Michael Wilbon was on the Dan Patrick show today, and he boldly proclaimed that this scandal is only big news because Tiger Woods is a black man married to a white woman. He says just like OJ Simpson, when a black man is married to a white woman, our society longs to tear them down. He went on and on about other race issues being at play here, but the gist of it was that the only reason this is a story is because Tiger Woods is black. Thoughts?
No its not. Tiger is the most famous athlete in the world, and his image was squeaky clean an in control. I think the media has gone overboard but not because of race
11 up, 11 down so far. I'm very surprised that Wilbon would make these claims when virtually nobody else out there has indicated this.
I hesitate to vote, because I didn't hear this argument that we're voting on. But, I don't see any way in which the bruhaha has been because of his race. It has a lot more to do with how very clean his image was before.
I don't think the evidence supports this at all. OJ Simpson wasn't torn down because it was a white woman - he was torn down because of murder. I'm trying to think of another, similar case to this, and the closest I can think of is Barkley. Isn't he married to a white woman? No one went nuts when he goes off talking about strip clubs, etc. Tiger is unique for a couple of reasons. First, he has a carefully-controlled media personality (unlike Chuck, who pretty much is blunt and says whatever) - the media loves to expose hypocrisy. And second, his wife is famous in her own right, so it's a "power couple" of sorts.
Good lord, no. 1. He is arguably among the ten most famous humans living on the planet. 2. He had a relatively squeaky clean image before this. 3. Celebrity affairs are always big news. 4. There was apparently something weird and exciting going on when he left his house in the car. 5. Woods is handsome and all women involved are relatively hot (at least compared, say, to the John Edwards stuff -- eeewwww.) 6. He is of mixed race!
Well to be clear, this poll isn't about Michael Wilbon's position, but rather in general whether race plays a role in this scandal. Let me see if I can edit the selections.
the etc included admitted infidelity (IIRC with another white woman) when he told a cop why he was speeding! Interracial marriage and sex hardly affect the thoughts of anyone under the age of 70 now (i.e. if they were 25 or younger during the civil rights era, they just don't see a big deal for the topic.)
Taylor swift has become a big star with awards in country music and AMA's, just cause a black man did a young whte girl wrong. So....................
That's a good comparison. Another, which might sound weird, is Michael Phelps' bong scandal. He's white and not married and didn't have an affair. But, I think the public reaction is similar: all-American, world-renowned athlete breaking records all over the place who has a pristine public/marketing image is suddenly caught out doing something scandalous. Busybodies are shocked, shocked by how this guy they assume must be a hero to other people has done something to reveal some moral failing and will no doubt lead impressionable youth astray. There is a perceived implicit hypocrisy involved between the offender's PR image and their revealed humanity, even though no actual hypocrisy occurs.
Good grief Charlie Brown.........Why does anything involving someone that is not 100% white have to be racism?
More white people love Tiger Woods then black people. Look at his f'ing galleries at any tournament. Tiger is getting this attention because he is a dominant athlete, incredibly popular, and someone people considered a great role model. The whole thing is shocking considering the image that is Tiger Woods.
