As Ryder Cup fans throw beer at players’ wives, we investigate if fans’ conduct has got worse or changed little since ancient Athens when Plato bemoaned the mob The abuse hurled at Europe’s golfers in the Ryder Cup elicited gasps and dismay on both sides of the Atlantic. The crowd at the Bethpage Black course in New York graduated from boos and heckles to homophobic slurs and insults aimed at players’ wives. The first-tee master of ceremonies set the tone by leading a chant of “fuck you, Rory!”,