The Tiger beatdown
Ransom Notes
by Earl Ofari Hutchinson decades was a gentlemanly, high brow, near
Education ‘vestiges’ linger
sport of kings, white man’s game. The price a
B
eat em’ when they’re down and beat em’ black sports icon pays for resting on that high
again for good measure before they can perch can be steep. One misstep and he or she
by Lou Ransom ing factor for student placement. The district
get up. The beat down supposedly is not can become the instant poster child for all that’s
says it will come up with some other “socio-
the American way of dealing with those who are allegedly wrong with celebriity, sport and socie-
down. The ground rules radically changed the ty.
moment Tiger Woods did life- threatening dam- There are two reasons for that. When Woods
O
n May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme economic” criteria that will help keep those
Court ruled, “separate educational schools from becoming more white, in a
facilities are inherently unequal.” majority minority district.
age to a tree and a fire hydrant. With that the beat tore up the greens he became the gatekeeper for
You would think that the Chicago Public Again, the district argues that it no longer
down started with a vengeance. No matter that the storehouse of fantasies and delusions of a
Schools simply didn’t get the word, some 55 discriminates against Black students in
the only body damage done was to Woods. There sports crazed public as well as advertisers,
years later. school placement, yet the demographics from
was no allegation or hint of drugs sportswriters, and TV executives
That’s because Chicago Public Schools has those selective enrollment schools seems to
or alcohol. No matter that the law in desperate need of vicarious
soft-pedaled the end of the 29- argue something else.
did not compel Woods to talk to escape, titillation, excitement,
year consent decree that Obviously, the easiest way
police just to provide his license, and profits. Woods was the ulti-
forced them to desegregate to get into those schools is
registration and proof on insur- mate in the sports hero who ful-
because the district had a pat- to be white, and for a school
ance. No matter that he publicly filled that empty need.
tern of favoring white stu- like North Side College
accepted responsibility for what- He was expected to move in
dents. Prep, listing “African
ever damage he caused, called the rarified air above the fray of
Under the decree, white stu- American” might be the
the gossip “malicious,” and human problems while raising
dents were limited to a maxi- easiest way to be denied.
pleaded for the media and public society’s expectation of what’s
mum of 35 percent of the seats Some have criticized the
to respect his privacy. good and wholesome. He’s been
at the top schools in the city – court’s decision to lift the
None of this has mattered. It’s handsomely rewarded for fulfill-
mostly the selective enroll- decree, noting that the
irrelevant not because a sex, ing that fantasy even though as
ment schools. racism and discrimination
celebrity gossip, rumor and innu- he admitted in his statement
The district argued that it that was rampant in CPS has
endo starved and obsessed main-
Earl Ofari Hutchinson
about the accident on his website
should no longer be subject to
Lou Ransom
not gone away, and instead
stream media salivates at the tigerwoods.com, he is only
the decree, since only 8 per- has become institutional-
prospect of scandal and titillation at the mishaps human. He reminded the world the obvious. He
cent of the district’s students ized, with even some of the
of celebrities. Nor have Woods’ pleadings that has the same flaws and foibles as anyone else,
are white. administrators thinking that is simply the way
the accident is a non-issue been sloughed off and that certainly includes sports icons.
Federal judge Charles Korkoras lifted the things are, and should not change.
because he is one of the sports world's most The other reason for the Woods beat down is
decree Sept. 25, noting, “the vestiges of dis- Some look ahead to some utopian non-
bankable, best known noblesse oblige goody two his fame and fortune. Black super stars cause
crimination are no longer.” sense about finally beginning to look at the
shoes role model for the much media and public
I looked up “vestiges” and it means, district in a color-blind manner, without tak-
sporting world. hurt when they supposedly
“trace,” as in, a very small amount. I’m trying ing race into account. But folks always want
The truth is that the Tiger
The truth is that the Tiger
betray the collective self
to understand what district this judge was to be colorblind after seeing only one color
Woods beatdown began ages delusion of sport as pure
looking at. He is saying that there is not a for generations.
Woods beatdown began ages
ago. The whispers, innuen- and pristine. That stirs even
trace of discrimination in Chicago Public If “diversity” is going to be a goal, and not
does, and back biting began
ago. The whispers, innuen-
greater jealousy and resent-
Schools. That comes as a surprise to every- just a word between “diver” and “divine” in
the instant that he exploded does, and back biting began ment. That’s evident in the
one except the CPS lawyers. the dictionary, someone is going to have to
on the golf scene. He wasn’t constant fan and sports-
Now, according to the 2000 Census, whites come up with a way to end the disparity in
the instant that he exploded
Black enough. He was too writer carping about how
make up 41 percent of the city’s population. placement.
Black. He was too arrogant.
on the golf scene. He wasn’t
spoiled, pampered and over
If they are only 8 percent of Chicago Public Of course, the focus on the selective enroll-
He was too aloof. He was too Black enough. He was too paid Woods and black ath-
Schools, the big question is “Where the white ment schools obscures the fact that the dis-
selfish. The more green letes supposedly are. The
kids at?” trict has been resegregating along racial lines,
Black. He was too arrogant.
Masters Tournament winners first hint of any bad behav-
Unfortunately, many of them are already in with more and more schools having more
jackets that he donned and
He was too aloof. He was too
ior by them ignites a torrent
some of the city’s best schools, the selective than 90 percent Black enrollment, and some
world class tournaments he
selfish.
of self-righteous columns
enrollment schools – Whitney Young, Walter now with very high Hispanic enrollments.
won, and the fatter his bank and commentary on the
Payton, North Side College Prep – while Meanwhile, white parents, at least those who
account grew, the undertow supposed arrogant, above
other schools, most notably the predominant- can’t get their kids in the selective enrollment
of carping about him continued unabated. There the law black athlete.
ly Black schools, are languishing with poor schools, are putting their kids in private and
have even been personal and race tinged digs Woods has not had nor will he have a day in
achievement, high dropout rates and inces- parochial schools, avoiding CPS altogether.
and cracks that golfer Fuzzy Zoeller (“fried court. He hasn’t done anything to warrant one.
sant violence. Black parents are doing the same.
chicken”) and Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman But he squirms on the hook in the other court, the
At Whitney Young, 30.3 percent of the stu- Brown v. Board of Education was quite
(“lynch him”) made about him. court of public opinion. Many in that court have
dents are white, and 30.9 percent are Black clear about the inherent inequity of having
Woods graciously and diplomatically tried, convicted and sentenced him. His sentence
and 20.7 percent are Hispanic. At Walter schools just for Blacks, and schools for
shrugged off the inanities and kept doing what he is cruel. That is having to cancel golf tourna-
Payton College Prep, 35.8 percent of the stu- everyone else. We can disagree about that
does best and that’s win tournaments. It didn’t ments, hearing whispers from sponsors and ad
dents are white, while 25.2 percent are Black, decision, and the means that have been used
stop the gossip mongers. Woods was simply too persons about his image, and of course, the
and 21.7 percent are Hispanic. At North Side to remedy it, but the Black schools routinely
big, too good, and too rich for the tastes of a wide drumbeat tabloid gossip. But given who he is the
College Prep, 37.5 percent of the students are have fewer resources and lower achievement.
swath of the public and the celebrity crazed sentence is not unusual. It’s called the Tiger beat
white, and only 6 percent are Black and 24.0 Fifty-five years later, to our shame, that has
media. down.
percent are Hispanic. Gives a whole new hue not changed.
Despite Woods careful and cautious downplay
to the term “selective enrollment.”
of race, for another swath of the public he was Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and polit-
The lifting of the consent decree means the Lou Ransom is executive editor of the
still a black sports icon who dominated what for ical analyst.
district can no longer use race as a determin- Chicago Defender.
Chicago Defender • ChicagoDefender.com • December 9-15, 2009
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