Wednesday, February 17

Tiger to come out of hiding

I just pulled this off the Entertainment Weekly web site:

Tiger Woods to apologize on Friday
Tiger Woods will apologize for his behavior and discuss his past and future at a Feb. 19 news conference in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.,
Bloomberg reports. It will be the first time Woods has addressed the media since his car crash last November and subsequent confirmation of extramarital affairs. Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, says the golfer has since taken steps to recovery. A small group of reporters will join friends, colleagues, and associates at the conference, but no questions or cameras are allowed.

I'm of two minds about this, and of course, I'll tell you why. First of all, I'm in favor of this particular mea culpa for the simple and only reason that, he needs to do this for the public relations clean-up, and it'll have to be done before he can re-emerge into the world again. Too many crazy, self-righteous people out there believe that his transgressions are personal affronts to them, and that he should be held accountable to the public for his private life. Too many would do ridiculous things like create a public boycott of Nike or Gatorade or the like because they kept him on the payroll. Too many would heckle and jeer him on the golf course at competitions. So, by doing this, he owns up to these perceived mistakes against "the people" and asks for forgiveness, thereby showing himself to be a flawed guy, and worthy of a second chance. By doing this, he gets to get back to the business of golf with less of a mess.
I'm against this, because, oh my god, people, he did nothing to you! The most personal inconvenience this could have brought anyone outside of his home and family is to those who planned on going to a tournament this year that Woods was playing in. Why should he apologize to all those yahoos I mentioned above only because he needs to make them feel like he's beholden to them? Sure, no celebrity is a celebrity without their fans, but we're talking about sport here. Tiger Woods would be a fantastic golfer with or without people liking him. He doesn't need their approval. And he certainly doesn't need to make them feel like they're morally superior. I would love for Tiger to say, "You know what? I cheated on my wife, not you. Get over it. I'm going to go out and play some golf."
Let me say it again: He broke no laws. He physically hurt no one. He did nothing that should warrant an apology to anyone but his wife and family. Leave him alone and let him get back to his business.

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