Good Good Golf’s former vice president of brand and marketing, Jeffrey Lefkovits, is suing the company for $1 million after he claimed he was scapegoated for a controversial advertisement, according to The Athletic.
Lefkovits filed a defamation suit against the company and its former CEO and chairman, Matthew Kendrick, on Oct. 29. That suit claimed Lefkovits was wrongly blamed for the controversial ad that lost Good Good some key sponsorships. It also claimed that the violent scene in the advertisement was not “part of the original script Lefkovits approved,” per court documents obtained by The Athletic.
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The ad, which debuted in August, was meant to promote a co-branded driver from Good Good and Callaway. In it, Good Good Golf co-founder Garrett Clark runs over and shoves content creator Alexis Miestowski to the ground before sinisterly uttering, “Do not touch my new driver.”
The ad immediately received criticism for promoting and making light of violence against women.
Good Good quickly pulled the ad, but it was too late. Callaway cut ties with the company and Good Good pulled out of a PGA sponsorship. Retailers also began pulling Good Good merchandise off store shelves due to backlash from the ad.
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Lefkovits was eventually fired for approving the ad. In his lawsuit, Lefkovits claimed that the scene in which Clark ran over Miestowski was not in the original script when Lefkovits approved it. He then said he was out of the office when the ad was shot.
Lefkovits did approve the revised version of the ad, but claimed he did so after Callaway signed off on it. Amid the fallout of the ad, Callaway announced it would perform its own internal investigation into the company’s approval process.
After having his employment terminated, Lefkovits said he was told his name would not be shared publicly. Shortly after he was fired, however, his name appeared in an article written by Front Office Sports.
That article tarnished Lefkovits’ reputation in the industry and prevented him from finding new employment, per The Athletic.
“Every day that goes by without Defendants recanting their false statement, Lefkovits’s ability to provide for his family is further diminished,” the suit reads.
Good Good declined the comment on the lawsuit when reached by The Athletic. Kendrick, who stepped down as Good Good’s CEO and chairman, did not respond to a message from The Athletic.
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