There are many more opinion pieces out there but I found this from Swedish writer Martin Hardenberger to be a powerful summation of Sorenstam’s decision making and responsibility to the game. The English translation:
And here, by distancing himself and the entire Gulf from Trump and what he stands for, they could also have struck a blow for democracy and everyone's equal rights.
But they did not.
Of course, Annika and Gary had nothing to do with Wednesday's invasion of Congress, but when the rest of the United States was in mourning, they had Thursday coffee with the man and instead linked up with Trump and one of the biggest shame spots in the country's history.
For a person who not only dominated competitive golf but also crowned a senseless career by playing against the men, reducing gender gaps and working for golf as a more inclusive sport, it is nothing short of remarkable.
When we did not even talk about Trump being accused of sexual harassment by no less than 26 different women.
After the medal ceremony, I was commissioned to call for reactions. Among other things, I got hold of Helen Alfredsson.
“When you have a voice, it is important to stand up for things that are more important than yourself, such as democracy. Many young people look up to sports stars. If a sports star stands for something positive, it is easier for that young person to be influenced in the right direction.”
With the events of January 6th aging ever more poorly as more evidence surfaces and major corporations flee from anyone supporting the insurrection, Sorenstam has been silent. Active on social media until recently, she has shared nothing about receiving the medal or explained her view of Trump’s role inciting the riot. As a longtime follower, I can see that Sorenstam appears has deleted numerous re-Tweets demonstrating her support of Trump leading up to and after the election.
Her last Tweet features 554 replies and the reaction to her acceptance of the medal is overwhelmingly negative.
Her husband, Mike McGee, deleted his Twitter account entirely after the January 7th visit to Washington. It would have taken days to scrub @JMikeMcGee of the various conspiracy nonsense and hydroxychloroquine peddling. Given the role Sorenstam plays as IGF President, it was the only move for McGee to make.
Sorenstam appears to be hoping the entire thing will go away even as she is leading golf’s top organizations? Even though the mission of the IGF is to improve the game’s image with the world and the job is of some importance given the planned Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Sorenstam is scheduled to play this week as a celebrity in the LPGA Tour’s 2021 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in an event featuring celebrities, athletes and LPGA winners from 2018-2020. She is an ambassador of the event and will hopefully address her positions. This Mike Bianchi profile in the January 16th Orlando Sentinel quotes Sorenstam on a few topics and mentions the medal ceremon, but does not appear to address the topic with her.
I reached out to the IGF about Sorenstam receiving the medal on January 7th. This statement from a spokesperson was already posted on the blog in coverage of the Player/Sorenstam medal ceremony (an that remains hidden from public reporting with no official photographs or releases documenting what happened at the White House).
Here is the initial IGF statement:
The International Golf Federation is extremely proud that Annika Sorenstam has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom along with Gary Player and the late Babe Zaharias, each of whom not only excelled at golf but transcended our sport as role models, mentors and philanthropists.
As noted when she was named as the IGF’s new President in December, Annika is universally respected as a generational talent in women’s golf who, since retiring from competition, has dedicated herself to promoting women’s golf at all levels through her foundation. We are extremely proud of Annika and all that she has accomplished.
Following the groundswell of outrage over the rights and subsequent impeachment of President Trump, I asked the IGF for comment. I received this statement on January 15th:
As an International Federation, the IGF recognises the importance of the autonomy of sport from politics and that the IGF must always remain politically neutral. That said, the IGF does not condone any forms of violence or illegal acts, including those committed by individuals that were viewed by the world during the breaching of the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021.
The spokesperson was also asked about the Twitter account scrubbing. It was made clear the IGF “absolutely did not urge Annika to delete any Twitter posts.”
I also reached out to the World Golf Hall of Fame spokesperson on January 7th and Callaway, longtime sponsor of Sorenstam, and have not heard back.
In scrubbing Tweets and hunkering out of the limelight, Sorenstam may have recognized the error of her ways in accepting the medal only hours after the attempted insurrection. As an American citizen now, Sorenstam is more than entitled to her views under the First Amendment. But if she is to continue on voting for Hall of Fame members and representing golf to the world as IGF President, Sorenstam needs to clarify where she stands on the events of January 6th. Otherwise, it is hard to imagine how she can adequately represent golf and its leading organizations on an international stage.
