A Gentleman’s view.

Tiger: You just have no idea how much your world will now change.

Let me say it is rare that I go after anyone twice for the same thing on this site; it is usually variations of themes based on new actions by previous suspects here, but man, dude! First of all Tiger, you must understand this is not about your privacy and confessing your sins to the world that is an issue here, since your accident and corresponding information coming out about things in your personal life. This mad frenzy grab bag of paparazzi reporters are there at your behest in case you don’t understand because of the statement recently made about your character that contradicted all perceived notions of who you were. This is no one’s fault but your own as it is exactly the statement you were attempting to make with the commercial; “I am Tiger Woods!” I believe someone Madison Avenue or whatever advertising agency that was handling the Nike Golf account at the time that series of commercials was produced knew and understood the very same message. They too, understood the silent declaration made in that series as there was a true representation of the melting pot that has long existed in this country, but rarely seen in relationship to the game of golf. This was an elitist game, a game for a special breed of man with the patience as well as the skill to understand terrain and maneuver thru landscapes and obstacles in the pursuit of the perfect 72 holes of golf. While this game started out as one for the common man, it has long ago been priced so all but the privileged can afford to play it long term. There are those commoners who were people of color who have made the cut. Calvin Peete was a very successful Black player on tour in the 80’s with 12 wins and still listed number one in Driving Accuracy. Charlie Sifford the first Black male player on the PGA Tour, Lee Elder the first Black to play at the Masters at Augusta National. He also was the first Black to play on the Ryder Cup team. Chi Chi Rodriguez played on tour as a Latino, Vee Jay Singh is much darker than olive-skinned though from Fiji, and so there had been many, many men of color on the PGA Tour.

None of these men, for all the glory, pain and tribulation they went through out there on the PGA Tour in what I am most sure was the most unpleasant of experiences any tour members had to deal with, none of them represented to America here at home and the world abroad more than Tiger Woods that people of color were also decent. They were hard working, intelligent and civilized enough to be allowed in some of the most hallowed exclusive clubs across America. Earl Dennison Woods, Tiger Woods father, gave his son the love of the game of golf and sold him as the neat little clean cut cute kid with a mean stroke of the club. Madison Avenue was seeking to make more money from the sport as the previous state of exclusivity was not beneficial for the business of the sport. They had to find a way to get Middle America to buy into the game, to do that, it had to appear to be acceptable to all of America while dropping down prices just enough to let in some of the middle class to help boost profit margins a bit. Who could better sell this and represent this better than this clean looking kid who was a son of a Military man who just loved the game. He already had the appeal so it was not much of a stretch to sell him that way. America was already familiar with him from his television exposure and his golf exploits during college and Pro-Am events. This cemented the relationship as a clean cut, hard working boy next door a young woman could bring home to parents and be proud. More importantly, this was being said about a person who was a descendant of the black race.

This was the silent message being sold in the “I am Tiger Woods” series of commercials that became quite popular and can still be seen in some locals. But, even deeper still was Tiger Woods for this black man who as such probably heard as I heard many times as I had when I was young about being a credit to our race. Madison Avenue and the Main Stream Press invested so much time and resources into selling us  blacks as dangerous and worthless up until this campaign to expand the game of golf to the common man. His ad campaign said to the world; “Damn, look at this ‘Black Man’, this son of an Officer and Gentleman, he works so hard, carries himself with dignity and respect. You never hear anything about him getting drunk, partying all hours even when he was single. He appeared to be a person of character so much so a tour associate, who recently apologized for doing so, introduced Tiger’s present day wife to him. For a white man to do that here in America at the level of position and privilege we are speaking about, is phenomenal, for a White man of European decent to do it, is beyond belief and trust to a level that apparently Tiger has shown, he will never appreciate.

Jesper Parnavik is the Swede who thought Tiger Woods was a better man than to do what he has been reported to do to his wife and kids. Let’s for a moment take a hard male look at just what that meant for him to tell first his wife and subsequently his tell wife’s best friend; “ Hey, I know this nice guy named Tiger, you two should meet”.  Ten years ago, I drove bus professionally for the City of Seattle and had this lady who would catch my bus all the time who became friendly. One day she asked me where I was from, and I told her as I am, from New York City with a much pride as I could muster there living in the grey skies of the Pacific Northwest. She didn’t believe me; she thought I was from the Caribbean or elsewhere. Several weeks later after stewing over that comment and I saw her again, I asked her why she said that. She told me she recently moved here from Korea and went through a formal nationalization immigration program put in place by the United States government and they taught new incoming foreigners seeking citizenship to stay away from most naturalized blacks as we didn’t have much to offer as participating members of this society. She stated this was a widely held view and strongly pushed by administrators running the programs.  She apologized immediately when she saw my reaction as I was so suddenly hurt, devastated and embarrassed at the same time as my eyes welled instantly with tears. This is what my country tells the world’s people who wish to make America their home, we blacks have no value here, don’t waste your time with them, and stay away. Jesper Parnavik told his wife’s best friend just the opposite, he said; no way is this guy like that!

Tiger, you dam stupid fool! You represented to America and the world a sports figure of the most atypical manner and so much more.  You were not the typical Black Stud rolling all through town with a bunch of young white blonde chicks hanging all over you. You were doing it with so much class and sophistication, and suffered thru your father’s death and personal physical pain and triumphed!  I must say, I understand why most men are perplexed, as I just seen your wife for the first time today. DUDE! WHAT IN THE FLYING FALAFEL! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING AND EVEN IF YOU WERE THINKING IT, WHY IN THE HELL, DID YOU ACT ON IT! DUDE! I SEEN YOUR WIFE AND I SEEN THE WOMEN IN QUESTION AND NO ONE YOU ARE IN DEEP S*&T ABOUT WAS WORTH THE BETRAYAL YOU JUST INFLICTED UPON YOUR WIFE AND KIDS!  NOT TO SPEAK OF YOUR TRUE FRIENDS AND I JUST CAN’T BEGIN TO COUNT THE FANS! Dude! The level of betrayal is beyond phenomenal. You have no idea how much you just lost, Tiger, no idea! Change for good or bad will tell just what kind of man comes out the other end of this most devastatingly disappointing fall from grace as you are about to experience. Winning all four majors in one season might be the start back, hell even in America, everyone loves a winner! Even one who can’t keep it in his pants!

© 2009, agentleman.