Saturday, August 2, 2014

Quick Hit 8/2: So Which Was It, Dustin Johnson...

Tough week for Dustin Johnson, no matter how you slice it.

The real question is not that he's leaving the PGA Tour, but why?
  • He says it was for personal reasons.
  • Golf.com says he's been suspended by the PGA Tour for six months for cocaine, and that it's his fourth third failed drug test and his third second for cocaine (and even at this point I really question the wisdom of the PGA Tour allowing Dustin Johnson to have a tour card)
  • ... and then there's a rumor (Golf.com had one report of it, Fox Sports had another, Deadspin refers to them both in this article) that Dustin Johnson has been fooling around with at least one PGA player's wife (Golf.com account), if not at least TWO (Robert Lusetich, who said in a tweet on the matter that one of the marriages was broken up as a result, though the former spouse of one player who was possibly tied to an affair with Johnson has denied being that one).
Lusetich also stated in another tweet on the story that, when Dustin Johnson faced a drug test at the US Open in Pinehurst:

"Last time was drugs tested was at Pinehurst. A Tour player who saw him says "his face turned white"."

So why do I put this here?

Very simply:

If either of these sets of allegations is true, then, frankly, Dustin Johnson has no business with a PGA Tour card.

If it's the drugs (and, apparently, Lusetich has also said that the PGA Tour is stating it is a "leave of absence") and that allegation is true, he's failed four three drug tests, threetwo  for cocaine.  Even though none of it is PED, that, in most sports, would be enough to terminate a professional athlete's career, or at least for far longer for a second suspension.

If he's screwing around with spouses of other PGA Tour players, that has to fall under "conduct detrimental to the PGA Tour".  The PGA Tour is a very tightly-knit community which travels together, with many of the kids and families knowing each other on a week-to-week basis.

The PGA Tour needs to come correct on this, or else it runs the risk of not having Dustin Johnson come correct on it either.

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