Black social media users want no part of the conversation regarding sympathy toward Tiger Woods and his experiences with racism early on in his career.
Backlash about the sports icon’s perceived disassociation with Black culture has been renewed as a clip of the acceptance speech he delivered at his 2022 induction into the World Gold Hall of Fame has resurfaced.
While on stage, Tiger reflected on the guidance that helped him navigate the predominantly white sport. “One of the things that Dad had instilled in me is that he grew up in an era, same era as Charlie Sifford (the first Black PGA Tour golfer) and why my son is named after Charlie, is that you had to be twice as good to be given half a chance,” he said.
However, the snipped version recirculated on social platforms like Instagram and Twitter, plays, in part, the following portion of his remarks:
“Playing at some of these golf courses, I was not allowed in the clubhouses where all the other juniors were. The color of my skin dictated that. As I got older, that drove me even more. So as I was denied access to the clubhouses.” The then-46-year-old added that he acknowledged the racist behavior but instead chose to focus on the game.
Reactions to the moment of reflection have been plentiful. “Interesting from a person who told us 25+ years ago not to refer to him as Black or African American, but to refer to him as Cablinasian (Woods,1997). The thing about whiteness is that it erases all of the other ‘affirmed’ identities if they intersect w/Blackness. He learned,” read one post on X.
When the five-time Masters Tournament winner appeared on “The Oprah Show” in 1997, he explained that as a child, he came up with Cablinasian as a unique identifier. It is a mashup of Caucasian, Black, Indian, and Asian, which he used to represent the spectrum of his heritage.
And after experiencing blatant racism, Tiger Woods marries a white nanny — and made her a multimillionaire due to a divorce settlement.. Continues to date ONLY white women — and the Black community is supposed to give AF about his pain🤔 https://t.co/xAvRaMtIM2
— HarrietEve9 (@HarrietEve9) December 26, 2023
He would go on to clarify that when checking a box regarding his ethnicity, “I can’t. I usually pick African American, Asian because those are the two households I was raised under. … I’m not going to deny my mom’s heritage. I’m not going to deny my father’s heritage.” His late father, Earl Woods, who was seated beside Tiger, noted that he raised the golf phenom to recognize himself as part of the human race, not by the color of his skin.
Another reaction to the resurfaced speech saw one person comment, “All skin folk ain’t kin folk,” and a third wrote, “Go home and discuss it with the women you so love to support and enrich. Oh no…cuz she doesn’t understand? Realllllly? Sorry NOT sorry.”
A fourth post, found on X, read, “And after experiencing blatant racism, Tiger Woods marries a white nanny — and made her a multimillionaire due to a divorce settlement.. Continues to date ONLY white women — and the Black community is supposed to give AF about his pain.”
Several commenters on Instagram shared similar sentiments, suggesting that Woods felt his proximity to whiteness would shield him from discrimination. Under a post on The Neighborhood Talk, one user wrote, “So did you think by marrying a white woman that they will let you into the clubhouse?” Another Instagram user responded, “All the s—t he endured probably made him feel like he HAD to date white women to even slightly be accepted.”
The tie-in about his romantic past has to do with the fact that Tiger married Swedish nanny Elin Nordegren. They divorced in 2010 after his explosive cheating tendencies made headlines. They share a daughter, Sam Alexis, and a son, Charlie Axel.
His personal life made news again in 2022 when his ex-girlfriend of seven years, Erica Herman, also a white woman, sued him in a $30 million lawsuit alleging that he kicked her out of his home Palm Beach-area home and sexual harassment after their breakup. The petition, however, was later dismissed.
