Players competing on the EuroPro Tour have been cautioned and left “disappointed” after a broadcast was pulled from Sky Sports coverage due to “excessive amounts of swearing.”
According to a players’ memo issued by EuroPro Tour CEO Dan Godding, Sky Sports’ compliance team picked up four uses of the ‘F’ word while editing coverage of the Lancer Scott Championship, which took place at Machynys Peninsula between 10-12 August. This was on top of five which had already been removed by the Tour’s production team.
The show was pulled from air, and players were threatened with “significantly raising fines” after being warned the incident could jeopardise the Tour’s existence.
The memo read: “As you can imagine this is exceptionally embarrassing for the club and the sponsor who have informed all their members and their clients. This problem seems to be growing and although it’s only a small few it’s bemusing.
“By saying the ‘F’ word when you are being watched is unforgivable. You are no longer just a golfer you are an entertainer, an ambassador for your sport and industry. What you portray matters to the development and future of the sport.
“It’s hard work making this Tour viable. The last thing I need is our members saying the ‘F’ word or in fact the ‘C’ word on a few occasions, in our programming.”
Having been warned they will be hit with fines if such profanities continue, we reached out to a EuroTour Pro player – who asked to remain anonymous – and he said:
“We’re all disappointed that we’re not going to be on Sky Sports just because of a bit bad language. I have no issue with players being fined for bad language, but why can’t they edit it out? I don’t understand.
“Think about all the bad language that other pros use, and the commentators just say ‘sorry for any bad language you may have heard’. That’s all they do, they just apologise, they don’t cut it off!
“People have to understand that we’re doing this for a living. Unfortunately, sometimes we can let our emotions get the better of us. There’s a lot of pressure on us, so when we do let our emotions get the better of us, it’s just because we care so much about the result.”
We have asked the EuroPro Tour for a comment, and are awaiting a response.
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George Cooper
