Thursday, April 13, 2000
Tiger mum on politics, thankfully
By RAY MELICK
Scripps Howard News Service
When Tiger Woods left Augusta with his disappointing fifth-place
finish — disappointing to CBS-TV, anyway — he drove
away from controversy once again.
This week's PGA Tour stop is the MCI Classic in Hilton Head, S.C.,
the state where the Confederate flag controversy has spilled over
into sports.
The NAACP is working hard to create a sports boycott of the state,
and last week tried to drag Woods into the fray by having him
refuse to play at Hilton Head as a protest over the flag.
Woods took a right turn at the South Carolina border, just across
the river from Augusta, and apparently decided not to play the
MCI Classic.
It wasn't a form of protest. The truth is, many of golf's major
players take a week off after an event like The Masters.
Wisely, Woods chose not to become involved in the controversy,
which so far has produced such memorable moments as the Penn State
baseball team saying it would not play in South Carolina again
as long as the Confederate flag flew over the state capitol —
unless, of course, it was invited to an NCAA Regional in Clemson.
That the NAACP is trying to draw Woods into the South Carolina
flag controversy is laughable, for several reasons.
One, of course, is that Woods seems intent on distancing himself
from being labeled “African-American,” claiming in past
interviews to instead be something called “Cablinasian.”
While I know that Woods has a diverse ethnic heritage, for the
life of me I'm not sure what it means to be a “Cablinasian,”
and I'm not about to guess, for fear of having the whole “Cablinasian”
community descend upon my neighborhood in protest.
The bottom line is that whatever Woods considers himself to be
— how about “American”? — he consistently
has refused to be drawn into the political machinations of the
African-American power brokers. The African-American community
might want to claim him, but Woods refuses to be claimed.
Another reason to draw Woods into political activism of any kind
is that he is Mr. Corporate Identity, possibly the most carefully
and completely marketed athlete the world has seen.
He's photogenic, intelligent, articulate and arguably the best
golfer on the planet. Certainly, he's the best “Cablinasian”
golfer the world has known.
Woods says nothing controversial, does nothing controversial.
He doesn't hide his eyes behind dark wraparound shades like David
Duval. He doesn't run off into the woods to relieve himself during
a tournament like Sergio Garcia. He doesn't do ethnic dances after
birdie putts or joke about ex-wives or his Army-brat upbringing.
Wherever Woods' ethnic roots might lie, at heart, he is a golfer.
What makes him the best golfer not only is the way he swings the
club, but the way he carries himself. Woods behaves like a professional
golfer better than anyone else in the world: totally captivating
on the course while being amazingly bland once he steps out of
his spikes.
And now the NAACP wants Woods to join its side in the protest
over the Confederate flag in South Carolina?
The only flag Woods cares about is the one sticking out of those
18 holes on whatever golf course the PGA Tour is taking over this
week.
And that's the way it should be. Tiger Woods is not a politician.
He's not a philosopher, and — despite what his father Earl
would have us believe — he's not the savior of the world.
Tiger Woods is a professional golfer. Leave it at that.
Besides, the last time we had a professional athlete express his
views on the world at large, we wound up with John Rocker.
Can't we leave well enough alone?
(Contact Ray Melick of the Birmingham Post-Herald in Alabama at
http://www.postherald.com.)
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