SAN DIEGO, Calif. (WJHL) — The East Tennessee State University (ETSU) men’s golf team has received an apology from Delta Airlines after a video that has over 5 million views showed staff haphazardly throwing around the team’s golf bags.
The ETSU men’s golf team is in California for the NCAA Championship. The team posted a video showing baggage handlers tossing the team’s bags containing golf clubs and other personal belongings. The video is captioned, “Nice of Delta to handle our clubs with care.”
ETSU Athletic Director Richard Sander said the improper care damaged a few bags, but no clubs.
When confronted about the incident, Delta released this statement:
We apologize to the ETSU Golf team and ask for a mulligan on how their equipment was handled. We’re in direct contact with the Bucs to ensure they have what they need to successfully compete in the NCAAs.
Anthony Black, Delta Airlines spokesperson
Unifi Aviation confirmed the staff members in the video are employed by Unifi. The company released this statement:
Unifi Aviation is aware of the video circulating that shows our employees offloading luggage belonging to the East Tennessee State University men’s golf team. The way the luggage is being handled is not consistent with our training and our policies. We are investigating and intend to take the appropriate action. Our sincere apologies to the team and players.
Statement from Unifi Aviation
Sander said Delta has been trying to mitigate the situation, and the men’s golf team “feels good about their response.”
Ultimately, he said it is important to move on from the situation to ensure a winning performance in the championship.
“I think that created some concern, but I think we’ve really talked to them a lot about [it], they’re out there to win a national championship, so they’ve kind of got to leave that behind and just focus on playing the best golf they can possibly play,” Sander said.
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