“Second-degree assault, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.”
After hearing these charges, and without knowing the suspect, what would you think?
Some might want to know more about the incident, but most would probably want to impose judgment and assign guilt without remorse, especially as it involved a police officer.
But some judgments were quickly rescinded when the suspect was revealed to be the world’s no.1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler.
And that’s when the race debate began.
It all started early Friday morning ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship near the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville after a security guard at the event was struck and killed by a shuttle bus.
As police were directing traffic at the scene, Scheffler pulled up for his morning tee time, and that’s when the chaos ensued.
According to Scheffler’s attorney Steven Romines, the golf star was following directions given to him by another police officer.
“He was following the instructions of another traffic control officer and trying to get into the facility to warm up and work out,” Romines said.
In a statement, Scheffler echoed his attorney’s statement, calling it a “big misunderstanding” and expressing his condolences to the family of the man who died earlier that morning.
“This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do,” he wrote. “I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.
“Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.”
As ESPN’s Jeff Darlington broke down the incident live on air, sports fans waited for more information about the arrest.
When the charges, Scheffler’s mug shot and arrest report were revealed, the reactions erupted.
Some were funny.
But others were serious, reminding the world about Breonna Taylor, Colin Kaepernick and other Black people who were victims of, or spoke out against, police brutality.
And that quickly brought the reality of the situation and society as a whole, back into focus.
“I’ve seen an incredible amount of compassion shown towards Scottie Scheffler’s interaction with Louisville Metro PD. It’s unfortunate that those calling out officer overreaction in his case didn’t show those same sentiments when Louisville Metro PD fatally shot Breonna Taylor,” posted the Chicago Sky’s Brianna Turner on X/Twitter.
“Meanwhile #BreonnaTaylor was simply sleeping. One is dead today. One is making his tee time. For the slow to catch this, BOTH should be alive today but privilege is not afforded to all. And even in death, while innocent, your murder can be justified as an unavoidable casualty,” posted Ebony Jade Hilton.
Of course, the haters responded in full force, blaming the innocent Breonna Taylor and using the oft-used “Race baiter” as counter-fodder.
But they were conflicted in their feelings and tried hard to “back the blue” while still supporting Scheffler, leaving them in an angry and confused state.
Even Jason Whitlock was taken to task by his followers for saying “All he [Scheffler] had to do was comply with Detective Gillis and none of this would have occurred. Pretty simple.”
A few hours after his arrest, Scheffler was on the course for his tee time while the racially tinged debate raged.
“Free Scottie” t-shirts started popping up online and around the golf course while local and state officials, not wanting to offend either party, issued generic responses.
“The events that occurred (after the fatal collision) are the unfortunate result of this tragic incident, and we are hopeful that all parties involved can come to a resolution,” said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
On Saturday morning, Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed there was no body cam footage of the incident but that they would “release footage that we have.”
Perhaps most interesting to note is that, per the Louisville Courier Journal, Scheffler praised police officers for helping to calm him down. The golfer also told reporters that “he did spend some time stretching in jail” and went through his warm-up routine while detained with the hope of still being able to play that morning.
Being alive, or even having the opportunity to focus on golf instead of fearing for your life while incarcerated must be nice.
As of Sunday, the Championship and Scheffler’s legal wrangling rolls on. While that’s happening, it’s important to remember this.
Scheffler is alive and walking the course while Breonna Taylor was never given an opportunity to calm down.
