Should golf personalities tweet politics?

[darkhunter139]

A thread about religion and politics? This will end well ;)

Golfers can tweet about whatever they want, I really don't care.  If they want to express their opinion on politics or religion then why shouldn't they?

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Just because someone doesn't share *your* particular beliefs doesn't preclude them from being nice, and/or more enlightened than a peasant in the dark ages. (Ironic that one of the defining characteristics of the dark ages was intolerance for others' religious beliefs.)

I would back beliefs based on scientific evidence over superstitious dogma any day of the way. Don't pretend that there are two sides to the coin and they both have equal weight.

[michaeljames92]

Dead right, except if their opinion is not based on fact, but a limited view of what really happens. That's what really annoys me sometimes.

Originally Posted by Zeph

I don't see the problem here. In fact, I would encourage anyone with a politic view to express their feelings and opinions, professional golfer or not. A golfer is not a role model, it is not a character in a TV-show or movie. He or she is a real person who happen to have a job which put them on TV a lot. They are still entitled to their opinion about anything they like. I don't care about what they say, except it it's related to golf that is. If I want to read or discuss politics, I won't do it on Twitter.

[SamW]

I don't see why a golfer has any less right to tweet politics than a politician or anybody else. Same way with religion. That said Webb Simpson is clearly a brainwashed moron and I'd sooner never see him on another leaderboard, that's just the chance you take sharing your views.

[LankyLefty]

Some of my best friends are total opposites from me in terms of politics... it really doesn't matter.

Twitter is a way of expressing yourself and golfers should be as free to do that as anyone else.

[goblue107501]

Golfers can tweet about whatever they want, I really don't care.  If they want to express their opinion on politics or religion then why shouldn't they?

Pretty much my thoughts. They can do what they want, it doesn't matter to me. If I don't want to see it, I'll hit the 'unfollow' button. My only problem with all this is when people in the public eye use thier celebrity and staus to influence other people. You can tell me all day you are for this cause or that, but don't tell me I need to agree with you becuase you can act or sing or throw a ball.

[ghalfaire]

I believe famous people have a "right" to express themselves just like the rest of us.  But I wonder why they do when they must realize that it is likely they will anger close to half of their fans.  I also wonder why any fan would think a professional golfer is expert at anything other than golf and/or would value the golfer's opinion more just because they can play golf better than the rest of us.

[jamo]

I believe famous people have a "right" to express themselves just like the rest of us.  But I wonder why they do when they must realize that it is likely they will anger close to half of their fans.  I also wonder why any fan would think a professional golfer is expert at anything other than golf and/or would value the golfer's opinion more just because they can play golf better than the rest of us.

Exactly, on all points. They have a right to tweet their beliefs, just as you and I an everyone else does, but they;re kidding themselves if they don't think expressing some of their beliefs is going to alienate a sizable chunk of their fans.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by jamo

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghalfaire

I believe famous people have a "right" to express themselves just like the rest of us.  But I wonder why they do when they must realize that it is likely they will anger close to half of their fans.  I also wonder why any fan would think a professional golfer is expert at anything other than golf and/or would value the golfer's opinion more just because they can play golf better than the rest of us.

Exactly, on all points. They have a right to tweet their beliefs, just as you and I an everyone else does, but they;re kidding themselves if they don't think expressing some of their beliefs is going to alienate a sizable chunk of their fans.

For every Webb Simpson "fan" lost over his beliefs, and his choice to express them in public, he might gain 10 more who'd never even heard of him. But that's just my belief on the matter.

[BuckeyeNut]

Players can tweet whatever they want and I don't care.  It's nice to have a little more insight into what kind of person he is whether we agree or not with what they say.

I'd just like to take a moment to thank Jesus Christ my savior for helping me write the above comment

[jamo]

For every Webb Simpson "fan" lost over his beliefs, and his choice to express them in public, he might gain 10 more who'd never even heard of him. But that's just my belief on the matter.

I'd be surprised if that many people find out about Webb Simpson by his religious tweets, but those numbers are probably about right. I disagree if you are talking about politics though. The numbers are much closer, maybe 2:3, 2:4.

[paulg]

Originally Posted by Doctorfro

I find it funny that people can be put off by a person who has faith in God and are willing to talk about it.  It's not like you hear them talk about it all the time.  Yet we watch sports on TV and you hear a lot of the same cliches over and over and over in the interviews.  I don't hear people getting offended by that.  "Gotta take it one game at a time".  "I just wanted to be aggressive and get my teammates involved". "yadda yadda"

Trust me, I find it all annoying.

[visiondr]

I've stopped following Bubba Watson for his constant references to the bible and God in his tweets.

On a side note: I'm just a bit tired of hearing that "God" deserves the thanks and credit for a win in sports. Really? Is God so insecure that he/she/it needs his followers to constantly and publicly praise him? Or is it the followers who are insecure and are "brown nosing" to get into God's good graces? In any case, as it has been said before, it's a tacky display. No one is winning converts to whatever faith they profess by publicly thanking God and God really shouldn't give a rip if he gets a little publicity.

[JasonFL]

This isnt to anyone specific, but I think anyone in the eye of the media has learned, or will learn that you cant please everyone.  So anyone praising god in public, on TV, or on Twitter has long since written you off as a fan long before you wrote them off.  It is a shame that someone else's belief can fuel someone else's hate.

[Mr. Desmond]

Should they?

NO.

(unless they want to purposely turn off a large percentage of their golf fandom)

[deasy55]

If done right, "tweeting" could greatly increase a golfers fanbase. Doing those fan Q&As; is a great PR opportunity. Luke Donald answered one of my questions before and I now support him a lot more than what I used to because of it.

Edit: Forgot this thread was about tweeting politics. Don't mind me

]Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Should they?

NO.

(unless they want to purposely turn off a large percentage of their golf fandom)

[Dave H]

I think golfers (or other athletes) should tweet whatever they want. Free speech is alive and kicking for better or for worse. People who tweet should be aware that the more popular they are, what they tweet reaches more people and can have a positive or negative affect on their followers. Sometimes it could even have worse consequences. What's the big deal anyways? This has been happening for years, it's just that the communication platforms are changing and "the message" becoming easier to proclaim/receive. If you don't like it, then don't follow that person. OR, if you're into hating, which quite frankly a lot of you on here seem to be, then pay attention and get yourself all riled up when someone says something you don't agree with. What's with all the religious hate on here anyways? I find it quite ironic that so often people accuse religious folks of bigotry, narrow-mindedness, hypocrisy, etc. but just look at all the hate from the clearly "not religious". Talk about intolerance. Sheesh.

[jamo]

I think golfers (or other athletes) should tweet whatever they want. Free speech is alive and kicking for better or for worse. People who tweet should be aware that the more popular they are, what they tweet reaches more people and can have a positive or negative affect on their followers. Sometimes it could even have worse consequences. What's the big deal anyways? This has been happening for years, it's just that the communication platforms are changing and "the message" becoming easier to proclaim/receive. If you don't like it, then don't follow that person. OR, if you're into hating, which quite frankly a lot of you on here seem to be, then pay attention and get yourself all riled up when someone says something you don't agree with. What's with all the religious hate on here anyways? I find it quite ironic that so often people accuse religious folks of bigotry, narrow-mindedness, hypocrisy, etc. but just look at all the hate from the clearly "not religious". Talk about intolerance. Sheesh.

It's not about hate at all. I'm not going to like (not really great phrasing there, "follow" or "root for" would be better) all 160 players on the PGA Tour, nobody is. To whittle down to my favorites, I use arbitrary criteria, some irrational (sponsorship, place of birth, play type) and some rational (namely, people with similar values). I don't hate or even dislike (still not a great phrase) Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson, or even Tiger Woods because we have conflicting views on the world, but for deciding who I'm going to root for, yeah, that comes in.