Woods takes podium

Tiger Woods spoke Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington during ``We Are One'',
 an inauguration celebration for president Obama. It was a rare public speaking appearance for Woods. But in true Woods form, he didn't make the occassion about race a controversial issue. He solely used the opportunity and stage to salute the military, of which his father, Lt. Colonel Earl Woods, was a member in special forces. Woods remains his own person and seldom takes a stand on racial issues, which in the past has drawn the ire of outspoken athletes and activists such as Jim Brown. My personal experience is in regard to the Rebel Flag and an NCAA requested boycott in 2000 of South Carolina sporting events as long as the flag was flown at the statehouse in Columbia. I got Woods one-on-one outside the media center at Augusta National the week before the Verizon Heritage in Hilton Head Island, asking him if the flag controversy impacted his decision not to play in the Heritage that year. Woods declined to comment on the flag or boycott, and would not acknowledge if it impacted his decision. It will be interesting to see if Woods becomes more outspoken after he ends his playing career and grows older.