Who Is Kevin Woods? New Details On Tiger Woods' Bedridden Brother — And Why Tiger's Not Helping
Tiger Woods has reportedly shunned his ailing half-brother.
Instagram He's the half-brother of one of the most famous athletes in the world — yet, he's been completely shunned by his famous half-sibling. Who is Kevin Woods?
Radar Online was the first to report about the existence of Tiger Woods’ half-brother, Kevin Woods. The outlet reports that, while the world has gone crazy with a newfound sense of “TigerMania,” the award-winning golfer has reportedly not had any contact with his half-siblings since their father, Earl Woods, died in 2006.
And this is just the first of many sad details to be shared about the strained relationship between the siblings.
Let’s look at what we know about Kevin Woods.
1. He’s the product of Earl Woods’ first marriage.
Tiger Woods has frequently said that his father, Earl Woods, was his biggest inspiration and hero while growing up. In fact, Tiger frequently acknowledges his now-late father as being instrumental to his success as a golfer.
But according to Canoe, 61-year-old Kevin Woods is one of three children born to Earl Woods’ first marriage to the late Barbara Carey. Other siblings from that first union include Earl Jr., 63, and sister Royce, 60.
2. They were all close growing up — but aren’t close anymore.
Despite the fact that they’re half-siblings, Tiger Woods grew up extremely close to all of them. According to the Guardian Liberty Voice, all four of the Woods siblings looked out for one another. Sister Royce reportedly did Tiger’s laundry while he was a student at UCLA, and all four Woods siblings rallied around one another when Tiger’s life started spiraling out of control after he was caught cheating on his wife, Elin Norgren, in 2009.
But according to Charmaine Letuli, who is Kevin’s daughter and Tiger’s niece, the siblings haven’t heard from Tiger since 2013.
“I don’t understand it,” she said. “We raise our kids to take care of their family.”
Earl Jr. echoed his niece’s sentiment. “I leave messages. I leave updates on Kevin, but I don’t get a response. Kevin loves Tiger — and when Tiger doesn’t call, it just makes him feel worse,” he said.
3. Kevin Woods has multiple sclerosis.
According to Radar Online, Kevin Woods has multiple sclerosis. Over the years, his situation has gotten progressively worse — to the point that, now, Kevin Woods is 95% blind and completely bedridden.
He is also, according to his daughter Charmaine, losing his memory and in need of assistance. His family is hoping that, by taking his dire situation to the press, Tiger will get in touch and give a hand.
“He needs full-time care and assistance for everything from eating to getting out of bed,” she said, adding that he’d never asked Tiger Woods for anything but feels hurt by the fact that his famous brother has shunned him. “I just want to bring my father home. He’s living on Social Security and disability and lost his home because of his condition. But he never complains.”
4. But Tiger remains unmoved.
According to the National Enquirer, despite the fact that his brother is in dire straits, Tiger Woods refuses to either reach out or lend a hand, no matter what good things have happened in the past.
The outlet reports that Tiger feels as though he’s solely being hit up for money, though Charmaine insists that that’s not the case. In fact, Charmaine said that she was hesitant to ask Tiger for help initially, because it’s not what her father would have wanted. However, seeing how desperate her father is made her take her situation to the press.
“It just saddens me to see my dad suffer when the cost of getting him a caretaker and moving him home would be nothing more than a drop in the bucket for Tiger,” she said. “It would make my dad the happiest person in the world!”
Thus far, Tiger Woods seems unmoved, but perhaps all of the outcries in the press will help him change his mind.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. Find her online at www.bernadettegiacomazzo.com and www.longlivetheuprising.com.