Here’s a spot for your comments on the Tiger Woods mea culpa. A few thoughts from The GolfBlogger:
He seemed sincere. But it was a huge mistake to wait so long for this.
His mother’s body language was chilling.
This media event could have been handled via press release. I don’t think it does anything to throw the media off its game. They’re still going to be after Tiger.
Tiger’s complaints about the media hounding his family rang hollow. He’s more than willing to use the media to get what he wants. This is the flip side. You can’t have both.
Tiger’s overall sincerity was hurt in his attacks on the media. Aside from TMZ and the like, I think the media has been remarkably respectful of Elin and the Kids.
Complaints about all the media speculation also missed the mark. All of the questions about spousal abuse, performance enhancing drugs, strange sexual practices, etc. came about because of his refusal to address them head on. If he and his team had hit this hard in December, it would never have snowballed into this media hell.
He didn’t answer many of the questions that needed to be answered, such as what really happened on Thanksgiving; which of those bimbos is telling the truth; are there any more out there, etc. In the absence of those answers, TMZ and others will continue to pursue the story.
I thought that bringing up the good work of his foundation was disingenuous. What he was saying is that “I may be a bad person, but I have a nice Foundation, so forgive me.” He should have left that out.
The Golf Channel is calling this a PR home run, but what do you expect. They have to do that if they ever want to get an interview with Tiger in the future. Ditto many others in the golf media. I’ll never get an interview with Woody anyway, so I’ll call it as I see it: a good performance that does little to solve his overall PR problem. Emphasis on performance.
What do you think?
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The Golf Channel has sunk to a new low if they are calling this a PR homerun. That’s ridiculous. It was the biggest waste of time and didn’t serve any real purpose except to try to apologize to all of the whiny, lawsuit-minded women who ‘thought they were the only one and are so hurt’. Either he needs to answer every question no matter how personal or he needs to answer no more questions and shut up. I prefer him shutting up because the public really doesn’t need to know which woman is telling the truth etc. I’m glad I didn’t follow every news outlet when this story was going on in December. I don’t want to know all of the details. And the quicker he shuts up and doesn’t say any more, the sooner the story will die, although a big story like this, it’s going to take a good year with him off the tour for it to die down enough to be managed when he does come back. If he comes back at all this year, it won’t be good for him or his family.
I did read that someone on his team said that this announcement was being made at this time for a specific reason but wouldn’t say what reason it was. He was adamant that the timing of this event was essential so there may be more news in the near future.
The Golf Channel though – they would score Tiger’s sneezes the best ever. They remind me of a local weatherman here in WV who tries to forecast snow in May because he loves snow so much. They are going to continue to turn a blind eye to everything that Tiger’s done in his career, not just the personal stuff but his unacceptable behavior on the course too. I wrote them off as legitimate journalists a long time ago.
Hahaha – the word I’m supposed to type when I submit this comment is “married”. How’s that for ironic?
Only the types like Kim Jong il enjoy state-controlled media, until now. That’s what it felt like.
That aside, what else do people want from the guy? He’s apologized. He’s admitted that he’s an adulterer. He admitted that he’s got some issues that he needs to work through. He’s on record now, saying that he’s going to change. He’s going to renew his faith, clean up his act inside the ropes, try to salvage his marriage.
The people that hate Tiger Woods… nothing he could’ve done today outside of staging a public suicide would suffice them. They’ll still hate him. This will be their Waterloo moment that they’ll always have to go back to.
The people that loved him… he didn’t need to do this speech today, they say. They were owed no apology. He’s human. It’s his life, whatever he chooses to do is between him and his wife.
The people who take an interest in golf, the REAL golf fans… we don’t care anymore. It’s time to let the man deal with his situation and start focusing on why the game is great. Why the game is not smaller than one guy, or two groups of people who just can’t seem to come to grips about the guy they worship or loath.
No doubt, this has been mishandled so badly that it’s difficult to not watch and observe. His handlers have done something that I honestly thought could never be done—1up B J Wie and company. It has been that disastrous.
Time to move on. Talk about golf. Leave the drama for the tabloids. He’s been revealed, he’s expressed remorse. Let’s get back to golf.
Here’s the part I didn’t like “It’s all my fault, but the media needs to leave me alone.” If it’s all your fault then take the consequences. Stand up like a man and answer questions. The speculation was his fault too, but he was blaming the people who were doing the speculation. All he had to do was to speak 3 months ago, and answer questions, and the speculation would have stopped. Just look how fast people are willing to believe him now. He also has a decision to make. If he wants his privacy so bad he can Howard Hughs it. Leave the game and never come back. If want to meet his golf goals then the media are going to be here every where he goes. But he can decide either way. He is still wanting to play by his own rules (a fault that he just admitted, and says was wrong).
Agreed with so many of you. Its not his problem that has me shaking my head (although I am laughing a bit at his stupidity), but the handling of it all.
Well, after seeing it again – I am pretty much OK with Tiger. I was thinking that he would come back with the Masters, and that he did the perfunctory rehab and that was it. Heck, I don’t really care if he went to rehab or if his marriage broke up or what. I think it is sad for Elin and the kids, but marriages break up all the time.
What I care more about is golf. Not whether Tiger is playing or not, but if the PGA will continue to bow to the alter of Tiger, and that will continue. I don’t know why Finchem even wants to have a 2010 season. I think at this point he should just say that the Tour will be taking a break while Tiger is out. For the PGA to have this event at their headquarters was ridiculous.
Back to Tiger. I think that he really should have had this at another location. A TV studio, the deck of Privacy, or his foyer. I think that he actually is putting his family and his growth ahead of golf – but that message was muddled by the location. I understand reporters being ticked about not being able to ask questions – but I do agree with Tiger that is between him and Elin. The reporters problems with that shouldn’t be about his fornicating, but with the way that the reporters have let Tiger and the PGA get away with that in regards to golf all these years. If they wanted to demand questions over something, it was for his golf performance in the past not for his infidelity now.
My brother 12-stepped his way out of alcohol and drug addition when he was 18 – some 20 years ago. I was at a lot of open meetings with confessions and apologies by the druggie kids during his recovery, and today I talked with my dad about Tiger—I also talked after my golf round today with one of my golf buds whose son went through the same program with my brother. My dad and friend and I all got the same feeling from Tiger- that at times he was sincere, and at times he was putting on a little show—just like those kids did back then. It is the start of his recovery, but at the same time I think he is serious. He can’t say when he will be back at golf, because there really is no knowing when that will be. He will be faced with the same temptations every moment he is out of that center – women will throw themselves at him and he can have whatever he wants.
I was cynical before the event, but now I am more hopeful for Tiger as a person. My brother has been sober for 20 years because of a program like this- I hope Tiger can make the same changes for himself.
Hopefully Tiger will also get in touch with his poor behavior on the course. At 34, he needs to stop acting like a child on the course.
So as I started with – I am pretty OK with Tiger – and the PGA I think is pathetic. Finchem and the PGA should support Tiger, in the same way they support any other golfer from Michelson to Kim to Couples to Daly. The other golfers, some who are ticked at Tiger need to direct all of that to Finchem and the idiots that run the PGA.
I saw the ‘mea culpa’. You’re right – his mom’s face and body language were scary.
Lots of “me me me” in the speech. But there appeared to be some genuine emotion at times.
I’m ambivalent about Mr. Woods. But I hope he gets his act together. And maybe his absence will also be good for the game.
Tiger’s “commitment” to Buddhism? Please. He has said he doesn’t get anything other than meditation out of it, and uses that only to make sure he can get a ton of cash. $45 million-dollar 1,200 acre home in Jupiter; $50 million-dollar 155-foot Christensen yacht with a free decompression chamber installed by Lloyd’s of London “just in case”; a “peace offering” $10 million-dollar “dingy” yacht (only 61-feet) for his wife to try to keep her on the reservation (“his and hers” yachts); … How much does it cost to feed 1 million Buddhist orphans for a year? Steven Siegal pays for two orphanages. You get the picture. Tiger-Buddha = Buddhism-lite.