Last fall, when the whole Tiger Woods brouhaha erupted, I wrote that contrary to popular belief, the world of athletics – the whole world, some even said – was not crumbling into a pile of porn stars and crumpled Cadillac bumpers. In fact, all that happened was yet another athlete in a long line of them screwed up away from the field/course/rink/park, and lo' and behold, lost some fans, respect, etc.
Basically, I didn't agree with so many who decreed that sports was suddenly not good anymore, now that the Golden Boy had fallen from his perch.
And today, in case you haven't heard, Tiger spoke publicly for the first time since the shit hit the fan. And shortly after his 15 minute-speech - which was not followed by a Q&A session – the pundits came from all corners, critiquing his words, his actions, whether or not he should have cried, and oh, by the way, why wasn't his wife there? And what does that mean, exactly?
If you saw or heard it, you know how it went. He apologized many times, to many different people. Said he'd return to golf but he didn't know when, railed against the paparazzi angrily and told them to leave his family alone. And he said he did what he did because he was rich, famous, and felt – foolishly, wrongly he admitted – that he was successful and thus entitled to enjoy the fruits of his fame.
Post-apology, you had those expected parties – Tiger's "friends" – who jumped quickly to his defence, saying that he truly appeared sorry, he's learned his lesson, that it's a remarkable thing he's done to come clean; I even read online that some media outlet (I can't find the link now) called it one of the most remarkable, important sports apologies of all time, or some BS.
These came from the expected sources – the Golf channels, the few reporters and media groups handpicked by Camp Tiger because his handlers knew they wouldn't cause trouble or make waves... all the media people who "need" Tiger. Tiger's people knew they'd play nice, write nice things, etc..., because they need a continued good relationship with Eldrick to be able to function (apparently). This, of course, turns it from a press conference into an infomercial
And then, of course, are the naysayers. Those who demanded a "different" Tiger – ie: a non-robotic one, with emotions. Those who wanted tears. Those who complained about the lack of access to all but Tiger's friends in the media (As a media person myself, I agree with this criticism, but that's a long-winded post that I'll save you from reading).
But whether you accept his apology as sincere or think it was simply a PR ploy written by his handlers, it really doesn't matter. Why doesn't it matter?
Because he doesn't have to apologize to anybody other than his wife and kids. At least not publicly. Tiger didn't break any laws, didn't cheat (at golf)... Were his actions immoral? Sure. Illegal? Nope. Sure, you can make the argument pretty easily that he's let down his fans and sponsors, but he still doesn't need to apologize to them – he has not directed affected their lives, which was the whole point of my previous column.
Even though I personally don't think he sounded overly sincere, who the hell am I to tell him to be more sincere? To cry or be more contrite? I'm nobody to Tiger Woods; he owes me nothing. And anybody else out there (media or otherwise) who thinks Tiger owes it to the world, and by extension to them, to be more apologetic, more teary-eyed, more emotional – in essence, less Tiger – well, these people are as foolishly self-entitled as Tiger once claims to have been.
I mean, who the hell do you think you are, anyway?
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