Tiger, Tiger, Burning Blight
By Dave Zirin
Created May 29 2008 - 9:43am
Tiger Woods is perhaps the most famous, and most dominant, athlete in the
world today. The 32-year-old golfer with the multicultural background he
once proudly described as "Cablinasian" has somehow accomplished the
impossible: made golf on a Sunday must-see TV.
Woods is a trailblazer and already a legend for his ability to perform
when
the spotlight is at its hottest. But he has also established a reputation
for reticence when confronted with the real world off the greens. For all
his cultural capital, Woods has refused to take stands on issues that
should
hit close to home, such as restricted golf courses, or even when the Golf
Channel's Kelly Tilghman suggested young PGA players "lynch him in a back
alley" in a "joke" about how they might overcome his dominance. Tiger has
largely maintained the tight-lipped silence of a Benedictine monk.
After the lynching comment, ESPN's Scoop Jackson became so frustrated with
this disciplined quietude he wrote, "Because of who he is, Tiger Woods has
the power to make people listen. Not just hear his words-but embrace what
he
has to say.... It's a stand he needs to take because people who change the
world eventually have to take stands. Whether strong or silent, good or
evil, they take stands not to prove their beliefs, but to rectify a
situation or condition."
His defenders have always said that behind the scenes Woods has been an
agent for change, and that he shouldn't be criticized just because he does
his good deeds without media fanfare. They say he wields that influence
through his nonprofit Tiger Woods Foundation. Go to the website, and a
virtual Woods walks right onto your screen and welcomes you to a place
where
"kids can achieve anything." The site boasts: "more than 10 million young
people have benefited from the Tiger Woods Foundation since its inception
in
1996. What started out with limited access throughout America, now reaches
out to young people around the world."
Yet now the Foundation is "reaching around the world" in a way that has
human rights activists concerned about a business partner****p that smells
like sulfur.
The Tiger Woods Foundation has entered into an extensive five-year
partner****p with Chevron Cor****ation, with the oil and energy giant
becoming
the title sponsor of the Tiger Woods Foundation World Challenge Golf
Tournament.
"Chevron has a track record and a commitment to bettering the communities
where they operate," Woods said in a press release on April 3. And
Chevron's
executive vice president chimed in, "Chevron, Tiger and the Tiger Woods
Foundation share similar values...as well as a deep commitment to make a
difference in local communities."
They have certainly "made a difference in local communities," but it's
nothing they should be bragging about, and certainly nothing with which
Woods should want his name attached. Chevron is in full partner****p with
the
Burmese military regime on the Yadana gas pipeline project, the single
greatest source of revenue for the military, estimated at nearly $1
billion
in 2007, nearly half of all the country's revenue. These are the same
people
who are blocking international aid workers from assisting the victims of
Cyclone Nargis. The death toll has been estimated at 78,000, but this
number
can explode as disease spreads and help isn't allowed through the military
lines. Even the US State Department has called the actions of the
government
"appalling."
Ka Hsaw Wa, co-founder and executive director of EarthRights
International,
wrote in an open letter to Woods, "I myself have spoken to victims of
forced
labor, rape, and torture on Chevron's pipeline-if you heard what they said
to me, you too would understand how their tragic stories stand in stark
contrast to Chevron's rhetoric about helping communities." ERI's request
to
meet with Woods or someone from the foundation has been met with silence
But while the Burmese junta's crimes are localized in Southeast Asia,
Chevron is global. Lawsuits have been issued against Chevron's toxic waste
dumping in Alaska, Canada, Angola, California. Then there's the matter of
18
billion gallons of toxic waste the company has been accused of dumping in
the Amazon.
In a US District Court in San Francisco, the case of Bowoto v. Chevron,
Nigerian plaintiffs have accused Chevron of actually arming and outfitting
Nigerian oil security forces to shoot and kill protesters. Judge Susan
Illston has refused to dismiss the case because, as Democracy Now!
recently
re****ted, "evidence show[s] direct links to Chevron officials."
When pressed for comment, Tiger Woods Foundation President Greg McLaughlin
issued this statement to me: "The Foundation's vision is to help young
people reach their full potential. All our partners share in this vision,
allowing us to make a positive impact in millions of young lives." That
response, to very serious and very direct charges, is the golf equivalent
of
a triple bogey.
President McLaughlin should think more seriously about what Chevron is and
what they do: they pollute, they destroy, they conspire with dictators,
and
heaven help anyone who gets in their way. Now they want to burnish their
"brand" by partnering with Tiger Woods. Tiger's late father Earl, once
said
of his son, "He will transcend this game... and bring to the world... a
humanitarianism... which has never been known before. The world will be a
better place to live in... by virtue of his existence... and his
presence."
The partner****p with Chevron makes a mockery of Earl Woods's hopes.
To use an analogy from a different s****t, the ball is now in Tiger's
court.
Will he allow himself to be tamed by cor****ate interests, or will he roar?
_______
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"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an op****tunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are
at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
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