In the aftermath of last week’s arrest of pro golfer Scottie Scheffler, sports commentator Stephen A. Smith is accusing the police of racial bias for not releasing bodycam footage of the arrest, adding, “If it were Tiger Woods, you’d have it.”
Footage captured by a bystander shows the golfer being placed into a police cruiser and driven away just hours before his scheduled tee time.
Scheffler faces charges including second-degree assault of a police officer (felony), criminal mischief in the third degree (misdemeanor), reckless driving, and ignoring signals from officers directing traffic (misdemeanor).
Despite heightened security, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg stated that Louisville police officers did not have body cameras recording during Scheffler’s arrest, resulting in no official video record.
This revelation sparked a reaction from Smith, who argues that there is no video because Scheffler is white, asserting that if he were black, the bodycam footage would already be widely available.
“A mistake like that can’t happen,” Smith commented on the absence of bodycam footage. “We don’t see it as a mistake; we see it as intentional. Nobody believes you conveniently forgot to turn on your body cam when arresting the No. 1 golfer in the world! Nobody believes that!”
While claiming he was not outright alleging racism, he added, “You give Black America reason to be suspicious when the No. 1 golfer in the world, who is white, gets arrested.”
Smith then brought Tiger Woods into the discussion, arguing there would undoubtedly be footage if Woods were the one being arrested.
“If you’re consistently capturing incriminating videos of Black people, then consistently capture incriminating videos of white people… I’m not implying this was a racial incident. I’m saying you give cynics who are quick to attribute situations to race a reason to believe so when such things happen. Where’s the video?” Smith demanded. “That has to change. Where’s the video…Find it! Get it! Because if it were Tiger Woods, you’d have it. If it were Tiger Woods, you know very well you’d have it.”
