Steve Williams: The world’s richest ‘slave’

As we end October’s Black history month when schools and colleges up and down the country will have been exploring the rich, beautiful, and often brutal history of enslaved Africans, and the African Diaspora, spare a thought for the former caddie of Tiger Woods, Steve Williams.

It seems that with no hint of irony he claims that a Black man, in this case Tiger Woods, literally treated like he was, ‘his slave’.

In his new book, ‘Out of the rough’, he describes the ‘deplorable’ treatment meted out by Tiger Woods, who in Williams mind was like a slave owner:

"One thing that really pissed me off was how he would flippantly toss a club in the general direction of the bag, expecting me to go over and pick it up. I felt uneasy about bending down to pick up his discarded club – it was like I was his slave.”

I’m sure your heart bleeds for such a man who had to endure this treatment at the hands of Woods, the then world superstar of not just golf but sport in general.

After all he was only paid between 10%-15% of Wood’s 100 million dollar winnings during a thirteen year reign. And no doubt Williams would have also had the ignominy of flying at least business class, and probably first class around the world, not to mention those shabby 5 star hotels, and all that attention of being associated with a global superstar.

No Mr Williams you were not treated like a slave, because by definition you were not enslaved, much less raped, and or beaten, often for fun. Mr Williams you cannot even say you were treated like a servant because those millions of people who were forced into servitude were paid much less than even a minimal salary and their working day was almost always demeaning.

In truth William's  thirteen years with the then world’s best golfer was at best a charmed life, although no one doubts that having a petulant superstar as Woods was he too often treated his caddie  with disrespect.

But Williams was all too happy to make millions off his boss during his hay-day, and now Woods is down, he wants to kick him to make even more money out of his association.

Williams verbally attacking Woods to sell his book  is down to him, and in many ways demonstrates the low level people will go to make money. However, equating his work experience with Africans who were enslaved becomes an insult to all of us, particularly those of us who are descendents of  enslaved Africans.

Maybe next year during Black history month a local school should invite Steve Williams to discover the real horrors of the slave trade.

Simon Woolley and Cassie Rodgers