‘Thousands of death threats’: Spiranac speaks out over cheating scandal
Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has broken her silence after receiving “tens of thousands of death threats” over a cheating scandal.
The fallout from the Internet Invitational cheating scandal hit golf influencer Paige Spiranac particularly hard.
Spiranac broke her silence in a series of Instagram Stories, saying she has received “tens of thousands of death threats” in the aftermath.
After taking a break from social media in the wake of the incident, Spiranac returned and spoke out about the vitriol that had come her way.
“The last week and a half is probably the worst hate I’ve ever received in the ten years of me doing this,” Spiranac said.
“I’m talking tens of thousands of death threats, people telling me to kill myself, the most vile, horrendous stuff you could ever say to an individual, that’s been in my DMs to the point where we were discussing me having to potentially get a restraining order. I mean, it’s serious stuff. It’s not easy, and it hasn’t been easy.”
Watch the cheating scandal unfold in the video player above
Spiranac said she needed to step back from social media in order to preserve her mental health.
“I know people are wondering why I haven’t posted or why I haven’t talked about it, I just needed to remove myself for my mental health,” she said.
“One thing that I really struggle with is wanting to be liked and accepted, and I don’t want anyone to ever dislike me, and I always try to do everything I can to have people like me, and so, it’s just hard for me as a person with how I process things and then obviously the situation has not been easy either, but luckily, having a good support system, family around and just trying to stay distracted.”
The scandal erupted during the final round of the event when Spiranac was seen brushing grass aside in the deep rough on the 9th hole, allowing another player on her team a cleaner shot at the ball.
With cameras all around the footage was shown to the other team who confronted the 32-year-old on the green.
Spiranac broke down in tears, claiming she did not know the rule, and since her team had lost the hole, the matter was eventually put to rest.
“I am painfully, painfully embarrassed that I did not know this rule,” she said in an Instagram Story. “… I would never intentionally cheat. In all my years of playing golf, I have never been accused of cheating.
“… There were so many cameras on me, to blatantly cheat with that many people around, that many cameras around would be insane. So, I made a mistake, learned now that it was a rules infraction, and I’ll never do it again.”
Spiranac’s team ultimately lost the match — which included a separate cheating controversy involving Togisala — on the 18th hole in a dramatic ending.
The event was run by Barstool and Bob Does Sports, with Dave Portnoy serving as the rules official throughout the event, which started with 48 golf content creators.
It was taped over the summer before running over six episodes starting last month.
Spiranac expressed gratitude to those who have checked in during a turbulent time.
“It’s been an interesting week and a half, but I just want to thank everyone for reaching out, asking me how I’m doing, all the support, really means so much to me,” she said.
This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.
Originally published as ‘Thousands of death threats’: Spiranac speaks out over cheating scandal
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