Heather McMahan was stood down from her duties as master of ceremonies on the first tee at the Ryder Cup after she was caught on camera chanting offensively
Heather McMahan – the Ryder Cup official who was removed from her role for participating in an offensive chant aimed at Rory McIlroy – has spoken out about the incident for the first time. Comedian McMahan served as master of ceremonies on the first tee during the opening two days of the Ryder Cup, but was relieved of her responsibilities after video footage emerged appearing to show her chanting ‘f*** you Rory’ into a microphone.
Whilst McMahan didn’t initiate the chant, given the intense focus on the level of hostility directed towards European players at Bethpage Black over the weekend, it comes as little surprise that Ryder Cup officials decided to remove her from MC responsibilities.
Speaking out about the incident for the first time, McMahan responded to a post by a social media influencer, suggesting that she was the target of a ‘witch-hunt’.
“It was a really tough scene,” McMahan’s post began, reports the Irish Mirror. “I did not start the chant but I deeply regret responding back to the crowd. I apologised but I agree it [is a] little Salem-witch esque blaming me for the New York sports scene.”
McIlroy endured appalling treatment from spectators throughout the weekend at the Ryder Cup. Following the secured victory, McIlroy addressed journalists about his feelings regarding the barracking he experienced.
“I wish they had let the dogs off the leashes,” he remarked following the 15-13 triumph. “The police out there and the amount of security presence was insane.
“Look, nothing was going to happen – there wasn’t going to be physical altercation or anything like that – but there was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive behaviour.
“It’s a minority of the crowd, it’s not the majority. The majority of people here are true golf fans and are respectful, but I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf.
“I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.
“Golf teaches you very good life lessons, it teaches you etiquette, it teaches you how to play by the rules, it teaches you how to respect people.
“Sometimes this week we didn’t see that. So no, this should not be what is acceptable in the Ryder Cup.”
#Ryder #Cup #official #stood #vile #Rory #McIlroy #chant #breaks #silence #controversy
