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Report: FBI investigating Phil Mickelson

McRock said:
This still bugs me. Without getting into whether he did it or not, there is a presumption of innocence in this country. We are all innocent of any crime until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as determined by a jury of our peers.

That used to be true, until our country morphed into one giant reality TV show culture. Although I don't know for sure, I suspect that if the FBI were investigating someone back in say, the early 60s, they wouldn't have done a press release saying "hey, were investigating this guy." But I guess they do now. And once that's out there, we have a 'journalistic' culture to not only report on it 24/7 for days, sometimes weeks, but then, what seems like a majority of journalism is currently hell bent on damning anyone who is rich, especially wall street people. Think about it, when was the last time you heard the phrase "Koch Brothers" in a positive light? Prior to stepping down as CEO, Bill Gates was constantly under media scrutiny, but now that he's given up a chunk of his fortune and primarily retired, he has turned into a media favorite with his charitable work. No one brings up his years of lawsuits for alleged antitrust violations, the multiple class actions lawsuits over all of us having to purchase windows with our PC, etc.

As a lawyer, although I'm not a white collar federal criminal lawyer, I do know that usually, a person is aware of an investigation pretty early on by the Feds. The Feds just aren't that sneaky when they want your financial information. I think it's beyond 'low class' to approach a guy after he gets done with his job for the day. I also find it astounding that his lawyer(s) were not on top of this to prevent it from being a media circus.

If Phil isn't guilty of anything, I hope he (meaning his lawyers) puts the Feds in their place. But even if he does, the majority of media won't report it beyond a 10 second soundbite or a 1 paragraph side bar newspaper article. The damage to his reputation is already done.

~Rock
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I almost completely agree with your statement. My only point of contention would be the "low class" of when/where he was approached (As a cop I must find some reason to disagree with a lawyer). I often meet with suspects and witnesses after they get home from work and if absolutely necessary at work. PGA pro or pipe fitter makes no difference to me.

But to the main point of your post, you are completely correct that the media often interferes with ones presumption of innocence. Of course history tells us this happened even in the grand ol days of newspapers.

Finally, many people are questioned every day by all sorts of law enforcement. This doesn't mean anything other than there is reason to believe someone MAY have some knowledge the investigator is looking for (and sometimes the person being questioned doesn't even know they know).
 
Do you not even think he will get fined? I think he'll have something coming his way.
Mystery Meat said:
We can't draw conclusions until the facts are straight . Anything else is hear say . :bicker:
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Better get in the lazy boy with the popcorn and get ready for that. Think that will be interesting.
Mystery Meat said:
time will tell ! Fox News has something about this in a few , can't wait to watch . Might be a big misunderstanding
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Mward said:
I bet he's not even left handed... :alien:
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I would sooner destroy a stained glass window than Phil Mickelson's career.

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Don't say it can't happen. Jim Thorpe went to jail for a few years for tax evasion. If something did happen and he knew about it, ruh roh.
 
i started getting interested in golf last summer and got my first club in october time frame. phil is who i look up to and got me interested not tiger.... i hope the best for phil in this
 
McRock said:
During his post round presser, it appeared a reporter asked Phil about when he did certain trades, or maybe when he was first approached. It was hard to hear the question. In response, Phil started by saying he wasn't going to talk about, but cut himself off and just stared right at the guy "well, you wrote the article, you would know wouldn't you."

Pretty sure that guy burned his connection with Phil for awhile.

~Rock
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I didn't seed the whole press conference but saw a piece on NBC Nightly News and he was very emphatic that he had done nothing wrong.

I sure hope not.

But I know some Lance Armstrong fans that believed his emphatic denials as well.

But I'm prepared to give Phil the benefit of the doubt until I see or more.

Oh and the question about the contest and if he misses the cut.

Callaway has said they will pay the winner the amount equal to the last place finishers check.
 
We shall see how this unfolds. Interesting.
 
Orange Hog said:
I just watched a replay of the presser from earlier today. First off, I'm a Phil fan. I think the struggles he has dealt with off the course with his wife and mother dealing with cancer and just his general demeanor is that of a top quality man. That said, I truly hope and I honestly believe that he is sincere in his statement that he was not involved. Unfortunately, I was a Lance Armstrong fan when he went through the whole doping scandal and he seemed sincere too and we all know how that turned out. Hopefully this works out positively for Phil. The media is foaming at the mouth to pounce on this guy and I'm glad that the PGA guys stopped all the repeat questioning today from the press and moved on to golf-related questions.
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I like to seperate the person from the performer. Tiger is a great golfer. I like how he golfs. I know nothing about him personally, so anything he does won't surprise me. I only like the golfer part.
 
Orange Hog said:
I get it and understand completely. I'm one of the guys that grew up with a passion for sports and looked up to a handful of athletes as role models (e.g. Cal Ripken, Peyton Manning, Jerry Rice, etc.). With so many poor role models in sports today (see pretty much anyone in the NBA) it's nice to look at golf and see the personal side of these guys as something the younger generation can aspire to both in the game and in their family life. Phil, Bubba, and Dufner are just a few great examples. Tiger, well, not so much. In fact, I don't know how anyone could look at Tiger as a role model ever again after his whole ordeal. For Phil my hope is that this blows over and leaves him untarnished so he can continue to be a great role model for the younger generation.
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Haha, it's funny that you mention Phil, Bubba, and Dufner as great examples of role models. They all have their faults (Bubba berating his caddie, Dufner with chewing, Phil with gambling), nobody is perfect. I think you could make arguments for almost every professional athlete to be a good role model. And yes, even Tiger could be a good role model if you have your kid focus on his work ethic and other good traits. Tiger isn't just the cheating scandal, just like Bubba isn't all about berating his caddie, and Dufner does more than chew, and Phil does more than gambling.
 
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robmypro said:
I like to seperate the person from the performer. Tiger is a great golfer. I like how he golfs. I know nothing about him personally, so anything he does won't surprise me. I only like the golfer part.
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I totally agree. A long time ago I came to the realization that pro athletes, musicians, etc are just like everyone else...except they are world-class in one aspect of their life. I can appreciate what guys like Tiger and Phil do on the course. Most of what we know off the course is just an image created by their agent, the media, or the company that sponsors them....for 99.9% of us..that is all we will ever know. And guys like Phil who are good with the media get favorable press from the media.....Tiger is more closely guarded and was never good with the media.

I hope Phil didn't do it, but everyone makes mistakes. Whether he did it or not...I will still like his golf game.
 
Not so sure why there is so much phil love. I'm guessing a lot of it is the fact he isn't tiger. He doesn't come across as sincere at all. And the whole leaving titleist just before the ryder cup seems to be forgotten by most.
 
You would hope after all he and his family have been through, he wouldn't risk something like this.
 
Allegations that golfer Phil Mickelson traded in shares of Clorox ahead of Carl Icahn’s unsolicited takeover bid in 2011 are unfounded, according to a report in Thursday’s New York Times, which cited people briefed on the matter. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities Exchange commission, which are pursuing criminal and civil charges respectively, have reportedly found no evidence that Mickelson traded Clorox shares.

http://fortune.com/2014/06/12/mickelson-comes-out-clean-on-clorox-trades/?tm_content=buffer9a4de&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
 
i think when this is all said and done, the government is going to have some egg on it's face.
 
Someone jumped the gun on this and this could get embarrassing for someone.
 
I definitely blame the FBI if he comes out clean. They didn't just show up at a golf tournament for no reason. They were there to send a message or embarass him.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Someone jumped the gun on this and this could get embarrassing for someone.
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I believe the NY Times broke the original story implicating Phil
 
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