Kindergarten Teacher: Woods Lied About School Race Incident
New York Post, April 2, 2010
Tiger Woods’ a former kindergarten teacher disputed a story today that he once told about an incident where he was tied to a tree and spray painted with the N-word by older kids.
In a 2005 book written by Charles Barkley, Woods said he was taunted at a young age by schoolmates because he was bi-racial.
The teacher, Maureen Decker, said the story is a complete lie and that she’s been unfairly maligned.
Decker, who has hired lawyer Gloria Allred, wants a retraction and an apology.
“I was shocked, saddened and disappointed . . . by his false accusations of racial abuse,” she told reporters during a news conference in Los Angeles.
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In the book, the story Tiger told includes the tale of when he was beaten down in the playground by a group of racist white kids.
“I became aware of my racial identity on my first day of school, on my first day of kindergarten. A group of sixth graders tied me to a tree, spray-painted the word ‘n—-‘ on me, and threw rocks at me. That was my first day of school. And the teacher really didn’t do much of anything,” according to the book.
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Decker, who is also mentioned in a video about Tiger’s life, said she’s not looking for any money from Woods.
The retired teacher also said there was no way older students could ever enter the area where the kindergarten kids played.
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In addition, the former principal of the Cerritos Elementary School, in Cypress, Calif., where Tiger attended, said he has no knowledge of the incident.
A parent, Linda DaViega, who was always around the school at that time period, also said she has never heard of such an incident happening.
