An appreciation for Glenn Beck, Ted
Cruz and a well-known Bible verse appears to be the main reasons an
aspiring professional golfer was abruptly cut off from his main source
of income by his sponsor.
The golfer’s name is Jeff Cochran and
until a few weeks ago, it appeared that he may have finally gotten the
big break that would help him achieve his goal of having a shot to play
on golf’s elite PGA tour.
Cochran claims he was contracted in January by
Virginia-based businessman Brian McMahon to help promote Nebraska Golf
Card (NGC), a budding promotional operation that says it’s “designed to
give golfers reduced rates and access to private clubs.”
Author’s note: Golf Card International is not affiliated with Nebraska Golf Card.
After playing most of the year for
Nebraska Golf Card, Cochran alleged his sponsorship was abruptly
terminated. The initial reason given seemed quite surprising — his
support for Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz; Cruz’s father, Raphael; and
Glenn Beck — but faith, and specifically a Bible verse, also played a
big part in the termination of the contract.
The verse in question?
Philippians 4:13, which reads, ” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
This is how Jeff Cochran’s favorite Bible verse appears on all of his golf bags.
In late October, Cochran, his agent
David Reynolds and NGC’s Brian McMahon both claim they were at a dinner
and the conversation turned to Cruz. Cochran says he praised Cruz and
his father, Raphael, mentioning that he had seen the elder Cruz on an
episode of “The Glenn Beck Program.”
Cochran told TheBlaze that his sponsor
was taken aback by this statement and was also troubled by the fact that
his business associate was a fan of Beck. Following his pro-Cruz
statement, Cochran said McMahon asked him, ”Would you be willing to give
up our support to stand with that wackjob (Beck)?” Cochran answered
“yes” and said the dinner continued without any additional tension or
drama.
But the next morning, Cochran’s agent
said, he received an email from NGC announcing that it was pulling all
financial and product support from Cochran.
Image source: David Reynolds
The email, a copy of which was
provided to TheBlaze, demanded immediate return of all equipment and
that Cochran stop using their logo as well. The initial email from
McMahon to Cochran’s agent was quite specific as to the reason for the
split (emphasis added):
David, I have never had an
issue with you or really Jeff for that matter, but this situation is
very disturbing. I have been tolerant of his religious views and even
supported his off course speaking. However, I just can’t allow my
company to be associated with these radical political views. The
idea that Jeff would line up with the likes of Glenn Beck or Ted Cruz
or any other individual interested in destroying America, just isn’t
something I can swallow.
Cochran and Reynolds said they
immediately complied with the demand and returned the equipment, they
told TheBlaze. That quick response triggered the email thank-you from
McMahon shown below, but that note also contained a few parting shots
(emphasis added).
“I looked up the verse Jeff put on the bag and had to laugh,” the email said. ”How can someone so smart be so gullible?
The idea of trusting or believing that someone has control over your
future is the definition of insanity. I will continue to trust people
I’ve actually met and trust to help chart my course.”
Image source: David Reynolds
McMahon’s email continued (emphasis added): “Tell Jeff if he ever decides to relinquish these childish and uneducated views, we might be willing to renew our relationship.” He ended the email, “In me I trust, Brian.”
It was shortly after the second email was sent that Cochran and his agent reached out to TheBlaze.
“Believes he has been forgiven for past indiscretions by a mystical power who lives in the clouds.”
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TheBlaze was in the process of
investigating the story, exchanging emails with Cochran and his agent
and establishing a timeline of the events, when we received an
unsolicited email from McMahon of NGC (from the same email address that
sent the emails to Cochran’s address).
McMahon did not mince his words and
almost immediately attacked TheBlaze, writing, “I spent a little time on
your website this morning and you should be ashamed of what you’ve
created.”
He didn’t hold back, mocking Cochran
for listening to Beck: “Jeff is the perfect target for someone like
Beck. He believes he has been forgiven for past indiscretions by a
mystical power who lives in the clouds, so why wouldn’t he be gullible
(sic) enough for the Tea Baggers.”
The email closed with a particularly angry and personal attack on Beck (emphasis added): “He is a lousy drunk who should be led to the nearest border, given a big toss and told to never return. And if he hates the government as much as he says, that should be a welcome event for him too.”
Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1 budding from cultured lymphocyte. The multiple round bumps on cell surface represent sites of assembly and budding of virions. (CDC.gov)
