OT: Tiger admits to "transgressions"

Submitted by AMazinBlue on

Tiger has put out a statement admitting to "transgressions" that have hurt his family. Of course no details of those transgressions, but at least he owning up to making poor decisions.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/02/tiger.woods/index.html

He is right, that the details are his famil's not for the public. His mistake in dealing with all this was to act like nothing happened. When you are a public figure and either deny everything or act like it never happened when there is mounting evidence to the contrary, it only gets worse.

The press seems to go away when you simply admit you screwed up and won't let it happen again. The denials cause more problems that the actual deed.

Fresh Meat

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:20 AM ^

Yea, that was my point in an earlier post. He doesn't owe anyone an explanation, his private life is his own, but why not come out and say something because the rumors and guesses as to what was going on are always going to be worse. He doesn't owe it, but he had a chance to take control of the story early and instead let it run out of control.

ijohnb

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:25 AM ^

has had a rough week. This is personally a little disappointing as Tiger Woods is probably in my top 5 professional athletes of all time. I believe that this incident will likely have a big impact on his play and his career. Bad things.

Tshimanga Cowabunga

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:39 AM ^

Tiger didn't do anything illegal (except drive poorly), didn't sustain any career threatening injuries, and didn't damage his vision or any other brain function. He is one of the greatest and most focused athletes of all time. Sure he may or may not have cheated on his wife but that doesn't mean his golf game will go south. As for his career perception, he is still going to be very private and will thus bounce back pretty easily. If Kobe can bounce back so easily from a rape accusation then Tiger should have no problem sustaining his career and legacy after a car crash and perceived infidelity.

When it comes to golf, IMHO, Tiger is the greatest who ever lived and he will be remembered for that.

ijohnb

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 AM ^

cheated on his wife on several occassions with two young children at home. I preferred just "Greatest golfer of all time" better. And I don't think you can say that this will not effect his career. It may not, but it may. And there were uncharacteristic lapses in Tiger's focus last year, perhaps he has already been affected.

daveheal

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:28 AM ^

I don't particularly care about the details b/c I don't think it's remarkable that someone has had an extramarital affair, but when you make your money by having millions of people watch you do something then this is the ugly flipside of it.

Tater

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:51 AM ^

Tiger doesn't make his money by "having millions of people watch him;" he makes his money by being the best golfer of his era. If he wasn't winning touraments, especially majors, nobody would care about this. If this happened to Jim Furyk, it would barely have made the Golf Channel.

Tiger Woods is probably the only golfer who works as hard as or even harder than Vijay Singh. He earns his money with that hard work and by producing when the pressure is at its greatest.

Consider this: Tiger is such a great player that the nabobs of Augusta have altered their classic course almost beyond recognition over the years in an attempt to keep him from dominating the Masters. They have even gone so far as to put trees in his landing areas on some holes. He is so dominant that the expression "Tiger-proof" was coined to commemorate these efforts.

I won't get into the obvious political diatrabe here, but the point here is that Tiger makes his money because he is by far the best player of this era. The fact that millions of people watch him is because of his performance, and nothing has ever been given to him in that regard.

daveheal

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:12 PM ^

I don't need a lecture about how hard Tiger Woods works. He does indeed make his money because of the number of people who care about and watch golf.

You do get why he gets paid lots of money to win those tournaments, and why he gets paid lots of money to endorse products, right? It's not b/c he's really good at something; it's b/c he's really good at something that people care about.

MGoJoe

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:37 AM ^

It is interesting that his omission comes now. I mean, why does he need to go into this much detail about his family transgressions? He was involved in car accident, which could have been caused by anything and it's all speculation. Why not keep your mouth shut and just pay the fine? It seems like there is more to it than this, like an authentic smoking gun has been revealed or will imminently be revealed and he feels obligated to address it.

bluebyyou

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:49 AM ^

He had to comment because information relating to his transgressions were all over the web and growing. I heard something about evidence of text messages and/or emails which were corroborative of his extra-marital affairs.

While Tiger's private life is absolutely his own business, when you project, or attempt to project, a squeaky clean image, you need to act in a manner consistent with your public persona or pay the consequences, particularly when advertisers pay you megabucks to lend your name to their products.

That may not always be fair, but it is reality.

ijohnb

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:36 AM ^

I am not sympathizing with him, and in fact feel more for his wife and kids. I am just saying, selfishly, that I am disappointed because I think this may change the course of his career to some degree. As for a smoking gun, there has been a voicemail released that takes care of that. More to come I'm sure.

turbo cool

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:19 PM ^

i'd like to know who the other 4 guys in your top 5 list are. I guarantee that they aren't so squeeky clean either. And deal with it, this is 2009 not 1969. It was a whole lot easier for guys like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer (best drink eva) to hide things that relate to their personal lives. godihatetmzandallthesocallednewsoutletsthatreportexclusivelyonthelivesofcelebrities.

jtmc33

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:46 AM ^

Dear Tiger,

You are filthy rich and extremely famous - next time you want to have an affair don't do it with a starving actress that was desparate enough to launch her career on "Tool Acadamy."

Didn't you think that there could of been any part of this type of personality that would throw you under the bus and tell your dirty secret if she could get 15 minutes of fame.

Stupid.

You are Tiger Woods. Think next time.

Hoken's Heroes

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:48 AM ^

First, he is a public figure. It goes with being who he is. It's no different for ANY other sports figure.

Second, Tiger brought this UPON himself. He's the one who acted like a scumbag and behaved in a reckless manner putting his penis ahead of his wife and family. And then he tried to cover it up. That's what the guilty do and it then makes it worse as we are now seeing. The guy just had TWO KIDS and yet he goes decided to engage in risky behavior with a bunch of hos? He's a great golfer but people need to realize that celebs are not always what they appear to be. They put forth a public image that so many buy into when they are really a flawed as the rest of us behind the curtain.

Third, he better hope he doesn't lose any endorsement deals because this situation could cost him a lot of money if his wife decides to leave him, which she should. No woman should ever accept that behavior from her husband. But then again, I am betting she knew this about him prior to marrying him and just accepted it.

Magnus

December 2nd, 2009 at 11:49 AM ^

It's a sad day when someone can say that they don't find it "remarkable" that someone had an extramarital affair. I wish we could rely on our role models to be faithful in their marriages, but it doesn't seem to happen much anymore. Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods...

At least if you're going to be banging all kinds of broads, you could have the decency to stay single and not make vows to another person. Derek Jeter gets all kinds of tail, but at least he isn't married and cheating on the mother of his children.

Blue in Yarmouth

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:04 PM ^

I thought the exact same thing when I read that post. Cheating should be "remarkable" in that it should not be commonplace in society.

I am not gunning for Tiger here, I think it is every bit as disgusting when any person cheats on their spouse. The fact that society doesn't even seem to bat an eyelash when a man (or woman) cheats on their spouse shows how little we value the family today.

Given that this is how people think today, it isn't hard to see why over 50% of marriages end in divorce.

QuarterbackU

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:08 PM ^

Yeah, it's a shame that Tiger really can't realistically expect to keep these matters private. Obviously, he made huge mistakes, and the nature of today's media is that everyone will eventually know...

It's also an opportunity for all these women to "come forward" and gain some fame out of the alleged incidents. I don't see why these women are quasi-celebrated in the national news, all they're trying to do is benefit from someone else's downfall...since when did that become something honorable and news-worthy? I'd be ashamed to be them, frankly...

BlueGoM

December 2nd, 2009 at 1:01 PM ^

"Yeah, it's a shame that Tiger really can't realistically expect to keep these matters private. ... and the nature of today's media is that everyone will eventually know..."

But this has always been the case. Ty Cobb was perhaps one of the best baseball players who ever lived, and eventually it came out that he was also a huge jerk who didn't have any friends (in part perhaps because he was competitive to the extreme).

If you're a public figure, eventually your dirty laundry will come out.

Anyway I have to say Tiger just f'd up big time. He had a stunning wife and tons of money and he basically blew it because he couldn't keep control of his other head.

QuarterbackU

December 2nd, 2009 at 1:42 PM ^

Sure, point taken, public figures' business has always been known, but the Internet age has exacerbated the spread of this kind of thing...e.g. pictures of his alleged mistresses, voicemails, all kinds of things are all over the net for anyone to access...

Everything's instantly out in the open, and all kinds of people try to cash in on this kind of thing because of how readily available (and how high in demand) all this information is...

JBE

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:28 PM ^

Perhaps it's the institution of marriage that is the problem. Call me crazy but I believe that as humankind evolves the ideology of marriage will dissolve and be eventually deemed an unnatural act. I can only blame Tiger for forcing himself into the archaic structure of marriage but I cannot blame him for going the way of human nature and tampering with this supposed bond and duty.

Hoken's Heroes

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:31 PM ^

No one forces anyone, at least here in the US unless you belong to some strict religious sect, to get married. It's ok to be against marriage but I don't see the act of marriage going away anytime soon since it's been around for 1000's of years. As for polygamy, that might end up gaining momentum. No woman wants to get stuck cooking and cleaning alone! :P

JBE

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:47 PM ^

Nobody is forced to get married, I agree. Yet the structure of society deems marriage important in terms of constructing a "normal" identity in this country (and many others). Marriage is forced down our throats by a hierarchy that is outdated. The structure of marriage is a theory that claims it is a necessity to be a "complete" and "happy" and "normal" individual (I am not bringing up the religious undertones regarding the "sanctity" of marriage). Yet, as you mentioned the past, the world is stuck in this theory because progression is a slow drip. But as more marriages end in divorce and unhappiness and previous gender roles are obliterated it will become a necessity to rethink the natures of marriage and relationship as we move through space. Is Tiger's "Transgression" really a "progression"?

Blue in Yarmouth

December 2nd, 2009 at 1:05 PM ^

is beyond weak IME.

Either you have never ventured outside your house in the last 20 years or you are ignoring where society has gone. To even suggest that society deems marriage to be the norm today is completely absurd.

I am from a very small and traditional town. I have a lot of friends and many more people I simply know that live together and aren't married. I would be guessing, but I would say that more than 50% of the couples in our town are NOT married and that number will gro significantly in the next few years as the baby boomers pass on.

JBE

December 2nd, 2009 at 1:27 PM ^

There is definitely pressure from certain elements within society that marriage is "right" and "moral" and "natural." And although it is obvious that society still values marriage, people are taking notice of the problematic aspects of marriage (as we now know it) in modern society. A few generations from now who knows? But I will stop before I get the banhammer. Tiger, Tiger Woods Ya'll

Blue in Yarmouth

December 2nd, 2009 at 1:28 PM ^

have your head that far up your own ass?

To say that there hasn't been a deterioration of family values over the last few decades is even more absurd than saying marriage is jammed down peoples throats today.

If you aren't big on family values, that's fine. My views on life don't necessarily have to be shared by others. However, to insinuate that the drastic increase in divorce rates, cheating husbands, single mothers and broken homes is not an indication that the importance of family values has diminished today, borders on insanity.

JBE

December 2nd, 2009 at 1:35 PM ^

I did say in the first post, "Call me crazy." I didn't mean to ruffle feathers, I simply have been reading a lot of Nietzsche lately and formulated an idea of marriage that will change as time progresses (as everything does).

daveheal

December 2nd, 2009 at 3:53 PM ^

"Family values" isn't a value-neutral term. And unfortunately for you it's not obvious what it refers to. Do you think keeping an unhappy marriage together at any cost reflects a priority that is self-evidently valuable? The fact that you can't participate in this conversation without telling me I've got my head up my ass and using the phrase "family values" as if that phrase has a meaning independent of its rhetorical deployment by conservatives is rather telling. If by "decrease in family values" you mean there's more divorce, then sure, there's been a decrease. But those rates aren't quite as drastic as you think when you take into consideration serial divorcers. Moreoever, not all divorce is bad, and people often make new, better families.

Also, you can't go on screeching about family values without unpacking what you're actual talking about. What has disappeared that you wish was still around? You long for the sexually repressed marriages of the 50s? You think there's more infidelity now? It's unclear that that's true. And I don't expect that you actually know anything about this beyond a gut level intuition that all these darned fornicatin' kids are tearing apart the fabric of society.

Most studies I've seen indicate that most Americans are in monogamous relationships and are happy about it. And even if technology and urbanization has made it easier to cheat, that does nothing to recommend the decades before where spouses may not have had the option to cheat discreetly but had already checked out of their marriage emotionally.

The fact that you think my views on this topic are beyond the pale says a lot more about you than me.

But this is a sports blog and I already regret getting into this here. We can take the rest of this discussion to the swingers listserv I belong to if you're interested.

JBE

December 2nd, 2009 at 6:11 PM ^

"that all these darned fornicatin' kids are tearing apart the fabric of society."=Pricless. New band name, "those damned fornicatin' kids." Punk or Rock and Roll. And I don't believe a definition of family values can be obtained. I agree that that term really clutches at straws.

Magnus

December 2nd, 2009 at 3:57 PM ^

I'm nostalgic for the times where I wouldn't have to wear a condom if I boned a chick. Now you have to worry about AIDS and paternity tests.

If I ever have sex, yeah, I'm gonna be pissed that it's not 1958.

daveheal

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:32 PM ^

When is this era where celebrity role models were unfailingly monogamous? It doesn't exist. The Kinsey Reports came out in 1948.

Which is not to say I think people taking their commitments lightly is not a serious failing, but it's so common as to be unremarkable. You can't honestly say you're surprised when some famous person shows the same inability to remain monogamous as the general population.

Blue in Yarmouth

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:59 PM ^

The posts I think you are talking about are referring to society in general, not celebrities.

Yes, I would bet that celebrities have been unfaithful for a long, long time. The point I was referring to is that society doesn't find a "cheating" dirtbag of a husband to be remarkable occurrance. That is what is sad about this. No one (contrary to a post above) is forced into marriage. If you are the type of person that can't be faithful than you shouldn't get married.

When you get married, you take a vow. I know many people in the younger generation have no idea what giving their word means or making a promise means, but breaking that to me, is a big deal.

BornInAA

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 PM ^

This is not going away anytime soon. These nightclub tramps will each be out with individual sordid stories.

In Feb 2008 the Eliot Spitzer / Dupre story came out and she was interviewing with Diane Sawyer in November 2008.
9 months of that story!

Tiger is obviously much more renowned than Spitzer and now there are 3 or more tramps to goggle (google) over.

The Roger Clemens adultery story broke in April 2008 and as of this past April and May more women were coming forward.

Hoken's Heroes

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:17 PM ^

He should have screwed around with other well known public females who have a lot to lose if the affair comes out. When you mess with fame seekers, they'll turn fast to make a buck and gain exposure. It's why hollyweird stars typically cheat with others in their biz. They know they won't blab.

HelloHeisman91

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:33 PM ^

Wow. Nail in the coffin. This story goes away if he would just man up and actually apologize. His half hearted vague apology only adds more fuel to the fire. Something as simple as this seems better to me.

"I would like to apologize to my family first and foremost. I have made some bad decisions and stepped out on my family. This is something that I am not proud of or will ever do again. Also, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to my sponsors who have invested a lot of time and energy in me and my image. I am sorry that I let you down. And lastly, I want to say I am sorry to my fans who have supported me for the last 15 years. My behavior has been unacceptable and I have learned my lesson and I can assure you that this will never happen again."

burtcomma

December 2nd, 2009 at 12:20 PM ^

Thus, I find my role models a lot closer to home these days being people I know well and respect by their actions and works and words rather than in the realm of fame and celebrity whether they be in sports, politics, or media.