Golfer Scott Piercy loses 2 endorsements over homophobic Instagram post

Four-time PGA Tour winner Scott Piercy has lost endorsement deals with Titleist and J. Lindeberg after posting a homophobic meme earlier this week on Instagram directed at former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.

Piercy also posted a message about the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon. After receiving swift backlash, Piercy posted an apology, writing, "Whenever I post my intent is NEVER to offend. I want to apologize if any of my recent story posts have been offensive. I will do better!"

On Tuesday, Acushnet, the owner of Titleist, told Golf Digest that Piercy had been dropped. J. Lindeberg released a statement on Thursday saying as a global lifestyle brand, it strives "to support and show our love and compassion for all demographics around the world. When we choose our ambassadors, we choose individuals we know will represent us well on and off the golf course. The claims from Scott Piercy were unacceptable and far from our views and beliefs. We have since terminated our contract with Mr. Piercy."

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Piercy is now playing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. ESPN reports that he could face discipline from the PGA Tour, which released a statement saying it is "disappointed in the lack of judgment used."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.