Giving the hobby a bad name!

These are the things that go on that give the every day autograph collector a bad name when crap like this happens it just makes it bad for everyone else.  I have seen my fair share of these idiots that make the hobby look poorly in the eyes of the athletes to point where they either stop signing or just sign for kids or whatever they feel the response should be to correct it or limit the situation and interactions with fans.  See the Jordan Spieth article from the USA TODAY below.



© Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports Jordan Spieth gets into it with 'scums'

by Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Don’t mess with Jordan Spieth.

First of all, he’s from Texas.

Secondly, he doesn’t take kindly to professional autograph seekers.

Spieth, the two-time major champion and world No. 6, had a run-in Wednesday with a few gents seeking his autograph following his practice round at Pebble Beach. Tapping into his memory bank of these type of pursuers he’s amassed over the years, Spieth, 23, refused to sign when asked while attending to others who followed him around or were waiting for him.

That’s when, according to Spieth, one of them dropped an “F-bomb in front of three kids” and he responded to the “scums.”

“I felt the need to turn around and tell them that that wasn't right,” Spieth said ahead of his fifth start in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. “And couple of them were saying, ‘You're not Tiger Woods, don't act like you're Tiger.’ I mean it's just like, whatever, guys. You're still trying to benefit off me and I'm not even Tiger Woods. So, you know, what's that say about you?”

In his short time on the PGA Tour, Spieth has quickly built up a database of familiar faces and signs that turn him off in these situations.

“I'm not appreciative of people who travel to benefit off other people's success,” Spieth said “I enjoy signing and sign for kids whenever we get the chance. And when these guys have these items that you've already seen online and people … our team keeps track of that kind of stuff. And these guys that just have bags of stuff to benefit from other people's success when they didn't do anything themselves. Go get a job instead of trying to make money off of the stuff that we have been able to do. We like to sign stuff for charity stuff or for kids, and if you ask anybody universally it's the same way.”

Spieth usually lets his caddie, Michael Greller, handle situations like this. But his instinct, when knowing the foul language was said in front of children, moved him to react.

“When you see guys that follow you around the entire round, they're saying afterwards, ‘We're huge fans.’ A lot of other people did follow the entire round and so I want to make sure I sign for them, if I didn't get them out (on the course),” Spieth said. “So I was just a little frustrated at the end and I didn't appreciate the language that was used and … just some scums that just, it just bothered me.”