Stewart’s Tragic Folly
By Brian Liou

People around U.S. golfer Payne Stewart defined him by his energetic charisma, his boisterous love for golf, and his infectious smile. But some may unfortunately remember the 42-year old Stewart for some of his last comments, uttered only four days before he perished in an airless cabin in a Learjet that eventually crashed in South Dakota.

With his unforgettable sweet swing, Stewart, who was scheduled to play in this week’s season-ending Tour Championship at Houston, brought passion and flair to his sport, bridging generations through their admiration for the sport and for the man himself. Yet, like all of us, Stewart was also human. At times, his high-strung temperament got the better of him -- and last Thursday was no exception.

While stuck during a rain delay Oct. 21 at the National Car Rental Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla, Stewart foolishly retorted to a European broadcaster’s insult by squinting his eyes, curling his lips and squealing in a thick fake-Chinese accent: “I just want Peter Alliss to know that all of us American golfers on the Ryder Cup Team -- we are Chinese, too. Thank you very much.”

What brought that on was a remark that Peter Alliss, who covers sports for ABC in Europe, had made earlier that day to the London Telegraph, which quoted him as saying, “Americans might as well be Chinese. In their eyes, everything European is rubbish. Everything, everything, everything is crap.”

Huh? Since when do the Chinese think everything European is garbage? How does a man who has absolutely no Chinese heritage make such a far-fetched assumption? Clearly, Alliss’ unfounded slap to the Chinese falsely insinuates that we are still newcomers to the entire international world, a close-minded race incapable of social integration. Alliss’ comments harken back to the 1880s when anti-Chinese sentiments reached a frustrating peak. Or maybe Alliss still thinks that time is now.

Alliss fell flat on his face in his attempt to bash the U.S. Ryder Cup team, who last month won the prestigious international golf tournament, snatching it convincingly from the defending European team. The situation between the snipping Europeans and the defiant U.S. team has boiled to such a considerable fervor that the European team has even threatened to skip future Ryder Cups because of fans’ abusive behavior towards them and their families.

European Captain Mark James said a fan spat at his wife and claimed American fans repeatedly tried to hide or even kicked stray golf balls that were driven awry off the tee into the gallery by European players. During one incident, a swarm of fans intentionally tried to point European team golfer Jesper Parnevik into the wrong direction as he tried in vain to look for his lost ball. But what really enraged the European media was the premature celebration that took place on the 17th green. U.S. team member Justin Leonard sunk his birdie putt with one hole to go to secure a U.S. win with European golfer Jose Maria Olazabal yet to putt out. Had Olazabal, who stood by gritting his teeth as the U.S. team mobbed Leonard on the green, birdied his putt, the Europeans might have halved the hole and saved their chances, but only temporarily. Instead, the Europeans sat on their bums and watched as the U.S. team sang and drank in victory in probably the most historic comeback ever in the 72 years of the Ryder Cup.

The day after, however, a British newspaper ran the headline “How to win a Cup, but lose all dignity” over a photograph of U.S. players leaping and running onto the green. Sam Torrence, the European vice captain, called the early celebration “disgusting” and said the U.S. team members should have been ashamed of themselves.

U.S. Captain Ben Crenshaw has apologized repeatedly for the foul behavior, but some broadcasters couldn’t let it go. Not only has the European media made themselves out to look like fools, but they irresponsibly brought the Chinese into it as well. Since when does Peter Alliss think he can speak on behalf of all Chinese? Who elected him spokesperson for the Republic?

And as tempting as it might be to do so, we can’t disregard Payne Stewart’s reply, either. What did he think, that this was just another competition over who can get the closest imitation of us Chinese? His efforts to one-up Alliss unnecessarily brought shame not only to the institution of golf, but to his memory. It is still beyond belief to have witnessed Stewart, known for his class on and off the course and for his undying devotion to his family, blatantly insult all people of Chinese descent.

After completing his round, Stewart half-heartedly tried to smooth things over, saying there was no intent to offend anybody except Alliss. But did you look at his face? His apology looked more like a smirking excuse. Stewart appeared absolutely insincere and more ashamed to have been caught on TV than for his actions. Now, of course, there is no more time for Stewart to take back what he said.

Of course, if Alliss, who started the whole thing, had made fun of blacks or Latinos, things might have been a whole lot different. But directed toward Chinese? Oh, a Chinese person can take it, he’s just going to lie down and pretend not to hear it -- and that’s exactly what we’re doing. It’s no wonder the Chronicle failed to mention the scandal in their Friday’s newspaper, waiting only until Saturday to report Stewart’s blunder. Who among us has stood up to demand an apology?

In Stewart’s case, some may remember him less for his knickers and more for his foolishness. It’s clearly too late for him now. Yet racism’s ability to transcend individual lives means that the right thing to do remains the same today as it did last week: We must speak up.

Remember when golfer Fuzzy Zoeller made insensitive remarks about Tiger Woods eating watermelon a couple years ago? The press-led furor soon led to a quick apology. In fact, Alliss’ inflammatory remarks bear a striking resemblance to racist comments that cost Al Campanis, Jimmy (The Greek) Snyder and Ben Wright their jobs.

So why is Alliss still working? The mainstream media’s myopia on the depth of the insult, coupled with the humane desire not to speak ill of Stewart, has given the broadcaster a free ride. Moreover, it doesn’t help that there’s a tremendous shortage of Asian American athletes out there who don’t have enough presence and clout to stand up to people like Alliss.

Brian Liou’s sports column is to appear monthly. Email him at bwliou@yahoo.com