Hank Haney suing PGA Tour over cancelled radio show, alleges ‘revenge’

Hank Haney is suing the PGA Tour for damages after the cancellation of his radio show earlier this year, he announced Wednesday. The suit claims that the Tour “improperly intimidated, enticed and threatened Sirius XM…to suspend and ultimately terminate Haney’s radio broadcast.” The action came after Haney made a series of dismissive, racially-charged comments about the LPGA tour.

Haney, best known as Tiger Woods’ former swing coach, argues that the PGA Tour was not party to the agreement between him and Sirius XM and alleges the show’s cancellation was just the latest example of the Tour interfering with his business ventures. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, makes the claim that the Tour was responsible for suppressing sales of Haney’s book, The Big Miss, for the cancellation of both his Golf Channel show The Haney Project and his radio show on SiriusXM.

In a release, Haney’s legal team cites “revenge” as a motive for the Tour and writes that “the only obstacle he faced was a PGA Tour bent on seeking revenge for Haney’s 2012 truth-telling book.”

The radio cancellation came as a result of an exchange from a show in May. When Haney’s SiriusXM cohost Steve Johnson asked Haney who would win the U.S. Women’s Open, Haney responded dismissively: “I’m gonna predict a Korean. That’s gonna be my prediction. I couldn’t name you, like, six players on the LPGA Tour. Nah, maybe I could. Well, I’d go with Lee. If I didn’t have to name a first name, I’d get a bunch of them right.”

Haney’s comments were widely panned on social media. He apologized, but still received a suspension in a joint statement from SiriusXM and the PGA Tour and the program was later discontinued.

Woods was blunt in assessing Haney’s suspension at the Memorial. “He deserved it,” Woods said. “Just can’t look at life like that. And he obviously said what he meant, and he got what he deserved.”

The suit continues that Haney’s “financial position suffered, and continue to suffer to this day, and Haney’s reputation has been permanently damaged.”

The suit demands “compensatory damages in an amount to be proven at trial; punitive damages for the PGA Tour’s intentional tortious conduct; cost; and such other relief as this Court may determine as fair and just.”

According to the suit, Haney was making $250,000 in annual salary plus a percentage of the ad revenue generated by the program. The suit details that Haney earned more than $460,000 from net advertising revenue in 2018 and, thanks to growth, had already earned more than $360,000 from net advertising revenue through April 30, 2019.

The PGA Tour did not immediately respond to a request for comment from GOLF.com.

You can see the complete release below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12/18/19

HANK HANEY TAKES ON THE PGA

Hank Haney has spent decades devoted to the profession of golf, as one of the game’s most accomplished instructors, media experts and authors. Having instructed over 200 touring professionals throughout his career, Hank today is providing to the entire golf world a lesson about pushing back against the PGA TOUR’s near-total domination and control of the industry.

Following six years of guiding Tiger Woods’ game, Hank began a meteoric rise as an on-air expert and storyteller, providing unique insights into the golf world. The only obstacle he faced was a PGA TOUR bent on seeking revenge for Haney’s 2012 truth-telling book about his six years instructing Woods, The Big Miss. As alleged in the Complaint filed today in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, the PGA TOUR forced its Superstores and Shops to cancel orders for Hank’s book, directed the Golf Channel in 2013 to discontinue Hank’s unquestionably successful television show, the “Haney Project,” and, a couple of years later, induced large sponsors to discontinue business relationships with Hank.

This past year, the PGA TOUR continued its effort to censor and control the golf media by forcing Sirius XM to cancel the “Hank Haney Golf Radio” show. Sirius XM, in announcing discipline against Hank, made it clear on May 30, 2019, that it was acting at the PGA TOUR’s insistence: “At the PGA TOUR’s instruction Mr. Haney has been suspended from the SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio channel.”

The transgression: immediately before the LPGA U.S. Open, Hank admitted he did not follow women’s golf and, when pushed to forecast a winner, said he could only guess that the winner would have the surname “Lee,” the surname of six golfers in the tournament, all ranked in the top 100. Indeed, the eventual winner was Jeongeun Lee.

Concerned, however, that he had been too flippant, Hank issued an apology while still on the air, explaining:

“This morning I made some comments about women’s professional golf and its players that were insensitive and that I regret. In an effort to make a point about the overwhelming success of Korean players on the tour I offended people and I am sorry. I have the highest respect for the women who have worked so hard to reach the pinnacle of their sport and I never meant to take away from their abilities and accomplishments. I’ve worked in this game with men and women players from many different cultures and I look forward to continuing to do so.”

But the PGA TOUR saw its opening and orchestrated Hank’s termination at Sirius XM.

Reinvigorated with a new podcast on iHeart Radio, Hank is continuing to provide insights into the world of golf while he steps into a new role, adding his voice to a growing chorus of golf devotees who no longer will tolerate the PGA TOUR’s arbitrary domination of the world of golf.