A federal judge has denied a motion by the PGA Tour to dismiss Hank Haney’s complaint against it. Haney claims that the tour pressured SiriusXM to first suspend, and then ultimately fire him from his radio show for comments he made about the number of Korean players in women’s golf.
The official language of the complaint accuses the PGA Tour of “tortious interference with contract and tortious interference with business relations’. It was originally filed in a Ft. Lauderdale courtroom.
U.S. District Court Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II went heavy on the puns in his decision. He wrote, “The Court, having reviewed the parties’ submissions, the record, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, finds that the allegations teed up in this case — like a well-hit drive on the golf course — have avoided pleading hazards under Rule 12(b)(6), remained in bounds, and left Plaintiffs with an opportunity to take their next shot.”
Haney’s lawsuit alleges that the PGA Tour has been trying to disrupt his business for years since the publication of his 2012 book The Big Miss. It also states that his firing from SiriusXM likely cost him millions in advertising revenue.
“It allows us to move forward and prove our case,” Haney said in a statement to Golf Digest. “Discovery will show the evidence in our favor is overwhelming and indisputable, and evidences a disturbing influence the PGA Tour exercises in the golf world, including on media outlets. I’m looking forward to our day in court.”
SiriusXM terminated Haney in May over comments about the US Women’s Open field deemed racially insensitive. He has since issued a formal apology saying that in trying to highlight the number of successful Korean players on the women’s tour, he made comments that he regrets.
