Rory McIlroy has taken a lot of heat for playing golf with President Donald Trump in Florida over the weekend, and he responded with a statement on Friday.
The current world No. 3 golfer was invited to play a round of golf with Trump at Trump International Golf Club in Florida and accepted despite having a rib injury. He took a lot of criticism for playing with the polarizing president, but said in a statement that accepting the invitation was not a political statement nor an endorsement of Trump’s policies:
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) February 24, 2017
McIlroy has tried to avoid the political spotlight in the past. Rather than decide between playing for Ireland or the United Kingdom in the Olympics, he decided not to participate at all.
It’s also worth noting that McIlroy visited the White House in 2012 when President Obama was in office:
Unbelievable experience at the White House last night! Big thanks to @BarackObama for the invite! We'll get that golf swing sorted soon!
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) March 15, 2012
Given that information, it seems like McIlroy is just playing it even and trying to avoid controversy, which is something he had enough of with this last month.
