This is definitely not the way one behaves at one’s club

I may look down upon the Palmetto Club from the lofty vantage point of my own (we are, after all, located more than 20 stories above it), but at least they have standards:

George McMaster, the brother of Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster, was banned for life from the premises of the Palmetto Club and will never be allowed to be a club member again as part of a criminal sentence handed down on Thursday by a circuit judge.

In a 15-minute unannounced hearing at the Richland County courthouse, Judge Tanya Gee also sentenced McMaster to 30 days in jail, suspended on six months’ probation for assault and battery, third degree….

According to a statement of facts… read in open court, McMaster – then a member of the Sumter Street club – accosted a waiter at the club on May 13, 2014, started advising the waiter on his clothing, then cursed him, pulled his pants down to his ankles and touched him on his genitals and rear. At least part of the event was witnessed by another Palmetto Club employee, Bodman said….

Oh, wait — that was the court having standards, not the club. For its part, the club merely says it was “responsive” to the incident. Whatever that means. Presumably, the club is party to the ban from the premises, so that’s something.

Anyway… what bizarre, outrageous behavior. I don’t know what’s going on with the McMasters these days, but this is appalling. I mean, you know, WTF? That poor waiter…

5 thoughts on “This is definitely not the way one behaves at one’s club”

  1. Barry

    I’m shocked he was drinking alcohol at the time- just shocked.

    Just yet another of the many reasons I am thrilled to be a non drinker.

  2. Mark Stewart

    He’s been suspended by the Supreme Court from the SC Bar for two years. He must have really done something, you know? Not mocking the seriousness of this situation. but clearly more the tip of the iceberg …

    1. Juan Caruso

      Some lawyers, mostly those with ties to political offices, are subject to habitual narcissism. Eventually, some of even succumb to testing their imagined immunity from civil standards and laws by overindulging in substance abuse. Downward spirals of behavior that may result are certainly not helped by accounts of what is whitewashed for their elite role models in Washington.

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