Do professional athletes owe anyone anything when a game is over? More precisely, is it their duty to talk to the assembled media about what just happened, win or lose?
Collin Morikawa, the world’s fourth-ranked golfer, had some thoughts on this earlier in the week that drew some criticism. And following Friday’s second round of The Players, he had some more thoughts on said criticism.
Let’s go back to the beginning.
Last Sunday, after falling a stroke short of possibly winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Morikawa left without talking to the media. Tuesday, he was asked about that, and had this to say:
“Yeah, just heated. Just pissed. Like I don’t owe anyone anything. No offense to you guys, but for me in the moment of that time, I didn’t want to be around anyone. Like, I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t need any sorries. I didn’t need any ‘good playings.’ Like, you’re just pissed.”
Being pissed is understandable, and frankly not doing a post-round interview can be more enlightening than anything that might be said in said interview. When Rory McIlroy stormed out of Pinehurst last summer after missing a couple short putts that cost him the U.S. Open, would a quote have illustrated any better how upset he was?
That said, Morikawa would have been better off not saying anything than what he ended up saying, because while he might not owe anyone a post-round interview, he does owe people — namely golf fans who are responsible, at least in part, for his income — something. More on that in a bit.
Some people were really offended by what he said, namely Golf Channel’s resident fire starter Brandel Chamblee and tour veteran Rocco Mediate, who went scorched earth on Morikawa.
“Biggest bunch of horses—t you could ever say, period,” Mediate said on Sirius XM. “I mean, that is the dumbest, most selfish garbage you could ever say.
“Mr. Palmer would’ve hunted him down,” he continued. “Trust me on that one because he told me one thing, Mr. Palmer told me one thing that stuck with me. [He said,] ‘You know what, Rock, it’s real easy to go in and talk to somebody when you won or when you’ve played well, but can you do it when you don’t? That’s the key.’ Obviously he can’t.”
Chamblee, surprisingly, was a bit more tempered.
“When I found that he had refused to do the interview I was thinking about the players who had suffered far more devastating losses, far more momentous losses, who regained their equilibrium and with class gave the media — and it’s not just giving the media, it is giving the fans and the sponsors and the entire ecosystem of the golf world an explanation of the humanity of losing.”
Now, do they really think Morikawa walking out without doing an interview is this important or are they just providing content for shows that need content?
Whichever, Morikawa isn’t having it, and shot back Friday:
“To the Brandel Chamblees, to the Paul McGinleys, to the Rocco Mediates of the world. I don’t regret anything I said.”
Collin Morikawa responds to the criticism he has received after his comments about skipping media interviews Sunday at the API. pic.twitter.com/XSXGzXuGe1
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) March 14, 2025
“To the Brandel Chamblees, to the Paul McGinleys, to the Rocco Mediates of the world, I don’t regret anything I said. It might have been a little bit harsh that I don’t owe anyone, but I don’t owe anyone. You know, I respect the fans, I’m grateful.”
He then explained that after finishing his round, he signed autographs for 15 minutes, yet no one was commenting on that.
“Not a single person from media went to go follow me because, I don’t know. But that’s me. So for people to be calling me out, it’s interesting.”
Well, Morikawa got called out because his message, while not totally inaccurate, was inarticulate if we’re to believe he “respect[s] the fans” and is “grateful.” Sure, those few dozen fans, maybe, who he signed autographs for after the Arnold Palmer felt the respect, but everyone else was left with the “I don’t owe anyone anything” comment, so OK, next time they’re at the course and they come across Collin Morikawa, that’s going to be their impression of him. And it won’t be because of something Brandel Chamblee or Rocco Mediate said, but because of something Morikawa said himself and something he kinda, sorta doubled down on Friday.
Which should prompt a response from Chamblee in 3, 2, 1 … and this story will continue.
#Players #Championship #Collin #Morikawa #responds #critics #dont #owe #comment
