Steve Elkington wasn't dubbed "golf’s undisputed leader in insensitive and boneheaded tweets" by GolfChannel.com for nothing.
The 51-year-old Australian golfer who won the 1995 PGA Championship sparked outrage with an offensive joke on Twitter about openly gay NFL prospect Michael Sam on Tuesday. Elkington tweeted that Sam, a first-team All-American defensive lineman from Missouri, would be the only athlete competing in the "handbag throw" at the NFL Scouting Combine.
ESPN reporting Michael Sam is leading the handbag throw at NFL combine....
No one else expected to throw today— Steve Elkington (@elkpga) February 25, 2014
With the backlash against him building, Elkington attempted to defend his comment to Shane Bacon of Yahoo! Sports.
@shanebacon I'm for Sam I'm against ESPN telling me he's gay....
— Steve Elkington (@elkpga) February 25, 2014
Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Tom Crabtree was among the many on Twitter who let Elkington know that his joke and his defense were both major fails.
Not long before the offensive "handbag throw" tweet, Elkington had taken a shot at ESPN's coverage of Sam.
ESPN covering Michael Sam as a gay athlete is embarrassing .....
— Steve Elkington (@elkpga) February 25, 2014
Suggesting that he might be following Sam's journey to the NFL closely, Elkington also mentioned the Mizzou standout in another tweet just a week earlier. Once again, Sam's sexual orientation was referenced.
Elkington, increasingly known for his antisocial media outbursts, recently fired off another unfortunate tweet about freelance golf reporter Stephanie Wei's appearance.