HYANNIS PORT – Despite heavy winds and torrential rain, the Annual Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Golf Tournament kicked off for a 29th straight year on Friday morning.
The tournament has been known to be high profile, with various Hollywood celebrities and athletes participating each year. This year, celebrity turnout included Bill Murray, Matt McCoy, Dennis Haysbert, and Chris Tucker.
“It’s my first time attending and it’s just great to be here for humanitarian reasons. It’s just awesome and I’m having such a great time,” said famous comedian and “Rush Hour” co-star, Chris Tucker.
Despite the unrelenting rain, Tucker was his usually funny self during the tournament, and even kept his competitive edge.
“I was ready to go, I was ready to go. I’m a scratch golfer. I’m allergic to grass, but I love golf and I was ready to go, so I’m going to win some kind of way. I’m going to win today,” he said. “The rain brings us closer together, so it’s good.”
The event raises money for RFK Human Rights, a non-profit human rights organization campaigning human rights in 28 countries, including the United States. It was formed in RFK’s honor following his 1968 assassination.
Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of RFK, is the President of RFK Human Rights. She says the rain provided a good change of pace to the tournament this year.
“People are just relaxed about it. It kind of takes something that was supposed to be this cutthroat competition and everybody is just having a good time,” said Kennedy. “We’re soaking wet. My sneakers are just swamped. The sense in the room is that everybody is here to have fun and to support the cause.”
Kennedy says that the organization is focused on two domestic, and politically controversial, issues this year.
“One is reuniting children with their families who were wrenched away from them along the Texas border. The other is mass incarceration and specifically bail reform,” Kennedy said.
RFK’s widow, Ethel Kennedy, who also celebrated her 90th birthday in April.
Actor and comedian Bill Murray, who is a frequent participant in the annual tournament, says that Ethel, and her sense of humor, is what he looks forward to the most every year.
“Well, I really enjoy that Ethel, she really cracks me up. She’s pretty funny. She said some really funny things that made me laugh hard. I don’t expect that to come out of a wee, sweet woman like that. She really gets me,” said Murray, who went on to joke about how the rest of the Kennedy family is too massive to keep track of.
“There’s really too many of them to keep track of. I can recognize Ethel in a crowd, she sort of sticks out in a crowd,” joked Murray. “The others just confuse me. They’ve got a lot of extra vowels in their name, ‘Y’s’ and so forth, and it confuses me. Whenever there’s a ‘Y’ at the end of a name I don’t know whether it’s silent or long or short. I don’t know.”
Other notable guests included former Pittsburgh Steeler Max Starks, former Red Sox players Jim Lonborg and Sam Horn, and Congressman Steny Hoyer (D- MD 6th District).
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
