Golf is a game of honor and integrity. In what other sport do the athletes call penalties on themselves?
So it’s no surprise that golfers at the highest level of the game are honest men — like Jack Nicklaus, often considered the greatest player ever.
Nicklaus, who won 18 major championships, the most in history, came to the defense of another all-time great, Tiger Woods, who himself holds 14 major trophies, second only to the Golden Bear. Woods, you’ll remember, made news this week when he said that the office of the presidency should be respected — no matter who inhabits the White House.
Nicklaus agrees.
“No matter who’s president — whether it was Barack Obama or Donald Trump — I think you respect the office, and I’m much in Tiger’s camp on that,” Nicklaus said Wednesday in an appearance on “Fox and Friends.”
“I thought Tiger handled it very well,” Nicklaus said.
The whole gotcha’ game began Sunday after Woods had just completed his final round at a PGA Tour event in New Jersey. Answering questions from the media, sweat still pouring down his forehead, Woods was asked: “Your relationship with Donald Trump, how would you describe that personally and professionally?”
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“I’ve known Donald for a number of years,” he said. “We’ve played golf together. We’ve had dinner together. And so, yeah, I’ve known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.”
The writer — of course from The New York Times — followed up.
“At a time, especially 2018, I think a lot of people, especially people of color, immigrants feel threatened by him, by his policies. He’s thrown himself in sports debates in terms of race with [NBA player] LeBron James, with the [national] anthem. What do you say to people who might find it interesting, I guess, that you have a friendly relationship with him?”
Woods then delivered the most diplomatic of answers.
“Well, he’s the president of the United States and you have to respect the office. And no matter who’s in the office, you may like, dislike the personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office,” Woods said.
He’s the president of the United States and you have to respect the office. And no matter who’s in the office, you may like, dislike the personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office.
-Tiger Woods
The reporter from the liberal paper tried one last time.
“Do you have anything to say more broadly about the state, I guess, the discourse of race relations?”
“No,” Woods said with a slight smile. “I just finished 72 holes and I’m really hungry.”
Everybody was pretty much OK with Woods’ answer — everybody but ESPN’s Max Kellerman. ESPN, you’ll recall, has been hemorrhaging viewers, especially after the network began dabbling in partisan politics. (Case in point: Last year, ESPN star Jemele Hill famously called Trump a “white supremacist.”)
Kellerman ripped Woods’ answer, saying it was a “thoughtless statement dressed up as a thoughtful statement.”
“It either holds in contempt the intelligence of people who hear it or else it’s just a stupid thing to say. … To say you must have respect for the office — Tiger, be clear. Are you saying that the office, therefore, confers respect onto its present temporary occupant? No. Having respect for the office means principally, in my view, is the office holder should have respect for the office,” he said.
He blathered on. “We are held to a standard of behavior, we at our jobs, right, people in their daily lives. The president, if anything, is held to a higher standard of behavior. It is not such that we have such great respect for the office that no matter what the behavior of its occupant, we must respect the occupant because of the office. No. Tiger Woods … is being slick. We must respect the office therefore that confers respect to the occupant. Tiger, is that is what you are saying? If that is what you are saying, that is a stupid comment.”
Kellerman’s co-host, Stephen A. Smith, simply declared that Woods is “not black.” Huh?
Trump saw the ham-handed move for what it was: a weak attempt to sandbag a world-class athlete.
“The Fake News Media worked hard to get Tiger Woods to say something that he didn’t want to say. Tiger wouldn’t play the game — he is very smart. More importantly, he is playing great golf again!” he tweeted on Monday.