The Loop

Man brags about heckling Ian Poulter; Poulter responds by informing man's bosses about it

March 13, 2016
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Hecklers are the bane of sports fans'—not to mention athletes'—existence. What possesses adults to yell at their fellow man is beyond me. Worse, the majority of taunts are unoriginal, unfunny and irrational. Why are you screaming "YOU SUCK!" at one of the best athletes in the world? You got cut from the JV team, buddy. This is especially infuriating for families; your kid shouldn't have to hear this garbage.

So anytime a heckler gets put in their place, I'm all for it.

Except when it involves tattling.

Case in point: A man who goes by JJ Downum sent a message to our friends at BarstoolSports about his interaction with Ian Poulter at the Valspar Championship:

Lame, right? You think you're getting into Poulter's head, a player with an immaculate Ryder Cup record and unquestioned fortitude, with that jeer? That's like Ryan Gosling getting offended by a monster like me calling him ugly. (Which he's not. That guy is beautiful. I have a poster of him in my room and everything. Um, back to the story...)

Unfortunately for Downum, Poulter saw his Twitter post and decided to take matters into his own hands. How? By sending a message to Downum's employers:

I'm mixed. Most grow out of the tattletale stage around the third grade. And as dumb as Downum's comments and subsequent social blast were, dude shouldn't lose his job over the situation.

Conversely, buying a ticket to a sporting event doesn't give a fan the right to be a jackass, and all actions have consequences.

Let's hope Poulter and Downum make peace. After all, the Euro team has enough motivation for this year's Ryder Cup. No need to fan the flames.