Trump Praises Tiger Woods, Golf Legend 'Not Black', Stephen A Smith Says

Donald Trump praised Tiger Woods on Monday after golf legend refused to be baited by the media about his friendship with the president.

The 14-time major winner has just finished four rounds of the Northern Trust Open where he finished tied-40 when he was asked about his relationship with Trump. They are known to play golf together on occasion, and their association was forged well before Trump took his place at the White House.

“Well, I’ve known Donald for a number of years,” Woods said Sunday when asked about his relationship with the president, as quoted in the Washington Times. “We’ve played golf together and, you know, we’ve had dinner together. So yeah, I’ve known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.”

Woods was then dragged into giving his political opinion about Trump making people of color and immigrants feeling threatened, but the pro golfer opted to remain neutral in his comments and made it clear that one must respect the office of the president, even if “you dislike the personality or the politics”.

“Well, he’s the president of the United States,” Woods added. “You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office.”

President Trump was quick in responding to Woods’ comments and praised the golfer for being smart and not saying something the “Fake News Media” wanted him to say. He also commended his game, which has certainly been on the rise in recent months.

“The Fake News Media worked hard to get Tiger Woods to say something that he didn’t want to say. Tiger wouldn’t play the game - he is very smart. More importantly, he is playing great golf again!” Trump said on his Twitter account.

Woods’ response to the questions regarding his relationship with Trump, however, did not go down well with everybody. He was criticized by some for supporting the president, while some brought up his own infidelities in the past to question his comments about respecting the office of the president.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, known for his controversial comments, said something that shocked even his co-hosts on the show “First Take.” The sports analyst was incensed by Woods’ comments to such an extent that he went on to attack the former world number one’s race and ethnicity.

Smith said clearly in his comments that Woods, arguably the greatest golfer to ever play the game, was “not black” and referred to his Asian roots. The golfer himself refers to himself as Cablinasian, and the ESPN analyst believes that his unwillingness to speak about the issues affecting the community was dividing opinion when it came to the African-American community’s respect towards him.

The 42-year-old golfer remaining neutral with his comments were also praised by many, who suggested sports media should not try and drag politics into sport and force athletes to give their opinions on such matters.