Tiger Woods: Great golfer, big hypocrite
By Michelle Kaufman / Knight-Ridder Newspapers
MIAMI - So, I hear Tiger Woods is coming to town in October
to do an inner-city youth clinic. That's very sweet of him.
Wonder if he'll host it at a club that excludes blacks?
Or a club that excludes Jews?
What?
You don't think Tiger would do that?
You think Tiger Woods is Mr. Equality? You believe he is doing
all he can to pry open the doors of golf so all of us, male and
female, black and white, can say "I am Tiger Woods"?
Well, guess what?
Tiger Woods works on his golf swing at Lochinvar Country Club
in Houston, a club that doesn't allow women to place even a pinkie
toe on its hallowed grounds, a club that wouldn't allow Woods'
mother to play there if she wanted to. When a CNN-SI television
crew showed up in May with female field producer Jules Bailey
to do a pre-arranged piece on Woods' swing, Bailey was barred
from entering. She was told to wait in the car.
The reporter, Ed Werder, and his cameraman weren't about to
leave Bailey behind, so the whole crew left. Before long, they
received a call from Woods' swing coach Butch Harmon, the pro
at Lochinvar. He apologized and asked them to come back. The club
bigwigs had met and decided to let Bailey in.
Through the back entrance.
The back entrance. In 1997.
Tiger Woods gets paid $40 million by Nike to say things like:
"There are still some golf courses in the United States that
I cannot play on because of the color of my skin."
He is revered by golf fans around the world and drooled over
by corporate sponsors.
Little girls on TV commercials proudly proclaim "I am
Tiger Woods."
Well, guess what, little girl? You can't play alongside Woods
at Lochinvar. You can't even ask for his autograph there.
My problem isn't with Lochinvar, although it makes me sick
that "No Women Allowed" doesn't seem to elicit the same
outrage as "No Blacks Allowed" or "No Jews Allowed."
If the men of Lochinvar want to lock out women, that's their prerogative.
I hope one day they'll see the light.
My problem is with Woods, the smiling hypocrite.
Like most sports fans, I was glued to the tube during The Masters,
marveling at this phenom as he tore apart the course. I thought
it was so cool that a man of color was putting on that green jacket.
But how can Woods talk about knocking down the barriers of his
sport and then turn around and walk through a male-only door at
Lochinvar?
He was asked this question at the U.S. Open.
His answer: "Unfortunately, my pro is employed there.
He has no choice. He has to live and abide by the rules that the
board makes up. I can't be a champion of all causes."
Listen, Tiger:
1. Your pro does have a choice. Tell me one golf course in
America that wouldn't love to employ the swing coach of the greatest
golfer in the world.
2. Harmon doesn't have to live by the rules the board makes
up. Would he live by those rules if the club excluded blacks or
Asians?
3. You can't be a champion for all causes, that's true. But
Tiger, if you want to sell yourself as a champion for equal access
to golf, you might start by tossing that Lochinvar-crested golf
shirt. Your daughter will thank you one day.
(Michelle Kaufman is a sports columnist for the Miami Herald.
Write to her at: Miami Herald, One Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla. 33132.)
(c) 1997, The Miami Herald.
Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at
http://www.herald.com/
Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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