Letter to Tiger Woods

Dear Tiger,

As I have seen you struggle through this difficult time for you and your family, I can’t help but be reminded of another great champion who defied both the odds and the conventional etiquette of his sport on his way to becoming one of the most prolific figures of his time.   His name was Jack Johnson, and in 1908, he defeated Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia to become the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion of the world.   Like you, Johnson was one of the few men of color who competed at the highest level in an individual sport whose patrons were not very accepting of his complexion.   Even though your charge to the top occurred several decades after the Jim Crow period in which Johnson lived, I’m sure that you both encountered obstacles that revolved solely around the color of your skin during your respective ascensions to greatness.

I also believe that your “I’m going to beat you anyway” insolence in the face of such racial opposition propelled and fueled the competitive juices of each of you in and out of the ring, and on and off of the course.   Johnson often taunted his opponents in the ring and displayed no humility after he beat them.   In fact, he angered White boxing patrons to the point that they began the original quest for the “Great White Hope” during his reign.*   I remember similar rumblings when you first appeared on the major stages of the golf scene.   There was tremendous criticism over your fist pumping and your animated displays of emotion.   It was as if they were saying, “Okay, we let you in, but know your place. This is still our little club.”   With Johnson, the resistance was much more extreme.   After Johnson soundly defeated Jim Jeffries in what was then hailed as “The Fight of the Century,” many cities and states promptly banned the showing of film from the fight to prevent “race riots” (which were actually hostile interruptions of prideful celebrations by Johnson’s supporters).   In fact, a couple of years later Congress even passed an act banning prizefight films from 1912-1940.**   

Yet, neither you nor Johnson relented to the attempts to keep you in your place because your respective places in this world can be defined only by you and your Creator.   Your places are as champions, the best in the world at your craft during your time.   The two of you possessed just the right amount of arrogance to proclaim that conformity to someone else’s impositions would not be an option, and eventually an adjustment would have to be made for you.   During his championship run, Jack Johnson frequently graced the front pages of both Black and White news publications, surpassing the likes of Black civic leaders, scholars, and entertainers.   Similarly, over the years, your once controversial fist pump celebration was eventually embraced by many as your signature gesture, and today you are considered one of the most recognizable faces in the world.  

However, we all know that inherent in every glorified rise to fame and fortune, there is the potential for a painful tumble into infamy and shame.   While Johnson reveled in all aspects of his notoriety flaunting his passion for fancy cars and fast women, you wisely attempted to draw a line separating your personal life from your public image.   Unfortunately, when fame reaches a certain height that line between the private personal life and the public persona becomes indiscernible, and the media manage to convince the public that the right to intrude is correlated to an individual’s bank account – when in fact, it is probably actually correlated to the amount of media revenue that will be generated by such an intrusion.

Jack Johnson earned an unprecedented $100,000 for his 1910 heavyweight title defense against “The Great White Hope,” Jim Jeffries, and there were reports of your initial $40 million deal with Nike swirling around before you even competed in your first professional tournament.   As the prize money and endorsements of today continue to become more lucrative, the resentment of those who envy the wealth, power, and influence that accompanies great talent also intensifies.

Having grown up in the deep south of Galveston, Texas, and having been subjected to injustices of the Jim Crow era, Jack Johnson refused to acknowledge or accept the restrictive realities imposed on him because of his skin color.   To earn the living he desired, he would spar against White fighters regardless of the laws or consequences, and after he became champion, he fought them exclusively, refusing overtures from the best Black boxers of his day.   Yet what caused his biggest problem, after he won the championship, was his exclusive pattern of cohabitation and marriage with White women.   Through his frequent “deflowering” of their women, and his desire to punish only White males in the ring, Johnson seemed to be declaring to Whites in America that he couldn’t be contained or defined by their system.   However, he did not seem to realize or care that the exclusivity of his behavior was perceived as a denial of his heritage by many Blacks who had celebrated and admired him.   Although it is understandable that Johnson did not want to be characterized as the “Black champion,” it is the compassion, resilience, and support of his Black people that may have aided him during his more troubled times.

In 1910, Congress enacted the Mann Act (also called the White-Slave Traffic Act) which had the original intent of preventing human trafficking by prohibiting the transport of women and girls across state lines “…for the purpose of prostitution, debauchery, or any other immoral purpose…”  Yet, it was not long before White prosecutors began attempting to unjustly and unfairly use language in the law to punish Johnson for his sexual exploits with White women.   Although they were basically unsuccessful in fulfilling the law’s original purpose of neutralizing interstate prostitution networks, federal prosecutors managed to have Johnson arrested and charged with kidnapping a White woman named Lucille Cameron after her mother complained that he “exercised hypnotic powers” on her daughter and that she would rather see Lucille “spend the rest of her life in an insane asylum than see her the plaything of a n----.”   Lucille would not cooperate with authorities, and the evidence did not support her mother’s claims, so the case eventually fell apart and Johnson ended up making Lucille his sixth wife.***

Still given the vigorous quest to prosecute and convict Johnson by charging him with a violation of the Mann Act, prosecutors eventually found a prostitute named Belle Schreiber who was willing to cooperate.   Angered and bitter about Johnson’s treatment of her, Schreiber served as the perfect witness in the federal case that charged him with transporting her from Pittsburgh to Chicago for the purpose of prostitution and debauchery.   In 1913, Johnson was found guilty by an all White jury and sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.   While free on appeal, he fled the country spending time in Europe, South America, and Mexico, and he did not return to serve his sentence until 1920.   During his time as a fugitive, Johnson’s drawing power as a fighter was greatly diminished, and he eventually lost his title to a younger White boxer named Jess Willard in a 1915 bout in Havana, Cuba.   Jack Johnson died in an auto accident in 1946, and although there is now a movement pushing for a posthumous presidential pardon for his racially motivated conviction under the Mann Act, his story today exists more as a tragic footnote than as the sterling example of triumph that it merits.****

By this time, you may be wondering what any of this has to do with your plight.   While it’s clear that there are some significant differences between the chronicle of Jack Johnson’s life and your continued journey, there are some notable parallels to be drawn with regard to the societal reactions to your behavior.   Those who choose to completely dismiss the comparison will argue that Johnson was from an earlier time, and that things aren’t like that anymore.   They will emphasize the passage of time by pointing out that Johnson’s father was a former slave while your father was able to retire as a high ranking official from the United States Army.   Maintaining that nowadays race is not such a major factor, they will proclaim that there are plenty of interracial couples in America today and that such a thing just does not matter any more.

Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that my purpose in writing to you is not to address the issues of your interracial marriage or widely reported interracial indiscretions.   I truly believe that we should all be free to love and marry whomever we choose, and whomever loves us back.   I also believe that you are a very intelligent person, and will deduce your own conclusions from the pattern of events that have been described.

What I will say is that I found it quite odd that almost immediately after your car accident, there was an assertion raised in the media that your multi-million dollar endorsement portfolio was in jeopardy.   With just a smattering of any factual information, it was already determined that one of the most influential athletes in the world should be stripped of his fortune and social standing.   I also found it eerily familiar that there appeared to be a desperate search for women throughout the hospitality industry and Las Vegas party scene that would speak out to seal your fate.   Finally, I was flabbergasted as attorney Gloria Allred brought forth at least two women to file suits in an attempt to prosecute you for cheating on your own wife with each of them.   Jack Johnson would be amazed at the advances that have been made in the techniques of today.

This is not to say that your marital infidelity or your irresponsible behavior should be condoned or excused.   We all know the difference between right and wrong, and a man should be given an opportunity to address a personal matter with his spouse and family without being completely derailed by the judgments and opinions of those who are not directly affected.   John Edwards, a public official, who used public money to cheat on his cancer-stricken wife and father a baby with a staffer, seemed to have months of reprieve as the facts of his situation came out in manageable stages.   South Carolina governor, Mark Sanford, inexplicably disappeared from his office for days, again using public money, to fly to Argentina to be with a mistress that he had been seeing for months, yet, he still has his job and its perks.   Meanwhile, Jack Johnson – the boxer – had to flee the country to sort things out, and Tiger Woods – the golfer – had to attain refuge in the obscurity of a Mississippi treatment facility.   Just in case you need a little help, the distinction of note in the aforementioned examples is not related to job function.  

Tiger, I truly believe that you are proud of your African-American heritage, and after seeing your world-wide simulcast a few weeks ago, and hearing your testament to return to the Buddhist centered spirituality taught to you by your mother, I believe that you are proud of your Asian heritage as well.   However, I implore you to not make the same mistake as Jack Johnson.   There are many people in the Black community who feel that you do not want to be identified as such, and while I understand and respect your refusal to be categorized by someone else’s flawed system, you should recognize that there is a reason that the Creator has that brown hue radiating through your skin.   Don’t let those faulty and racist associations fool you into only partially acknowledging your heritage.   You are first and foremost of African descent, and that is your source of strength, power, and wisdom.   We all have different races and cultures mixed within us, but it all ultimately gets traced back to Africa, and that includes your mother.   The color that emanates through your family tree should be embraced by you as you embraced your mother and her Buddhist teachings that day.   Your color shines and accompanies your talents the way it does to counteract the narrow and frequently bigoted imagery ascribed to people of African descent around the world.   When you embrace your African heritage, Africa’s descendants will be waiting to embrace and support you through the good and the bad.   Muhammad Ali once went through a period where he was punished and effectively exiled for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, but during that time he proclaimed his African heritage even more strongly.   Ali’s espousal inspired the unwavering and unending support from his African brothers and sisters and gave him the strength to reclaim a title that was unfairly taken.   Today Muhammad Ali is considered and will be remembered as one of the greatest athletes in the history of the world.   My hope is that Tiger Woods will be right alongside him when all is said and done.

I hear you’ve been working on your swing again.   Good luck with your family, and good luck in the Masters or in whatever tournament you decide to make your return.

Sincerely,

One of Your African Brothers