Questioning Tiger's Integrity

Filed in archive Golf News on January 27, 2008

Kelly Tilghman went back to work on Thursday, completing her two week suspension from the golf channel for her infamous remark regarding Tiger Woods.

Her return to the golf airwaves has prompted some in the media to cast one more spotlight on the subject; this time they're aiming it at Tiger Woods himself.



Farrell Evans, an African-American writer for Sports Illustrated, published a piece earlier this week in which he asks why Woods didn't say something more than "I forgive her".

Evans wonders why Tiger, a black American even if he calls himself Cablinasian (Caucasian, Black, Asian), brushes off such offences.
"Whether Woods likes it or not, the episode serves to remind him, and everyone else, that regardless of how he attempts to transcend race with his accomplishments on the golf course, he can never fully escape his status as a person of color."

He then answers his own question by suggesting Woods remained silent because he wants to protect his 100 million dollars a year in endorsements in a largely white, corporate world.

What a nasty thing to write. Kelly Tilghman was plain dumb to blurt out what she did but Evans considered his remark carefully before he chose to impugn Woods' character by implying he was protecting his wealth through his silence.

And then Evans has the gall to suggest that Woods be more than just a great golfer but a great leader, "an heir to Jackie Robinson", the black American ball player who broke the color barrier in baseball and lobbied hard for equality in the game.

Isn't it ridiculous that the man who was the subject of a racial barb, intentional or not, has now been made into someone who condones the barb by wanting it to fade away and be forgotten (which it should be)?

The Original Christian, a man named Jesus, reportedly told his followers to "turn the other cheek".

Surely the only way to racial harmony is to do just that.

Perhaps that's the leadership Farrell Evans should be seeking.