The New York Times is reporting that AT&T and Accenture walked away from their contracts with Tiger scot free. IMG apparently concluded that it would be better to forgo the remainder of the contracts, rather than risk further bad publicity in a public court fight.
For what it’s worth, Scot Free comes from the Old Norse word sceot, or scot, meaning a “tax.” The Norse word likely was introduced into English during the Norse occupation of England, which began in 1016 when Canute, a Dane, became King of England. To get off Scot Free, then, means to escape a tax.
That’s what happens when we think we are too good for our own pants and our heads get filled with nonsense.