It started with a sticker.
American golfer Kirk Triplett showed up at this year’s Senior Players Championship in Ohio with the Black Lives Matter logo on his bag. A gesture that gained widespread attention – especially when social media swept into action.
“People are speaking out and saying very positive things. Thanks for standing up, thanks for saying something,” Triplett told CNN Sport.
“We really appreciate your story and getting some of these anecdotal stories from people both White and Black about experiences that they’ve had and the more of those kind of things that we hear and that we share, I think the better we all understand each other.
“So for me overall, I’ve been kind of surprised and feel pretty good about that the outreach and the things that people have told me.”
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Passion for adoption
For Triplett, the matter is deeply personal.
The three-time PGA Tour winner and wife Cathi are the proud parents of four children.
“We have twin boys that are 24, they are biological. We have a daughter who is 20 and a son who is 18 and they’re both adopted. Our daughter is Hispanic and our son is half African-American, half Japanese,” the 58 year-old revealed before sharing more on the family’s passion for adoption.
“When you see our family out around town, you know exactly what we’re all about. Raising a family and trying to teach kids the right way to do things and trying to give them opportunity in the same way our parents gave us opportunities.
“So it’s a great story, adoption. There’s some difficulties at times, but there’s difficulties with your biological kids, too. But it is a great story. Great for the kids. It’s great for the families. And more important, it’s great for the community.”
Triplett describes his 18-year-old son Kobe as a “typical” teenager for his age.
“I think he faces the same challenges any young African-American male faces, just sort of an uncertainty from the world around him,” says Triplett.
“Looking at him based on what he looks like, if he’s in the wrong place at the wrong time, what’s going to happen?
“Is this situation going to escalate or is he going to have the ability to kind of manage it and control it and let it de-escalate a little bit?
“But I guess my fear, or my what bothers me, is why should that be his responsibility? Why should he be the one that has to make it slow down and make people react a different way? That shouldn’t be his responsibility. That should be the system’s responsibility.”
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