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As an addendum to the already ubiquitous Tiger Woods fiasco, Woods' former kindergarten teacher is demanding (with celebrity lawyer de jeur Gloria Allred in toe) both a public and private apology from the embattled golf star. Charles Barkley's biography, Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man, included a section recounting an experience whereby Woods states,
"I became aware of my racial identity on my first day of school, on my first day of kindergarten. A group of sixth graders tied me to a tree, spray-painted the word 'n****r' on me, and threw rocks at me. That was my first day of school. And the teacher really didn't do much of anything".
I'd first heard this story a few years ago in an interview led by Barbara Walters with both Tiger and his mother Kutilda. They both spoke uninhibitedly of the aforementioned incident as well as about the racism they faced at the golf course early into Tiger's storied career. And it seems as if things have not progressed much. In 1997, Fuzzy Zoeller made the infamous remarks about Tiger's choice of menu (its tradition for defending Master's Champions to choose the menu to be served),
"That little boy is driving well and he's putting well. He's doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year. Got it?".
Then added upon walking away, "or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve". In 2008, Golf channel anchor Kelly Tilghman was chastised and briefly suspended for making a casual joke directed towards Tiger Woods in which she said that young players could only stand a chance competing against him if they would "lynch him in a back alley". And earlier this year, Vanity Fair's cover photo of Tiger Woods caused a fair amount of controversy, many feeling the photo drew too heavily on perceived notions of the "Black buck" stereotype which distorts images of Black male sexuality and bodies.
Though Tiger is now often centralized in conversations that concern bi-racial/multi-racial identities, its his Blackness that informs a good deal of the narratives created about him (and conversely the narratives he created about himself). That is, how his sponsors market him in his varied endorsement deals, his racially singed history on the golf course and (to some extent) how the media has reported on the salacious details of his many affairs. When I initially considered Tiger and his current troubles, as a pop cultural critic, I made a strategic decision to not write publically or personally about the implosion. I found it salacious and just another link in the chain of philandering, high profile husbands. But most importantly, I agreed with The Root.com contributor Jenee Desmond Harris when she stated, "…I felt no pain in response to Tiger's scandal. Nor did I detect it in black friends and family, either. We're not feeling the same embarrassment over his incriminating text messages that we did with then Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's infamous sexting". Though I admired Tiger for his athleticism and excellence on the course, I never truly bonded with him as a star — I kept him somewhat at arm's length. Unlike the personal pride I felt when the Williams' sisters would win a match, I felt Tiger's accomplishments rang more as a personal achievement, a crack in the tightly wound veneer of golf and nothing much more for me than that.
But after the resurfacing of the story of Tiger being the victim of a hate crime at such a young age (coupled with a past forged through racial divisiveness on the golf course) that I decided to write about him believing it to illuminate how the residue of racism can infuse the present despite the need of some to push so aggressively towards a post-racial agenda. Personally, I believe Tiger's account of his first day at school despite his former teacher's vehement denial of the events ever happening. (Just look at the current accounts of children killing themselves over bullies as teachers/administrators turned a blind eye).
In thinking more about Tiger and how the word "nigger" has hovered around him like a specter, I think part of the problem lies with his father. Earl Woods' seeming goal was to create in Tiger the first "post-racial star", and he raised him as such. With golf having perhaps one of the most segregated, discriminatory pasts in the history of American sports, I'm not sure why Earl Woods would have thought that this strategy could work. As Dave Zirin writes,
"…the entire marketing strategy behind Tiger, and masterminded by his father, was to make him an avatar of post-racial "Cablinasian" commercial nirvana. Earl once said that his goal for Tiger was to be, "the bridge between the East and the West." The aim of this post-racial strategy was for Tiger to be able to play in restrictive country club venues without having to publicly confront the reality of racism in the golf world and complicate his commercial appeal".
Sure Tiger is bi-racial and should be able to celebrate/define himself as he sees fit but the world and golf identifies him as a Black man and treats him accordingly. His personal story is paved with not only exceptional achievement but also on-going racial strife and discrimination. "Nigger" and the specter of racism has haunted Tiger since the very beginning. Before Barack Obama, Tiger Woods was touted as the world's first "post-racial" star, but considering his history, I beg to differ.
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