against Daly. Pardon me, but I thought people who play professional sport were meant to be role models, provocation notwithstanding. Mr Daly is not a role model. He’s the obverse of one. He’s not a sportsman. He brings no credit to golf let alone himself. And he shouldn’t be invited back to Australia.
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