Back in March, professional golfer Max Homa revealed in an interview that he’d left X (formerly Twitter) for good.
Several months later, he has absolutely no regrets.
The 34-year-old had one of the largest followings of anyone on the PGA Tour (700,000 followers) when he stopped posting in February.
“I think I finally had a come-to-Jesus moment that it’s for the sick,” Homa said at the time. “I was sick. I’m just trying to get healthy now. No, I have not enjoyed that app. It’s not very fun. It’s fun to watch our little highlights or lowlights, and that stuff is fun. The rest of it’s probably not great.”
Speaking with reporters at TPC Deere Run ahead of this week’s John Deere Classic, Homa addressed why he left Elon Musk’s social media platform and how he hasn’t regretted it for a moment.
“The reason for that is just the vitriol you read online. It has become a safe haven for people who are, I think, angry at themselves. It is quite absurd how comfortable people feel writing awful things,” Homa said.
“Twitter or X or whatever is an awful, awful place. It took me a while to catch on to how impactful that can be and how much of a waste of energy. I miss the connection with the fans, but nothing comes without so much hate and anger. There’s a lot of love in there, too, but, unfortunately, it gets overwhelmed with one really bad one.”
Homa also blamed the rise of legalized sports gambling for adding to the abuse that athletes like him receive on social media platforms.
“People say some bad, bad things on the internet. You get people telling you you should die on the internet. It has nothing to do with not connecting. I’d love to keep connecting with people, but I try to do it in person a bit more because I have yet to meet somebody in person who has said anything even remotely mean,” he said. “It’s a safe haven for a**holes, for lack of a better term. Sorry, PGA Tour.”
Homa wasn’t the only person to leave X around that time, with many others in the sports world seeking refuge at places like Bluesky in the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election. Homa, meanwhile, has taken his talents to platforms like Instagram and TikTok.