As a sports fan one can see athletes doing things that well, just wouldn’t look right at the dinner table in your local church hall. Yet there is one habit many do on a regular basis many of us wouldn’t think twice about. For instance spitting while on the field. Unfortunately, for professional golfer , Keegan Bradley, this simple action of spitting during the final round of the Northern Trust Open tournament sparked negative comments. No he didn’t spit at Tiger Woods or a heckler in the crowd, but he simple spit prior to hitting his golf ball and this triggered feedback from golf fans.

Yes, Bradley did what baseball, football, track, soccer, rugby and other athletes do during a competition. As if they didn’t have to remember to refrain from unsportsmanlike conduct, one has to remember to not spit in public too. It is understood you wouldn’t want a basketball player or bowler spitting on the floor and causing someone to slip. But shouldn’t more grace be given to the athlete who plays out in the heat under extreme weather conditions? Will we then ridicule an athlete for not stopping to wash his hands if he sneezes?

Regardless if Bradley does it again, which may draw more people to watch him just to see if he does, we can appreciate his tweet on Twitter which said, “Id like to apologize for my spitting. It’s like a reflex, I don’t even know I’m doing it, but it’s a longtime habit I’ve got to try to conquer.” It’s a crazy reason for crisis communication, but we give him and his team an A for effort and the content in the response.

What do you think? Should an athlete have to apologize for spitting at no one during a game?