Of course there are way more important things to worry about. Like the 30 thousand new troops who are heading to Afghanistan or the upcoming conference on climate change. But I can't help but spend a little moment of my day wondering what is going on with Tiger Woods. I know it's really none of my business why he crashed his car into a fire hydrant in the wee hours of the morning and why his wife needed a golf club to bust out the back window and drag him to safety (like why couldn't he just back up?) but since everybody else is talking about it, I'm intrigued.
I mean, maybe he was just running out for diapers or formula or a container of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream. Because who doesn't every once in a while get a craving? But if that were the case, wouldn't you just say that? Why all the secrecy? Didn't Tiger learn anything from David Letterman's recent PR nightmare that it's best to just lay all of your bad deeds out on the table before anyone else can expose you?
Well, apparently the message is finally sinking in, because Tiger has just issued a statement on his website asking the public to respect his privacy. The statement begins:
" I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone."
So it sounds like Tiger may have strayed from the family nest. He certainly wouldn't be the first man to do so, but it does sting when it's one of our so-called sports heroes, especially one who seems to pride himself on staying out of the limelight for anything besides golf.
So what do you think? Does Tiger Woods owe the public any explanation? Is there a middle ground where he doesn't have to give us all of the sordid details, but instead he just tells us (or Oprah perhaps) what happened and that he and his wife are working on it and now please leave us alone? Didn't Kobe Bryant and his wife do that? And finally, do you think there will be any additional scrutiny to this case because Tiger's wife is White?
So many questions? Do you have any answers or opinions?
I'm listening.
Peace.
5 comments:
I, too, have been drawn to this story, for reasons that aren't entirely clear to me. That being said, this week's Sports Illustrated has a report that Tiger has had many women on the side over the years. And while I don't think Tiger (or anyone else in the public eye, for that matter) owes an explanation to anyone except his family, I am disappointed. I can't help but feel saddened that there's yet another example of a philandering man/athlete, especially one who worked so hard to keep his image squeaky clean.
(Sorry about my first erased comment; posted from the wrong account.)
lff,
I think you've captured my feelings exactly.
the great john demartini says we should always avoid making fantasies (tiger's squeaky clean!!) or nightmares (he had an affair, he's a BAD GUY!) of anything. he says that everything just is what it is and maintains a balance of positive and negative traits and consequences.
all this to say, i don't think cheating on his wife makes him a bad guy who owes anyone but gretchen (if that's her name) an explanation. same way, i don't think NOT cheating automatically makes someone a GOOD guy!
tiger's been revealed as human. we should be celebrating. or at least showing some empathy.
Hmmm... was the golf club really a means of access to get him out??? My perception was that this was like an episode of cable t.v.'s "Snapped,"and that Tiger got off easy (as most of those men end up in the morgue after their wives are pushed to the edge).
Having personally known a very intelligent, beautiful woman who almost immediately, upon knowledge of being spurned,took a golf club to the cheater's windshield, I'd have to say to all cheaters out there: Hide your golf clubs!
Girlfriend SNAPPED, plain and simple! and many a woman has that capacity. Remember the Persuader's hit from the '70's, "It's A Thin Line Between Love and Hate:"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4A9xZlDhtM&feature=related
Does the Cablasian owe us an explanation? Naah... For some reason, we Americans thrust people into the spotlight and then expect them to be perfect. Ieshah is right; he's simply revealed himself to be human, sadly a philandering one.
Now WHY it is that so many a man of fame/fortune/power have an inability to keep their zippers up, i WOULD like an explanation for. How nice it must be to be able to have an intimate relationship without any expectation that you might also pick up your underwear, change diapers or take the trash out (my presumption about extra-marital affairs)! Guess it goes back to that old adage of "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free..."
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