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Where can we buy one of these "Free Bio Kim" hats that Kevin Na's caddie is wearing at the Shriners?
Earlier this week, a gift from the content gods was bestowed upon us when news broke that former PGA Tour pro Bio Kim was suspended three years from the Korean Tour. His crime? Kim, upset that he heard a cellphone camera shutter during his swing, gave the middle finger to the crowd, a move the Korean Tour said "damaged the dignity of a golfer with etiquette violation and inappropriate behavior."
The immediate response from many in the golf media and on Golf Twitter was to defend Kim, the common refrain being that the punishment did not fit the crime. A few tour pros also commented on Kim's suspension, but none came to his defense quite like Kevin Na, who knows Kim well, going as far to say as he felt like "a big brother" to him while Kim was trying to find his way on the PGA Tour.
"We developed a really good relationship. What he did was wrong," Na said on Wednesday at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. "Kind of surprised me. He's not that kind of person. I talked to him on the phone yesterday. We exchanged some texts. From what I've gathered, I guess it wasn't the first time that happened that day. He was fed up with it.
"Should he be fined? Yes. Three years is ridiculous."
Na added he felt the penalty was "extreme," and that Kim has no history of behavior issues.
"You're taking a man's job for three years," said Na. "Yes, he was unprofessional and there should be consequences for it, but not take a man's job away for three years. At the same time, the spectator was disrespecting the game and the player at the same time."
Na continued by saying he hopes Kim gets an opportunity to make things right, and that he'd do whatever he could to help him. Fans who tuned in to PGA Tour Live early on Thursday morning saw one of the ways Na is helping: Having caddie Kenny Harms wear a "Free Bio Kim" hat:
Na wasn't kidding about doing whatever he could. That was fast. Also, where can we buy one of these?
In addition to this fresh lid, Na also said he's connected Kim with the PGA Tour in the hopes the suspension doesn't affect his opportunities to play on other tours.
"I know this is an individual sport," said Na. "But when a player, a fellow golfer is being singled out I want to say, I think we need to get together and help him. Yes, what he did was 100% wrong. Going back to three year suspension is not what he deserves."
Find yourself a group of friends that will have your back like Kevin Na. Also, #FREEBIOKIM.