In My Opinion-Tiger Woods-Day 88

Happy Friday.

I hope you have a wonderful loving day and the best weekend. I hope you judge every man and/or woman by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.

My daughter and I are at Borders and Books. I was reading the news off of the internet and I was just inundated with news regarding Tiger Woods and his "transgressions against his family".

Albeit, I am NOT nor have I ever been a Tiger Woods "fan". I do not know him personally nor have I ever met him. I do have my personal opinions of him based solely of my personal observations of him from afar. These are my opinions of him.

I think that not only is he ashamed of his "blackness", he absolutely wants nothing to do with most Black people. This is what Mr. Woods told a reporter:

Award-winning golfer Tiger Woods Who has been hailed as the first Black to win the U.S. amateur golf championship, said recently he is not Black.

Woods recently began correcting people who call him Black, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.

The reporter, Brian Hewitt, said in the article: "For the record, Woods is one-quarter Black, one-quarter Thai, one-quarter Chinese, one-eighth American Indian and one-eighth White."

Woods recently played in the prestigious 1995 Masters tournament at the Augusta (GA) National Golf Club.

Woods' description of his racial identity led one observer to wonder how he could say he is only 25 percent Black, when his father is Black.


It was also reported that Mr. Woods is bothered when he is refer to as African American:

Golf phenom Tiger Woods, who praised the sport's Black pioneers for paving the way for him when he recently won The Masters, says that he is more than just Black.

Woods, whose parents are Asian and Black, said while taping the Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago, his first interview since winning The Masters, that it bothers him when people refer to him as African American.

"Growing up I came up with this name: I'm a `Cablinasian', " he said.

Woods said that word best reflects his racial makeup. He is one-fourth Thai, one-fourth Chinese, one-fourth Black, one-eighth White and one-eighth American Indian.

He also recalled being asked to check the box in school that reflected his background. "So I checked off African American and Asian," he said. "Those are the two I was raised under and the only two I know."

The 21-year-old golf sensation also said he would reject the label of being the first Black man to win the Masters. (emphasis added)


Now I ask you how can a man whose father is African American be only 1/4 African American? The ONLY way this statement is possible is if Mr. Woods' father is mixed as well, which is probably Mr. Woods claim.

I think that Mr. Woods is arrogant and he believes that because he is very talented, the world somehow revolves around him. I believe he loathes Black women. Not just because, ALL of his female selections are white women, but this is his skin color of preference. I believe, he wants to be "white" deep down inside of him. I believe that if he could change his skin color he would do just as Michael Jackson did. He would change it from brown to white.

He appears to me to not be at all concerned with what is going on in the Black community, not that he has to be. It is just that because the Black community is so void of professional people, it would do great justice for someone like Mr. Woods to give some of himself to such a worthy and needed cause. Black children.

Now you may be thinking that Mr. Woods has every right to do whatever he wants with the multi-millions he earns. And you are right in your thinking, as I do not disagree. It is important to remember that no matter how much money we can earn, and spend. We can not take these millions with us to our grave, not excluding Mr. Woods.

I would ask Mr. Woods to build community centers in Black areas to encourage Black children to raise their scholastic scores and encourage them to participate in the game of golf and maybe even have the opportunity to meet the infamous Tiger Woods, one day.:)

Do you know what this opportunity would mean to children whose future is bleak and full of despair?

Again, I do not know Mr. Woods,nor have ever met him, but I do know that if he would donate some of his time and money to such worthy causes as I describe above, many lives could be changed. But hey it is NOT my money so I have absolutely no say in how this man spends his money. Right?

However, I believe that many Black people, as they move up in economic status, disclaim their blackness. Not necessarily by what they say, but more by their actions. Remember action speaks so much more volume than words alone. Which brings me to my conclusion:

Mr. Woods may have learned this past week that what is done in the dark will eventually come to the light. He is not the man that he portrayed himself to be to the public. He has faults and personal issues just like the rest of us. He sometimes make bad decisions. Obviously..

Have a wonderful day and a better weekend,


L. for Love