2013By Matt Yoder on

elk

Athletes getting in trouble on Twitter is nothing new.  We've seen athletes tweet bad jokes and offensive comments, pictures that are straight from the Carlos Danger file, DMs that weren't meant for the light of day, and pretty much everything in between.  We've also seen an inordinate number of athletes get their Twitter account "hacked."

On the list of athletes going bad on Twitter, you don't expect to see a 50 year old golfer, but everything about Steve Elkington's recent social media rampage defied common sense.

While at the Senior British Open played at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England the 1995 PGA Champion from Australia unleashed a series of tweets bashing the town and making racist remarks against Pakistanis.

Elkington has since apologized for his offensive language (the term used in his Twitter reply is apparently considered derogatory in the UK) and complimented the "beautiful" city of Southport.  Of course.  I'm sure that's what he meant to say the first time, his tweet about "fat tattooed guy" was just taken out of context or something.  Elkington was given a police escort at the start of his third round and it's probable golfing authorities will take disciplinary action against the Aussie.

Elkington has gained something of a reputation on Twitter for being outspoken and rubbing folks the wrong way.  Just a couple weeks ago he got in a spat with Graeme McDowell over the Northern Irishman's wardrobe.  McDowell fired back calling Elkington a Twitter troll.

This is what trolls do.  They bite and nip until they finally say something they can't take back no matter if they delete it from their Twitter account or not.  Given Elkington's use of Twitter, it was only a matter of time before he hit one out of bounds.

[UK Telegraph]

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