FRISCO, Texas — Some golf club patrons are speaking out after claiming they found a racial slur written on the course at The Trails of Frisco Golf Club.
”The incident was traumatic,” said Darius Jones.
Jones and a friend visited the golf club for the first time on Wednesday. He said they stumbled upon the racially obscene message during the course of their game.
The men said someone wrote the N-word in the sand bunker by the sixth hole.
”It was hurtful, but people that look like me go through it on a regular basis. And it’s been like that forever,” Jones explained.
The golfer said he wanted to leave the course, but his friend suggested they document the incident with photos and stay.
”I honestly wanted to stop playing immediately,” Jones said. "My buddy I was with said, 'that’s what they want. They don’t want us to be here, so lets just press on.'"
The men claim they also sensed tension with a senior staffer as they checked in.
”He made a comment about what time the other boy was going to show up. It took me aback,” Jones added.
Many people perceive the word "boy" as a code word, or derogatory reference, when made toward Black men.
"Racism isn’t something that is dead. For people who look like us, it happens on a regular basis, and I wanted people to know that,” Jones explained.
The golfer shared the photos and details about his experience on social media. He is hoping it can bring awareness.
”A horrific thing happened,” said Ginny Dyer, the general manager of the Trails at Frisco Golf Club.
Representatives from the company said they are responding to the concerns.
“We have contacted Frisco Police Department," Dyer explained. "They’re helping us investigate this."
Police are looking for surveillance images and conducting interviews. Dyer is also doing her own round of questioning and said she is re-training staff on customer service.
”My apologies,” Dyer said. "I hope that this never happens again anywhere. We don’t condone it. We don’t accept it. We were pretty outraged when this happened."
All sides regret the incident ever happened.
For now, the golf club is urging anyone with information about who is behind the vandalism to come forward.