Steroids in Golf
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by Kayos
The sports world has been sullied for the likes of steroids. More recently, Major League Baseball and more importantly, Barry Bonds. This thing with Bonds and his chasing the home run record has brought out so many stances on the issue of steroids in sports. I want to say the feelings on the issue are evenly distributed but I can't tell anymore because the atrocity of it has reached so many different aspects. The recent development of Steroids involves Golf.
This morning on my way to work, Josh Elliott and Michael Smith of ESPN were substituting for Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic during the Mike and Mike in the Morning Show on ESPN radio. Josh Elliott prefaced the issue of Steroids in Golf with Tiger Woods is currently on his way to breaking Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 Major wins. Tiger won his 4th PGA Championship this weekend with a 2 stroke finish. This marks Tiger's 13th Major win. With that being said, Mr. Elliott continues his story by saying that a steroid policy should be implemented in Golf to protect the legacy of Tiger Woods. Michael Smith took a stance opposite of his co-host saying this is golf, a sport of mental acuity and accuracy. Why would steroids be an issue in a mental game rather than a physical one?
I have to agree with Michael Smith but I would like to take this one step further if you'll allow me to. Yes, Golf is a mental game. It requires being patient, awareness of the surroundings, and accuracy of how one drives the ball. Does strength come into play? Of course because you need a little bit of strength to hit the ball down the fairway, chip onto the green, and eventually send the ball into the hole. Is it enough strength to require steroids? No. One of Elliott's argument is with the courses being lengthened to accomodate Tiger's drive, who - by the way - has the longest drive recorded amongst the players of the tour, competitors will turn to steroids to keep up. His second argument is recovery. Tour participants will turn to steroids to help aid in injury recovery. Does his reasons have merit? Sure. Realistically? No. My problem with his argument is that it comes on the heels of another Tiger Woods' win. He has recorded another major that will eventually make him closer to beating the record Jack Nicklaus set back in the 80s. People have been whispering about steroids entering the game of golf and now I'm beginning to understand why.
Golf has been and still is predominantly a white sport. When Tiger burst onto the scene, white men and other minorities have had to boost their game to be in contention with him. They've had to raise their level of golf and still there's isn't a man alive to give Tiger any competition. Can he be beaten? Of course. He's proven that many times. How likely? It's rare but it isn't impossible. I rarely like to pinpoint anything on race but this is clearly a race issue. Michael Smith questioned Josh Elliott if he felt that Tiger cheated. Elliott responded with a no. Smith retorted with, "why would you need to test if you feel his performance isn't the product of steroids?" Elliott said, "Because sports is in a state of turmoil and is needed to protect Tiger and Jack's legacy." My question is would this even be brought up if it was someone else that had the powerful swing or the wins that Tiger has accumulated over the years? Tiger not wanting to claim that he's a complete one race type person is still clearly black in the majority of eyes that see him. When people look at Tiger Woods, they see a black man. Plain and simple. It all goes back to the old days. If you have a drop of black blood, you are still black. You can be Ca-bla-nasian all you want to but the world sees you as a black man and said black man is defeating white men at their own game. I can't say Barry Bonds taking steroids is a race issue because they are hunting anyone they can get their hands on in MLB but Golf is a totally different cup of tea. When you start steroid rumors in a sport that has nothing but white men, a few minorities that are still fair-skinned, and one black man killing these men every which way...you have a race issue. Period. Tiger isn't just defeating his opponents, he has them in fear and despair. If Tiger is in the tournament, men spend time wishing and hoping to be in the final group. The atrocity can't be. In the eyes of some white men, this isn't to be. Yet, here we are talking about Steroids and a way to discredit Tiger's authenticity. I have news for you Josh Elliott. Tiger Woods was bred to play golf because he's been playing since before he could walk and if you want to drag his name down just because his white counterparts can't rise to his level of play then you make yourself look foolish and stupid. You say it's a steroid issue. I say it's a race issue because a black man learned to play the game in more ways than one.
