Tiger Woods Gives His Take on Black Lives Matter

Tiger Woods smells change in the air, and calls it "fantastic." The legendary golfer gave his take on the Black Lives Matter movement as he returned to public-tour golfing at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, CNN reports. "I think change is fantastic," he told reporters on Tuesday. "As long as we make changes without hurting the innocent—and unfortunately that has happened, hopefully it doesn't happen in the future—but a movement and change is fantastic. That's how society develops. That's how we grow. That's how we move forward. That's how we have fairness. Unfortunately, we've lost innocent lives along the way, and hopefully we don't lose any more in the future as we move to a much better place socially."

Woods has also expressed support for George Floyd's loved ones in a message that showed respect to law enforcement and argued for peaceful protests, per the Bleacher Report. "My heart goes out to George Floyd, his loved ones and all of us who are hurting right now," the 44-year-old golfer tweeted last month. "I have always had the utmost respect for our law enforcement" and their use-of-force training, but "this shocking tragedy clearly crossed that line," he wrote, adding that "we can make our points without burning the very neighborhoods that we live in." Woods' appearance at the Memorial Tournament marked his first public tour event since February, per ESPN. "I just felt it was better to stay at home and be safe," he said. (More Tiger Woods stories.)