Insensitivity again an issue in golf after
Zoeller's remarks
By Ed Sherman
Chicago Tribune
(KRT)
It took more than two decades for fun-loving Fuzzy Zoeller
to build his reputation as one of golf's top goodwill ambassadors.
It took one sound bite from Augusta National to tear it down.
Suddenly, instead of being known as a former Masters and U.S.
Open champion, Zoeller finds himself this week in more dubious
company.
"The minute I saw (Zoeller's comments), I thought, 'Oh
my God, here we have Marge Schott, Al Campanis and Jimmy the Greek
all over again,' " said Charles Farrell, national director
of the Rainbow Commission for Fairness in Athletics.
Wednesday, the firestorm intensified for Zoeller in the wake
of remarks he made to reporters after the final round of the Masters.
He called Tiger Woods "a little boy" and jokingly asked
that he not serve fried chicken and collard greens at next year's
champions dinner.
Zoeller said Wednesday that he was withdrawing from the Greater
Greensboro (N.C.) Chrysler Classic, "regretting the distraction
this has caused the world of golf. ... Jokes aren't funny when
they hurt people. I realize that what I said has hurt many people."
Zoeller already has lost an endorsement deal worth millions
from Kmart, which doesn't speak well of his chances for recovery.
Others who came before him didn't.
Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder was dismissed by CBS for
suggesting African-Americans were better athletes because of breeding
techniques used by white slave owners. Last year, baseball suspended
Marge Schott for two seasons for comments about Adolph Hitler,
and CBS released golf analyst Ben Wright for insensitive remarks
about women golfers.
Campanis, a respected baseball executive, was fired from the
Los Angeles Dodgers for his infamous "Nightline" interview
in 1987 in which he said African-Americans lacked "the necessities"
for management positions.
Zoeller's apology doesn't seem to be enough to undo the damage.
His comments have put a microscope on the PGA Tour, with critics
wondering if the virtually all-white enterprise is sincere about
being receptive to diversity.
"It's hurtful, 50 years after Jackie Robinson and 25 years
after Lee Elder (the first African-American to play in the Masters),
we now have a young man who's bringing up the visibility of golf
and then he's being cut off at the knees," Farrell said.
Richard Lapchick, director for the Center for the Study of
Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston, also questions
golf's willingness to take down the barriers.
"He's a dangerous face for white America that is used
to having only white golfing champions," Lapchick said.
Golf is not unfamiliar with these criticisms. In 1990, the
PGA of America came under intense criticism for awarding a major
tournament to Shoal Creek, a course in Birmingham, Ala., which
practiced exclusion.
The furor caused the major golf organizations to adopt policies
that were not discriminatory to either people of color or women.
Nearly a thousand courses were affected.
"Having a black champion is new territory for them,"
Farrell said. "We had Shoal Creek a few years ago. Golf as
a sport is viewed as a white enterprise. People in golf and sports
understand what a wonderful thing this (Woods' win) is. It opens
the sport up to other kids. I hope Fuzzy is an isolated individual
but I can't be sure."
Still, there are some who defend Zoeller. David Burns, the
founder of Burns Sports Celebrity Service, thought Kmart "overreacted"
by dropping Zoeller. He thinks society has received too heavy
a dose of political correctness.
"If Tiger was white, and he was called a little boy, would
that be OK?" Burns said. "Fuzzy was discussing a pattern
particular to a certain race. He wasn't trying to be negative
or positive. I think any intelligent person would not look at
his comments as derogatory."
Nye LaValle, who also markets sports stars at the Dallas-based
Sports Marketing Group, disagrees.
"Fuzzy said he was joking, but the undertone reflected
not only what Fuzzy feels but what a lot of other people feel,"
LaValle said. "Fuzzy's the tip of the iceberg."
Lapchick also sees it as a larger problem. "I'm sure Marge
Schott was not the only owner who felt the way she did,"
he said. "And I doubt Fuzzy Zoeller is the only golfer who
feels this way."
Golfers make most of their money from endorsements, and it's
unlikely Zoeller will receive any deals after this.
"It takes many, many years to build a reputation,"
LaValle said. "And it takes one situation to knock it all
down. He's now tainted in the eyes of anyone who wants to work
with him."
Lapchick, while saying Kmart had no choice but to get rid of
Zoeller, says, "Kmart should sign Tiger, and have him replace
Zoeller."
Woods has offered no comment since Zoeller's statements were
reported.
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem issued a statement Wednesday
saying, "Zoeller recognizes that the comments made at Augusta
were inappropriate, unacceptable and deeply offensive to a great
many people."
While Farrell didn't think Finchem's rebuke went far enough,
he was careful in applying a broad brush on golf. But he said
Zoeller's remarks clearly were a setback to a sport looking to
break new ground.
"Tiger shattered all the stereotypes by winning the Masters,"
Farrell said. "Then Fuzzy comes along and shatters it in
another way.
"It shows how far we've come, and how far we haven't come."
(c) 1997, Chicago Tribune.
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