One week after being asked about his relationship with Donald Trump, Tiger Woods was asked about another politically divisive topic: Nike’s recent commercial featuring Colin Kaepernick.
The advertisement itself is not political. It’s about sporting achievement, setting dreams and striving to reach them. The political part, at least according to many people, is that Kaepernick narrates the commercial. He has become an elevated figure in popular culture for protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games and waging a lawsuit against the NFL.
What does this have to do with Tiger Woods? Well, Woods is a Nike athlete himself, and the commercial at hand has stood for days as a public backing of Kaepernick as a Nike athlete and person, something the President of the United States stands against. As mentioned earlier, Woods gave a simple answer about his relationship with Trump last week. This week, he gave another simple, discreet answer about the Nike ad.
“I think Nike is trying to get out ahead of it and trying to do something special and I think they’ve done that,” Woods said to reporters Friday at the BMW Championship. “It’s a beautiful spot and pretty powerful people in the spot.”
What Woods means by “get out ahead of it” is unclear. In typical form, Woods kept his answer short, but calling the ad “a beautiful spot” line felt substantial. Woods, and golf, it should be noted, were not included among the many Nike athletes and sports in the commercial.
