Sarina Wiegman adds to criticism of Tiger Woods for Justin Thomas’ tampon prank

England coach Sarina Wiegman has criticized Tiger Woods for his “very inappropriate” decision to give his playing partner a tampon while playing golf.

Woods, 47, handed the hygiene product to Justin Thomas after passing him on the ninth hole in the first round of Thursday’s Genesis Invitational.

The 15-time Major winner apologized at a subsequent press conference.

And he was criticized by Wiegman, who said she was disappointed in the American legend.

Ahead of her side’s Arnold Clark Cup game against Italy on Sunday, Wiegman said: “It’s very inappropriate and I think he recognized that too.

“He is such a great role model and can have a positive impact on society. He should be aware of that at all times.”

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Manchester City and England defender Alex Greenwood added: “I only saw the incident this morning but from what I understand he is a huge role model within the sport.

“If he looks back on it, he’s going to be really disappointed in what he’s done and I’m sure he’ll apologize for that.”

The incident on day one drew criticism on social media, with many saying it disrespected women.

Columnist Christine Brennan wrote in USA Today: “Woods’ message to Thomas was obvious. It’s been the motto of silly, often insecure boys for generations: “You play like a girl”.

“What a bizarre thing for a ‘girl dad.’ His daughter Sam, now 15, grew up around soccer and had just played in a tournament in Florida when she arrived to watch him win the Masters in 2019.

“… He used basic misogyny to insult his good friend Thomas, a knee slap of a fling against female athletes: ‘You hit the ball like a girl!'”

Meanwhile, Sky Sports Golf presenter Sarah Stirk said it was “awesome”.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Stirk said: “It was apparently a hoax. For me, it was the guy, the blokey demeanor, handing him the tampon and effectively saying, “I passed you, you drive the ball like a woman”.

“[That is] effectively the conclusion of the incident that happened, which for me is that women are inferior to women to men.

“Women should not be portrayed as inferior to men in any area of ​​life, and certainly not in a sporting landscape.”

Woods described the incident as “a prank”.

“It was just meant to be fun and games and obviously it didn’t turn out that way,” he said on Friday.

“If I offended anyone in any way, I’m sorry.

“It wasn’t intentional. We play pranks on each other all the time and I think it didn’t go viral that way, but between us it was, it’s different.”

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(Photo: Getty Images)