More Than Just An Athlete: Tiger Woods (Part 4)

As we have seen, golf’s history as an open and accepting sport towards blacks and other minorities is sullied. But Tiger has seemingly overcome any lasting obstacles and enjoys a life on Tour that has not been heavily mired by controversy. But this is not how it was when Tiger was growing up or just starting out on Tour. Though some people criticize Tiger today for being an “uncle Tom” and for being out of touch with his race, the truth is that Tiger dealt with issues of race throughout his life and it continues to be an important issue for him. In Charles Barkley’s book Who’s Afraid of A Large Black Man?, Woods talks about his early exposure to the issues of race. He describes how on his first day of kindergarten he was tied to a tree and spray-painted with the N-word on him by a group of sixth-graders.[1] He also discusses his feelings about being raised in two different cultures and how that has shaped his views on multiculturalism and the need to take a more open-minded approach to such issues. He notes how he was treated disrespectfully by other players at junior tournaments and how he endured boos and heckles at a few of his first PGA events. His father Earl remembers the difficulty he had in finding a course that would let him and his son play on which often resulted in many backyard practice sessions. All things considered, it would be easy for Woods to harbor strong feelings of animosity and perhaps for him to speak out stridently and complain. But like Sifford and Elder who came before him, Tiger has persevered and let his game speak for himself.

Much of Tiger’s approach towards race can be traced back to his father Earl. Since birth, Earl prepared Tiger to mentally withstand any and all adversity and distractions that he would eventually face in life. This took the form of stories on the Civil Rights movement and Earl’s practice of throwing bottle caps at Tiger while he was working on his swing.[2] As he grew up, Woods took every racist comment, every invidious denial in stride as he maintained focused on his life goal—to become the greatest golfer in the world and thereby opening up the game and the gates of country clubs to all ethnicities. Note the formation and sequence of this goal. Becoming the greatest golfer comes first, and then comes the social work. This is not because he does not care, or chooses to place sports above social causes. It is because the social work takes time and Tiger feels that his social impact can only be abetted by the fact that he will be the world’s greatest golfer.[3] Contrary to his critics’ attacks, Tiger remains quite attune to his race. The following excerpt from Barkley’s book, Who’s Afraid of A Large Black Man?, in which Tiger’s description of his 1997 Masters victory goes from celebratory to seriously somber, poignantly illuminates some of Tiger’s thoughts on race:

So, there’s this closing ceremony. You go on the putting green, where it
takes place, and I look up and they’re all there in their white outfits.
The cooks, the staff, attendants, everybody. They’re all black. Each
one of them came out onto the balcony and watched it. I look back and I
start getting choked up just thinking about it. They touched me in a real
powerful way. I started thinking about everything these people had faced
in life, all the ugliness and all the prejudice and all the obstacles they had
to deal with. I’ve seen what they struggle with and I feel so bad. I was
thinking that they could have a lot of bitterness and feel ‘Why him? Why not
me?’ But they didn’t. They don’t. It was very impactful, man…They touched me
more than they will ever know. Ever.[4]

It is quite evident that Tiger is indeed in touch with his race, the struggles that others have gone through, and the struggles that still exist in the racial fabric of our society.

While many criticize Woods for not projecting a stronger voice, others see his silence as an indication that he truly is transcending race. Tiger plays golf, and plays it quite well. He wants to be known as the world’s greatest golfer and wants his game to speak for himself. The fact that he does not speak out more is most likely due to a “horse-blinder” mentality that directs his focus predominately towards golf. And because he does not grandstand and make a fuss out of racial issues is probably a big reason why he has been accepted by a predominately traditional, conservative, wealthy and white golfing demographic.[5] As Greg Garber once wrote in an article for ESPN, “In the end, Woods has served as an example of racial harmony simply by being himself.”[6] Tiger is charming, respectful, intelligent and calm. If Tiger went into the press room after a round and sounded off like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton he certainly would have been received and perceived in a very different light. But more than anything else, his spectacular play has spoken for itself which has silenced many of those harboring racist sentiment. Tiger knows he is part of a culture that is slow to change and he has tailored his social agenda accordingly.

[1] Doug Smith, “Tiger on course for Billionaire Status, But Lags in Coaxing Blacks Onto Pro Tours,” 23 September 2007, (21 March 2008)
[2] Ibid
[3] Corrigan, “Dawn of the Tiger”
[4] Charles Barkley, Who’s Afraid of a Large Black Man? (New York: Penguin Press, 2005) 232.
[5] Gary Kamiya, “Cablinasian Like Me: Tiger Woods’ Rejection of Orthodox Racial Classifications,” 30 April 1997, (21 March 2008)
[6] Greg Garber, quoted in Scoop Jackson, “Now Its Time for Tiger to Fulfill Father’s Prophecy,” ESPN.com, 10 January 2008, (29 March 2008)