Earlier this week Spaniard Sergio Garcia did himself and his not so innocent game of golf the discredit of making a racially divisive ‘fried chicken joke’ aimed at his African American nemesis Tiger Woods.
A ‘joke’ that Robert Thompson, expert in cultural studies from Syracuse University eloquently described as being ‘from the museum of historic racist comments”.
When being asked in jest about the prospect of his feud with Tiger Woods being resolved, Garcia classily responded with the line, “We will have him ’round every night. We will serve fried chicken.”
The Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia bunfight is a ridiculously childish feud being boorishly played out between multi millionaire golfers.
Ordinarily it would be hilarious, the two protagonists being so infuriatingly earnest in their phoniness.
And it would hardly warrant the likes of yours truly providing another article written in its honour (unless it was to report on the two ‘gentlemen’ in question having decided to settle their disagreement with a fencing duel played out on the 18th green of Augusta National using only sand wedges!)
But when this ludicrous feud ends up highlighting the insidious and lazy racial attitudes that still inexplicably rear their ugly heads in sports, well, ‘hand me a keyboard’.
The ‘joke’ reminded us that although we have moved on since the days of out and out racism in sport, we still have a quite while until Garcia-esque examples of prejudicial stupidity are stamped out of sports and society altogether.
The remark in itself is not shocking. Indeed it would be naive of anyone to think that racial vilification does not exist in all facets of life, from religion to politics to sports.
What is most shocking is that Garcia actually expected to hear and see guffaws and grins instead of the reported gasps and glowers from a crowd reportedly stunned at the confidence with which he told his ‘joke’.
Garcia has apologised, and no doubt is contrite for what he has said. But is that contriteness enough? As my grandmother would say
‘are you sorry because of what you have done, or sorry because you got caught?’
George O’Grady, the European tour chief, has stated that with Garcia’s apology there will be no further sanctions and that in his eyes the matter is finished.
But to this writer’s eyes it is a matter that requires further discussion and education.
Why couldn’t Garcia have left it to the cooking dinner joke and be done with it?
What is it in certain individuals that lead them to so confidently espouse such ridiculous statements all the while believing they will be popularly accepted within society?
Many people, including O’Grady, dismissed the comment as an out of character brain fade made in the ‘heat of the battle’ (i.e. an ongoing childish and very public argument).
And while I understand and accept tempers can flare in the heat of a sporting contest or argument, I do not understand nor do I accept that just because things may be going wrong that this some how excuses an individual to let fly with a racially or religiously or gender specific discriminatory line.
No, this is not a ‘heat of the moment thing’.
This is a much more deep-seated response, one that a certain individual feels is the immediate answer to a pressure situation. It alludes to bigger and more ingrained issues that make individuals respond in such inappropriate.
At the very least its discriminatory laziness that has been borne out of cultural insensitivity and results in an unintelligent comment that perpetuates a vilified feeling among those who are the victims.
It is a casual racism that on the surface seems harmless enough, like a joke that should be taken in ‘good humour’.
But this ‘humour’ is all from the perspective of the perpetrator and does not take into account the feelings and perceptions of the individual who is being vilified.
These seemingly innocuous statements can do great damage to not only the victim but also to the reputation of the person making them.
This is not to say that Garcia or any other sportsman or woman found to be racially denigrating an individual is a full-blown racist per say.
It is also not to say that we should not, like Woods himself has done, forgive any openly contrite individual for their indiscretion.
It is to say that just like the wider community, sport is not immune to the casual racism that so often gets swept under the carpet.
But again, as I have mentioned in previous articles, sport is in a unique position to be able educate and discuss matters as delicate as race relations in a way that is inclusive of various cultural and religious backgrounds.
Education is the only way such latent, lazy racial discrimination such as that displayed by Garcia can be eradicated, and in that battle sport should not retreat from its attack but instead form the vanguard of a diverse defence.
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