Eric Casillias, who filled in for Tirico and Van Pelt on ESPN Radio 1000 on Wednesday April 7, 2009, said this and I quote, “Tiger Woods does not advocate for African Americans in golf, and that is okay with me. Woods is not obligated to do it, but it would be nice if he did.”
Now I do agree that Woods does not push for more African-Americans to play golf, but who really cares? I sure don’t. Why should he use his ethnicity as a crutch to push for more African Americans to play golf?
Woods already does plenty in the youth community, helping underprivileged kids learn about the game and how to play it. And yes that does even include African American children who take part in the Tiger Woods Foundation.
Woods is undoubtedly the face of golf now and many years to come, just as Michael Jordan is to basketball. But Jordan was never really an advocate to get African Americans into the game. Why should he be? I’d hate to sound politically incorrect, but correct me if I’m wrong when I say this. African American players dominate most of the NBA. So Jordan didn’t have to do anything to get African Americans involved in his game.
Professional golf has one of the most diverse fields of players on the tour. There are players from all across the world. Yes, the amount of African American golfers is few. Even I can’t name another African American on the tour other than Tiger.
Race should never be an issue in the sport. The love of the game and the passion to win should be the overall factor for getting involved with the sport in the first place. And for the record, Tiger Woods is not only African American, but he is also Asian as well. Some people tend to forget that he is a “Cablanasian.”
No comments:
Post a Comment