Justin Thomas apologizes after calling himself a homophobic slur on live TV

Justin Thomas apologies after using an offensive slur towards himself after missing a putt on a live broadcast.

Justin Thomas unintentionally went viral for the wrong reasons at a recent golf tournament.

During a live broadcast of the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Saturday, the former 2017 PGA Championship winner had a massive verbal slip up. After missing a putt for par, Thomas called himself a homophobic slur out of frustration on his way to tap in for bogey.

Thomas was on a hot mic.

Outside of the slur, Thomas has had a reputation of being a friendly competitor on the green who is well-liked amongst his professional golfing peers. Thomas did hide behind that reputation when addressing the incident, and noted the remark was “inexcusable.”

“There’s no excuse. I’m a grown man. There is absolutely no reason for me to say anything like that,” Thomas said. “I’m extremely embarrassed, it’s not who I am … but unfortunately, I did it and I have to own up to it.”

Going forward, Thomas said he will use this moment as a learning experience and reemphasized that he apologizes to anyone he may have offended by using the remark.

There’s is no telling how this may impact the golfer going forward. In the past, athletes have lost endorsements over similar incidents –whether they apologized or not.