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Feb. 23, 2010 13 minutes, 32 seconds and 1514 words ago, America ’s only living “Magic Negro,” done more to tarnish his image as any media outlet could have. TMZ has nothing on the man himself, Eldrick “Tiger” Woods , America ’s new whipping boy, now that the lynching of O.J. is complete. Never has the slide of a celebrity been celebrated with such mouth-watering glee. This man, who looked to have conquered the white world in more ways than one—golf, financially and in terms of image—learned the bitter truth, that when you get right down to it, his billions, his blonde babe and his ability to blast a ball means nothing. Turns out, he’s just another n----r after all. His televised, supposedly “Tiger-controlled” press conference was nothing more than a public lynching. The only thing missing was the smug white guy in a derby and his best suit fighting to get into the picture of the flaming corpse. (To reference the image I’m talking about, the lynching of Omaha native Will Brown, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omaha_Race_Riot_of_1919 ) Hardcore, perhaps, and I’m not into kicking someone when he’s down. Trust me, the media turned Tiger into a billion-dollar piñata way before I got my swing at him. I thought his apology, at least in a public venue was unnecessary. Second, the thing about most apologies is that they’re nothing more than thinly-veiled admissions that the perpetrator regrets getting caught. This was reflected in Tiger’s phone call to one of his paramours, a waitress named Jaime Grubbs, telling her in a tremulous voice, "…I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone...You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye.” No pun intended, but the jig was up. A few days later, Tiger issued a statement, stating “I have let my family down” To say race doesn’t play a role in this is to be in denial. We’ve seen politicians from big city mayors to Governors and Congressmen who have committed similar transgressions. Their roles in society surely are more relevant than that of a golfer, even if he is the best in the world. However, the politicians’ peccadilloes aren’t the lead story on the nightly news three days running. They don’t (dis)grace the covers of national magazines, maybe with the rare exception of Time and Newsweek. I can’t help but think that this was a backlash against a black man being seen as having somehow tainting a virtuous white woman, or in this case, women. He was treated as “some negro gone mad” and like in the days when lynchings were not so much a crime as they were a social event, the posse came out in full force. It sounds to me as if Tiger was telling the half-truth, nothing but the half-truth so help him Buddha. The Woods’ no doubt drive top of the line vehicles, so one can assume that had Elin wanted to extricate her barefoot husband from his wrecked car, she didn’t need to use a club. Many of today’s modern vehicles unlock the doors on impact, or the On-Star mechanism kicks in and triggers the locks. Tiger claimed, “There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage, ever. Elin has shown enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise, not blame.” How graceful is it when Elin, according to friends, wanted to punish Tiger by fleeing the country with their children? How graceful was she holding off the police questioning for several days after Tiger’s accident? Was she a portrait of poise when she consulted with attorneys to get more of her husband’s earnings, even though the pre-nup she signed was rumored to have paid her 50 million dollars? I can’t help but think had this woman been black, Tiger’s attorneys would have kept her immobilized and the kids would not have gone anywhere their father could not have gotten to them. Woods added, “Elin and I have started the process of discussing the damage caused by my behavior.” Again he takes the full blame for the incident, like some house negro who has convinced himself that the beating by his master was deserved. Like Nicole Simpson, Elin Woods is another blond woman somehow played up as a victim, when her role in the dirty deed, in particular what might have caused her husband’s accident, is kept hush-hush. Unlike, O.J., Tiger “didn’t kill anybody,” and his mother reminded the media of as much after the press conference. But he did more than shoot himself in the foot. His actions will diminish his earning power, albeit temporarily. His image in the black community, already on somewhat shaky ground, might be irreparably harmed. A day after the accident, Tiger not only went into hiding, but according to one article, “On a show that airs Sunday on news network HLN, Barkley and filmmaker Spike Lee worry that Woods isn't taking advantage of the invaluable advice that can only be offered by friends who are used to the spotlight.” (http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/entertainment/gossip/14989&page=2) Like O.J., Woods is not fully embraced by the black community, and vice versa. He has been in denial about his blackness from the beginning, and as a young man dubbed himself “caucablasian,” a reference to his Caucasian, Asian and black ancestry. The fact that the number of his paramours is allegedly in “double figs,” and none of them are black—in fact, most of them are blonde—does not bode well with black women in particular. As Richard Pryor once said, “Sistas look at you like you killed wyour mama when you’re with a white woman.” White women, however, have always been part of a black athletes groupie element, and any mother with a son who is a star college athlete can attest to that. Outside NFL stadiums and NBA arenas are women on the prowl for the big bucks of black athletes, and the majority of them are white. Tiger fell into the same situation many young, rich, black men have. Kobe Bryant comes to mind, and like the Lakers’ star, Tiger will also pay to get back in his wife’s good graces. A San Diego woman revealed that she kept a slew of telephone and text messages from Tiger, and another woman claims to have taken photos of him naked and threatened to post them online. Like Monica Lewinsky’s stained dress, the evidence against Tiger—again, pardon the pun—was mounting. Some of Tiger’s talk sounded like phony self-deprecation. Observe: “I was wrong. I was foolish. I don't get to play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me.” C’mon, this is a man raised in a two-parent family, by a father who taught him toughness and was his best friend. Tiger is also a graduate of Stanford University , so he is not stupid. Could he have really been that naïve? I doubt it. Let me put it into terms we can all understand. Most men cheat; men with money can afford to do it moreso. Men with money will draw a better looking class of women. Tiger is no exception to that rule and he acted on it. For men, few things are more enjoyable than the pursuit and “conquest” of a bevy of beauties. This is drilled into our heads from day one. After the press conference, there were those in the media that said the apology didn’t go far enough. The media is salivating for salacious details. Some of Tiger’s cohorts on the PGA tour thought he showed a lack of class scheduling the press conference during a tournament. Imagine the arrogance of persons standing before television cameras and print journalists, demanding that you somehow handled what is personal business inappropriately; when the fact of the matter is, it’s no one’s business but Tiger and Elin’s. Black children are taught to keep folks out of family business. When I was coming up my mom even had a sign in our house that read What you see here What we say here When you leave here Let it stay here Betrayal of one’s wedding vows and a subsequent apology is something best kept “in house,” that is, between a man and a wife. The fact sponsors feel their brands were damaged (I would like to see some data proving as much), does not mandate a public apology. That business should also be handled behind closed (corporate office) doors. As for his fans? They’ll be there no matter what. There is no need to apologize to them. His actions did nothing to harm them. The media takes a different view on this, as pundit after pundit talked of how they felt “hurt” by Tiger’s actions and how they always thought he was this wonderful family man. Tiger was made up to be Ward Cleaver in black face and a Nike cap and shirt. When he failed to live up to that, we are the ones at fault for putting him there. Why all of a sudden, this plethora of shame-based public apologies by athletes, most of whom are black? NBA Commissioner David Stern declared that the actions of “Pistol Pete” Arenas (Washington Wizards’ guard Gilbert Arenas) adversely reflected on the entire NBA. If your league can be damaged by the actions of one knucklehead, maybe the league’s image wasn’t that strong to begin with. As a society, we are sick with hero worship. Some folks live lives so bland and meaningless that they live vicariously through athletes, rappers, movie stars, etc. There are enough People and Entertainment Weekly magazine sales to prove it. I was a Tiger Woods fan, but not one of his worshippers. When this young black kid burst on the scene and immediately began to dominate what had always (and let’s not fool ourselves, still is) the white man’s game, I was elated, just like I was when Venus and Serena Williams began knocking down barriers on the professional tennis tour. You see, it’s not enough to be invited to the party, but you have to “turn it out,” so to speak. Tiger and the Williams sisters did just that. Now Tiger is in full image recovery mode. Lingering on the periphery of this scandal are rumors of his addiction to pain killers and his association with a Canadian doctor alleged to have dabbled in the steroids trade. Again, like O.J. Simpson, bad things seem to come at this brotha in threes. Sadly, Tiger has put himself in a position where not only his dominance is questioned, but upon his return, he might not receive the adoring ovation from the fans who line the galleries. This to a man who has singlehandedly created a new dynamic in golf, which now has ten times as many millionaires than it did when he first joined the tour. Tiger will bounce back. Kobe did, as did Ray Lewis, Steve Garvey and many more athletes. He will be back on the PGA Tour, ratings will go up, and the corporate sponsors will again be tugging at his coattails. After all, the bottom line is the bottom line, isn’t it? ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly is a poet, essayist, novelist and screenwriter from northern California. His novel, HUMAN TRIAL, is the first part of a sci-fi trilogy and is available from Amazon.com, allthingsthatmatterpress.com and in e-book format at mobipocket.com. HUMAN TRIAL II: ADAM’S WAR is pending review and editing. Stelly also has a short story included in the AIDS-themed anthology, THE SHATTERED GLASS EFFECT, due out in February 2010. His story, SNAKES IN THE GRASS, Is a tale of love, betrayal and its deadly consequences. Reviews of HUMAN TRIAL can be read at amazon.com Visit me at: http://www.myspace.com/pittwit website: http://www.stellyhumantrial.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com 
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