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- Publisher's News Analysis: I am Tiger Woods
Publisher's News Analysis: I am Tiger Woods
- By Roy Douglas Malonson
- Published 12/16/2009
- Editorial and Opinion
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Roy Douglas Malonson
Roy D. Malonson is publisher of the African-American News&Issues.
View all articles by Roy Douglas Malonson
I tried to stay out of the Tiger fray, but as the body count (no pun intended) continued to spiral out of control, I would be doing the readers of African-American News&Issues, a disservice if I remained silent.
A little over a decade ago, Tiger Woods at age 21 did for golfing what Eminem did for rap. Who would have thought that the world’s greatest rapper would be White and the world’s greatest golfer would be Black?
The year was 1997 and the golfing phenomenom became the leading money winner on the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour with a record $2,066,833 in earnings. He won his first major championship, The Masters, by 12 strokes, the widest margin of victory the tournament has ever seen.
He became the youngest Masters winner ever, and the first of African or Asian descent. That year he won three other PGA events, earned the No. 1 world ranking in his 42nd week as a pro, voted PGA Player of the Year and Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.
But hold up, wait a minute. For all of his winnings, the beginning of his end was when he denounced his Blackness.
Oprah asked him on her television show and in front of millions of viewers, if it bothered him to be “called an African-American?” Tiger answered, “It does. ... Growing up, I came up with this name: I’m a ‘Cablinasian.’”
He supposedly used that term to describe his Caucasian-Black-Indian-Asian heritage. He went on to say, “I’m just who I am ... whoever you see in front of you.”
I wonder just who we are seeing now? I can tell you it’s the same person we warned our readers about six and a half years ago.
In AAN&I’s’ July 9-15, 2003 edition, a prophetic sports feature by Bud Johnson (Black superstars are no match for racism), focused on the politically incorrect Black perspective that the Kobe Bryants, Tiger Woods and many other, made in America African superstars (only 138-years removed from chattel slavery), often times are rudely awaken to the reality of a double standard system, because they fail to remember, or ignore this great nation’s racist history. Fortunately, when they make the mistake of tasting forbidden fruit, they don’t suffer the same fate as thousands of Black men that were lynched for allegedly lusting after White flesh.
It is telling that none of the women currently coming out of the woodworks are Black. It would be interesting to see how they viewed Tiger in terms of race.
But isn’t it funny that there were some times that Tiger wanted to be Black? Witness just a portion of this text exchange according to the New York Post between Tiger and Jaimee Grubbs.
Jaimee: very true ... I only watch football
Tiger: Figured you would say that. Big Black guys.
Jaimee: u are my first, last and only Black guy! U should feel special
Tiger: why do I not believe that?
Why didn’t Tiger correct her and say “I’m a ‘Cablinasian’?” Could it all be a facade and Tiger wrongly felt that in order to get the plummest of endorsements which he now stands to lose, that he couldn’t be a Black man at the top of a sport that is usually dominated by White men?
I also find it strange that President Obama embraced his Blackness in almost the exact heritage situation—Black father, non-Black mother. The big difference is that Obama ran towards his roots and Tiger ran away from his.
Why the focus on color anyway? This country is notorious for trying to take away everything Blacks are credited with—including being the first Black president of the United States.
But we only have to go back to January two years ago to see what color other folks really view Tiger as being. You remember.
Nick Faldo and Kelly Tilghman were bantering about how young golfers might challenge ever-dominant Woods. Faldo said, “To take Tiger on, well yeah, they should just gang up for a while until ...”
“Lynch him in a back alley,” Tilghman interrupted, with a chuckle.
A little over a decade ago, Tiger Woods at age 21 did for golfing what Eminem did for rap. Who would have thought that the world’s greatest rapper would be White and the world’s greatest golfer would be Black?
The year was 1997 and the golfing phenomenom became the leading money winner on the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour with a record $2,066,833 in earnings. He won his first major championship, The Masters, by 12 strokes, the widest margin of victory the tournament has ever seen.
He became the youngest Masters winner ever, and the first of African or Asian descent. That year he won three other PGA events, earned the No. 1 world ranking in his 42nd week as a pro, voted PGA Player of the Year and Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.
But hold up, wait a minute. For all of his winnings, the beginning of his end was when he denounced his Blackness.
Oprah asked him on her television show and in front of millions of viewers, if it bothered him to be “called an African-American?” Tiger answered, “It does. ... Growing up, I came up with this name: I’m a ‘Cablinasian.’”
He supposedly used that term to describe his Caucasian-Black-Indian-Asian heritage. He went on to say, “I’m just who I am ... whoever you see in front of you.”
I wonder just who we are seeing now? I can tell you it’s the same person we warned our readers about six and a half years ago.
In AAN&I’s’ July 9-15, 2003 edition, a prophetic sports feature by Bud Johnson (Black superstars are no match for racism), focused on the politically incorrect Black perspective that the Kobe Bryants, Tiger Woods and many other, made in America African superstars (only 138-years removed from chattel slavery), often times are rudely awaken to the reality of a double standard system, because they fail to remember, or ignore this great nation’s racist history. Fortunately, when they make the mistake of tasting forbidden fruit, they don’t suffer the same fate as thousands of Black men that were lynched for allegedly lusting after White flesh.
It is telling that none of the women currently coming out of the woodworks are Black. It would be interesting to see how they viewed Tiger in terms of race.
But isn’t it funny that there were some times that Tiger wanted to be Black? Witness just a portion of this text exchange according to the New York Post between Tiger and Jaimee Grubbs.
Jaimee: very true ... I only watch football
Tiger: Figured you would say that. Big Black guys.
Jaimee: u are my first, last and only Black guy! U should feel special
Tiger: why do I not believe that?
Why didn’t Tiger correct her and say “I’m a ‘Cablinasian’?” Could it all be a facade and Tiger wrongly felt that in order to get the plummest of endorsements which he now stands to lose, that he couldn’t be a Black man at the top of a sport that is usually dominated by White men?
I also find it strange that President Obama embraced his Blackness in almost the exact heritage situation—Black father, non-Black mother. The big difference is that Obama ran towards his roots and Tiger ran away from his.
Why the focus on color anyway? This country is notorious for trying to take away everything Blacks are credited with—including being the first Black president of the United States.
But we only have to go back to January two years ago to see what color other folks really view Tiger as being. You remember.
Nick Faldo and Kelly Tilghman were bantering about how young golfers might challenge ever-dominant Woods. Faldo said, “To take Tiger on, well yeah, they should just gang up for a while until ...”
“Lynch him in a back alley,” Tilghman interrupted, with a chuckle.