Eminem instead of an apology: PGA president raps amid Ryder Cup scandal

The 2025 Ryder Cup in New York will be remembered as a sporting disaster for Team USA and a human scandal due to the fan riots. The leadership crisis at the PGA of America escalated two weeks later when a video surfaced showing President Don Rea at a karaoke performance - at a time when the US team was on the ground.

The competition at the Bethpage Black facility was overshadowed by unprecedented hostilities. On the second day of the tournament in particular, the hostility towards the European team escalated, especially towards Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll, who even had a beer thrown at them. The sporting outcome for Team USA was equally bleak: on Saturday evening, the team was trailing by a historic 11½-4½. In light of these events, the golf world expected a decisive response from PGA of America President Don Rea. But Rea misjudged the situation in an interview. He downplayed the behavior by comparing the spectators to those at a "youth football game" and said that McIlroy "understands that these things happen".

The late change of course after the Ryder Cup

Rea's trivializing comments immediately drew massive criticism and forced him to make a U-turn. After the Ryder Cup, he sent a letter of apology to the PGA members. In it, he unreservedly condemned the fan behavior as "disrespectful, inappropriate" and apologized for the negative perception of his own initial statements. This formal act of damage limitation, supplemented by the apology from PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague and the resignation of moderator Heather McMahan, seemed to end the controversy for the time being.

Read European players' reactions to Rea's belittling here.

The heart of the controversy: The video revelation

But around two weeks after the Ryder Cup, the affair reignited with full force. First, the New York Times reported on a remarkable incident: Don Rea had put on an exuberant karaoke performance on Saturday night, the low point of the American performance. Shortly afterwards, the podcast The Shotgun Start provided the proof: the video was published on its Twitter channel, showing Rea rapping Eminem's classic "Lose Yourself" in an official team hotel.

The timing is explosive: the performance took place just hours after the worst insults and amid the historic backlash. The video transformed the discussion about Rea's leadership style. It cast his initial downplaying in a new light and was perceived as symbolizing a lack of crisis awareness and professional distance from the precarious situation.

Leadership crisis at the PGA of America?

The belated revelation of the video has called into question the credibility of the PGA of America. The image of a celebrating president while his team was sportingly down and fans trampled on the values of the sport overshadows the belated apology. The affair reveals how a delayed investigation and careless actions can permanently damage the reputation of a leading sports organization.