DETROIT (WXYZ) — Many gathered outside of the Detroit Golf Club in protest of Sunday's Rocket Mortgage Classic tournament.
The demonstration was organized by Detroit Will Breathe, a group who have been protesting against police brutality in the city as well as across the nation.
Demonstrators expressed opposition to the tournament saying that the Dan Gilbert-hosted event "shows the way the Duggan administration bends over backwards for billionaires."
The City of Detroit responded to the protest with this statement: "We've been supportive of peaceful protests across the city and this one is no different. The administration has and continues to be supportive of peaceful protests."
Rocket Mortgage Classic executive director Jason Langwell released the following statement:
"The individuals outside the Detroit Golf Club protesting are demanding better. They want their voices heard and we support their right to protest.
This event, with its Changing the Course initiative, is bigger than golf. The Rocket Mortgage Classic is a vehicle to support our charitable effort, which is committing millions of dollars to ending Detroit’s digital divide by investing in infrastructure and organizations that provide internet access, technology and digital literacy programming.
Changing the Course will largely impact Detroiters of color who have been systemically and disproportionately left behind. Our goal is to address racial inequity by supporting Detroit families through greater access to education, employment, job training, telemedicine and opportunity."
