Coerced apologies, retroactive integrity, performative remorse
“Be the voice of integrity in every relationship you’re in, room you enter, or team you’re on.” – Lisa Merlo Booth
Why is it that individuals, groups, and companies are seldom repentant or accountable BEFORE the backlash? Have we lost all sense of where the line is?
Here’s a fresh case study in how backlash—not conscience—suddenly gives people a spine.
The two companies, Good Good Golf and Callaway Golf, collaborated to develop a new driver. Pretty cool, right? Of course, they then had to promote it. But how?
Here’s how I imagine this process went.
(Note: what follows is my speculation about how the conversations went. I do not personally know what was said during the planning, creation, or completion of this ad. I do know the ad was made and the video was put out into the world.)
They decide to get the best marketers in the room and pitch some ideas to create an amazing ad for this awesome new driver.
And then, the brainstorming begins…
Countless ideas are thrown out (some crazy, some brilliant, some crude, some really bad, etc.). I assume several off-handed jokes are made, everyone chuckles, and finally–after extensive conversations, marketing meetings, pitches, budget talks, and debates- they land on an awesome idea:
- Let’s have a close up shot of this awesome new golf driver, followed by a female golfer reaching for it, and then suddenly out of nowhere let’s have Garrett Clark—the founder of Good Good Golf–run over, knock her to the ground, stand over her and threateningly say, “do not touch my driver”.
Yeah—that’s it, that’s the one we want to do!!! Oh my gosh that’s hilarious! Let’s do it!
Yup, let’s film a man knocking a woman down to the ground and then standing over her daring her to try to touch that club again.
Yes!!! That’s it!! THAT’S THE ONE WE WANT! Oh my gosh this is so great!
So after all these meetings, all these ideas bashed around, all these talks about the logistics–this is the one everyone agrees is the BEST idea to go with? Hmm…
Okay—well, maybe just hearing and talking about the idea made it difficult to see how utterly bad it was? Maybe as they start actually filming a man violently knocking a woman to the ground, they’ll realize that maybe this isn’t exactly the best idea?
The filming begins.
Garrett Clark aggressively runs at former Division I golfer Alexis Miestowski, going after his driver, and WHAM, knocks her to the ground!
“Cut! Let’s do that again—only this time with a little more force.”
“Again.”
After the third or fourth take, maybe someone says, “Hey, do you think we should have a male golfer try to grab the driver, and you knock him down instead of a female?”
Perhaps they all give that thought for a moment and then decide—nah, this is better!
After all, it’s much harder to knock down a 200-pound man than it is a 125-pound woman. Besides, they say, “if you knocked down a man, there would likely be a brawl, and we don’t want that.” “Lol—that’s so true! Ha ha—could you imagine!” “Okay—let’s keep it as is—this is great!”
And so they once again go ahead with the exciting new video creation.
Finally, after countless men agreeing to the concept, many conversations, formulating the budget, getting the messaging just right, and filming several takes of Alexis being aggressively knocked to the ground and threatened, the final product is made!
High fives for everyone, cheering, pats on the back, and so much excitement to get this amazing ad out to the public. “Woo hoo, look what we created!” Callaway Golf Physical Assault Video
The final video ad was posted on X on a Friday evening…
Almost immediately, all hell breaks loose…
People are outraged.
There is intense backlash coming from seemingly everywhere.
The ad is pulled down within hours of its debut.
And the apologies begin…After the backlash.
The powers that be scramble into damage control. The men who created, backed, and allowed the ad to move forward suddenly “see”–with the help of the public eye–the error of their ways and are swiftly apologetic.
Good Good Golf posts the following statement on their X account:
“We posted a video to our channels that ultimately depicted actions that are not aligned with our values as a brand. We have since taken that content down, and sincerely apologize. Good Good has always stood for making the game of golf more inclusive to all, and we will continue to ensure that is our mission going forward.”
Callaway’s statement:
“We are disappointed by the content that was posted, and are appreciative of Good Good for addressing this. We look forward to working together to ensure a more inclusive place in golf.”
PGA’s comment:
“The PGA Tour believes in golf’s ability to bring people together and create a welcoming environment for all. We do not condone violence in any form, and the since-deleted video does not reflect our values or commitment to inclusivity and respect.”
Good Good Golf’s later attempt at a repair move:
Days after the backlash, the company announced that they would donate proceeds from this campaign to “an organization supporting women in our local community.” As of this writing, they have not finalized a recipient’s name.
A Culture of Entitlement
The fact that this ad went from idea to actual creation is appalling on many levels. Sadly, this utter obliviousness and/or extreme entitlement that severely damages one’s ability to recognize the impact of their actions is one example of many: META’s Mark Zuckerberg, countless political figures, and on and on.
And then there are cases that go far beyond obliviousness or entitlement—like the mass rape trial of Gisele Pelicot, where dozens of men were complicit for years and said nothing.
Both ends of that spectrum point to the same growing problem in our world today: a willingness and entitlement to harm others, act without integrity, and have little to no accountability unless caught.
Often, even when people are caught, unless there are significant legal, financial, or personal consequences, there is no accountability and even less remorse.
This is a dangerous path for all of us.
A nation without integrity, with blurred lines at best between right and wrong, is positioned to create ongoing harm. Until we have brave individuals—particularly those in the decision-making rooms–refusing to be complicit in actions or messaging that harm individuals, groups, or our culture, we will continue in this downward spiral.
Challenge
Be the voice of integrity in every relationship you’re in, room you enter, or team you’re on.
Character shows up in your actions far more than your words. When you stay silent while harm is being done, encouraged, or mocked, you are complicit—and the harm continues. When you take a stand, even at cost to yourself, culture shifts.
Complicity is a toxic enabler of countless harms in our world. Don’t be complicit. Stop silencing yourself. Be courageous enough to speak up.
