As the jury in the Daniel Penny trial takes a break for the weekend, golf legend Phil Mickelson spoke up for Penny in the court of public opinion.
Penny faces a charge of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, a mentally troubled man whose threatening behavior on board a New York City subway in May 2023 led to a confrontation with Penny that ended with Neely dead.
On Friday, Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed a manslaughter charge against Penny after the jury said it was deadlocked on the charge.
The case has triggered controversy over whether Penny, a former Marine who is white, was justified in putting Neely, who is black, in a chokehold before Neely touched anyone.
“Agree. Thank you Daniel for serving your country and for protecting the many passengers whose lives were threatened by this violent and deranged individual,” he wrote in a post on X.
Mickelson was responding to a post from commentator Colin Rugg.
Agree. Thank you Daniel for serving your country and for protecting the many passengers whose lives were threatened by this violent and deranged individual. https://t.co/tUI5pe7pFV
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) December 6, 2024
“Daniel Penny is a model citizen who should be praised by the city of New York. He is a breed of young men who are becoming less and less common. He puts his own safety at risk to help others. He didn’t cower or pull out his phone to film when Jordan Neely started threatening to k*ll people. Instead, he took it upon himself to protect subway passengers,” Rugg wrote.
“He was praised by the passengers on the train but was ridiculed by the city of New York. He is the citizen that every mayor of every city should want more of. He is the person you hope is around if your loved ones’ lives are being threatened,” Rugg wrote.
“Anyone who is quiet about this injustice lacks moral clarity and should take a long look in the mirror. Daniel Penny is a hero,” he posted.
The dismissal of the manslaughter charge, which came after the jury spent three days deliberating on the charge, triggered outrage from Hank Newsome, founder of Black Lives Matter Greater NY, according to the Daily Mail.
“They picked a white supremacist jury specialist to target the racists in that jury,” he said, adding “The prosecution pointed out the fact that the defense was eliminating people based on race.”
“Logically, if you pick a white supremacist jury specialist and you pack a jury with white people obviously you think race has a specific role in this case and obviously you are looking for that one white supremacist hold out. That one holdout,” he said.
Hawk Newsome is right about racism in America! Bragg is racist and if Daniel Penny had been black, he would never have been arrested. Black guy stabs black guy on subway around the same time. ZERO charges! Penny restrained him for everyone on that train’s safety – black or white!
— Cathyanne Martin (@MartinCathyanne) December 7, 2024
“Racism has its tentacles all over this case and all over the minds of white America,” he said.
Newsome said anyone who thinks Penny is not guilty has ‘racism in their heart.”
He added that with the dismissal of the charge, “the KKK got another victory”
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