Steve Williams: profane, arrogant and an imbecile

 
Melanie Dinjaski Columnist

By , 7 Nov 2011 Melanie Dinjaski is a Roar Expert

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You had to take it that extra step further didn’t you Steve? Couldn’t just let bygones be bygones? Now to your own detriment, you’ve thrown away any morsel of sympathy people had towards you after Tiger parted ways.

At a ceremony in Shanghai on Friday, after winning an award for the best celebration by a caddy, Steve Williams explained his motive for that infamous pot-shot at Tiger Woods after Adam Scott’s win at the Bridgestone Invitational. In his answer he said,

“It was my aim to shove it right up that black a**hole.”

We all kind of felt a bit sorry for Williams when Tiger abruptly stopped using his services after a glorious 12 year partnership of 72 tournament victories. Williams also stood by the besieged former world number one in the aftermath of the off-course scandal that erupted in late 2009.

But now? No sympathy. Zip, nada, nothing.

Adam Scott, Williams’ current employer and a softly spoken gentleman of the sport, now has to defend using the Kiwi at the upcoming Australian Open and President’s Cup.

Williams’ comment not only brings his reputation into question, but also drags Scott’s name through the mud too. And we all know too well, that racism is hard to live down.

The question people will inevitably ask is, what’s the problem with calling Tiger a “black a**hole”?

It can be a shady area when it comes to calling someone who has dark skin “black”. I mean there’s “black power”, “black feminism”, “black politics” and who can forget James Brown’s song “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud”. Those in the US have no problem with calling their president a “black man” in the White House. The term African American is considered just a more formal option.

Back to the issue of Williams’ comment.

There’s little doubt Tiger is an a**hole. This we know. Some of the greatest sportspeople are indeed a**holes. No matter how much charity work you do, you can still be a deadest a-hole.

Steve could have called him an a**hole, plain and simple, and we would’ve thought nothing of it. Hell, we might’ve even chuckled at the remark made by the cheeky Kiwi.

But when you attach someone’s race (or colour associated with race) towards a derogatory term, you are singling out their race as a pre-cursor for being in this case an “a**hole”. That’s when you have a problem.

Similarly, league fans will recall in 2010 when Timana Tahu controversially stood down from NSW Origin duties after overhearing assistant coach Andrew Johns refer to Greg Inglis as a “black c**t”. If Johns called Inglis a “c**t” and a “c**t” only, I doubt any in the NSW squad would have taken issue with that. The prudes might object, but reality is footy language isn’t so rosey, especially against your opposition. But when Johns attached the word “black” to proceed an insulting term, his actions can be deemed racist.

Though Williams may not have intended his quip to be racist and was instead just “joking” as he confirmed on his website, the damage has been done.

Love him or hate him, Williams should know more than anyone the difficulty Woods has faced as the most prolific African-American man playing golf.

Even though he wasn’t caddying for Woods at the time, Williams will know that when Tiger won the 1997 Masters at Augusta with Fluff, Woods not only became the youngest player to win at the infamous Georgia layout, but also the first African American. Death threats followed.

How Williams will claw himself out of the deep, deep ditch he’s dug for himself is yet to be known. Interviews with the caddy since, don’t exactly shine him in the most apologetic light.

European Tour officials are now under intense pressure from sponsors, advocacy groups and fans to punish Williams.

But even if they don’t, Williams has done more than enough on his own to jeopardise his standing in the golfing community.

You can follow Melanie Dinjaski on Twitter @MelanieDinjaski.
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