Not Out of the Woods Yet
It is a sad day when tabloids start reporting the news. As much as I refuse to read tabloids, the Rumor-Mill sucked me via the ESPN coverage of the Tiger Woods saga. I followed the paper trail from the ESPN to the US Weekly website for the EXCLUSIVE story.As I am writing this, there are bound to be new revelations surfacing, more golfers sound bites about how “better than thou” they are and sponsor shuffling as they worry about their bottom-line.
Spectators watching this soap opera unfold will have to make a choice. They can either:
a) criticize, belittle and hate Tiger for being (neither the first nor the last) unfaithful in his marriage or b) see him as a human who succumb to the temptations of being the “most recognized athlete in the world.”
The line in the sand has been drawn and Tiger’s fellow golfers have decided where they stand.
First of all, I cannot take back the clubs because the golf pro told me once I use them they cannot be returned. Second, I would not get full price if I did sell them second hand to Golfsmith. Even if I could return them, I do not think I would. Despite Charles Barkley insisting that he and his athletic amigos are not role models, Tiger Woods is my role model. When it comes to me choosing my role models and heroes I like them to be: human, vulnerable and imperfect.
From athletes to actors to politicians to biblical pioneers, they all exhibit these qualities and it is how they respond in the face of adversity that makes them heroic and role modelesque.
The line in the sand has been drawn and Tiger’s fellow golfers have decided where they stand.
It’s not anybody’s business, man. It’s his and his wife’s and his children’s business. And the problem I have with it is all the people that are trying to take this guy down because he made a mistake, like everybody else does in the world a million times, they’re forgetting about what it involves: there are two little kids and his wife, their deal. And knowing his, and I don’t know her very well, but knowing him, he’ll fix it. Everything’s fixable. But because he’s the most, you know, recognized person on earth, let’s just tear him apart while we have a chance. You know what I mean?Rocco MediateSource: ESPN Radio 1000 Chicago’s Waddle & Silvy
Maybe not just do it, like Nike says. I feel really sorry for Elin since me and my wife were at fault for hooking her up with him. We probably thought he was a better guy than he is. I would probably need to apologize to her and hope she uses a driver next time instead of a 3-iron. It’s a private thing of course, but when you are the guy he is, the world’s best athlete, you should think more before you do stuff.A few of his sponsors have also spoken up. Accenture thinks Tiger is “no longer the right representative” for their company and their constituents. Tag Heuer (a Swiss watch company) is sticking by his side hoping that time will heal all wounds and Nike is showing brand loyalty to their million-dollar man.Jesper ParnevikSource: ESPN.com
I think he's been really great. When his career is over, you'll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip, but the media is making a big deal out of it right now.Which one am I? Do I take back my Nike Sumo Clubs I bought in August because the person I wanted to be like turned out to be an adulterer? Do I give up my signature Sunday color inspired by Tiger because his actions somehow stained its significance to me? No and no!Phil KnightNike Co-FounderSource: ESPN.com
First of all, I cannot take back the clubs because the golf pro told me once I use them they cannot be returned. Second, I would not get full price if I did sell them second hand to Golfsmith. Even if I could return them, I do not think I would. Despite Charles Barkley insisting that he and his athletic amigos are not role models, Tiger Woods is my role model. When it comes to me choosing my role models and heroes I like them to be: human, vulnerable and imperfect.
From athletes to actors to politicians to biblical pioneers, they all exhibit these qualities and it is how they respond in the face of adversity that makes them heroic and role modelesque.
When it's all done, Woods will still be the most successful and willful and talented athlete alive, but he will be a much different person than he was -- chastened, humbled and, at long last, human.I have a problem with our society placing athletes, actors, politicians and other celebrities on this unreachable pedestal. Treating them like they belong in a Rick Riordan novel (my girlfriend just finished the Percy Jackson series and I am just started listening to the audio books). They get “godlike” praise when they succeed as expected, but let someone imitate Happy Gilmore by cussing on the tee box or performing a club-throw succeeding a shanked tee shot and people want his head. Showing an ounce of “mortal-like” weaknesses that are supposed to be beneath “gods” is an offense punishable by depdestaling. Society knock down any and all representations of him, discount their “godlike” abilities and develop amnesia by questioning why they ever believed in him in the first place.Rick Reilly
However, I cannot blame society completely. For as often as athletes like to profess how humble they are, the spotlight, all the attention, all the press and all fanfare can inflates their egos. The “pedestal” they stand on is partly self-erected.
Maybe when you can make little dimpled golf balls go 340 yards and land in a target the size of a throw rug, you start to believe you can do anything in life and get away with it.Rick ReillyToo Short for a Column
Maybe need to rethink how we view our athletes, actors, politicians and other celebrities. They are not super-human, they are not beyond reproach, but they are role-models whether they like it or not. We are setting them up for failure by inflating their egos and expecting them, humans, to live up to these god-like standards. It must be tough to be on top of the world one moment and personifying the burden of Atlas the next.
We are a forgiving people and love a comeback story. Kobe took the personal attacks and the criticism like a man, used it as fuel and is now back on the “pedestal.” I expect Tiger to do nothing less. I will co-sign with Jemele Hill and say that to the public Tiger might be “a cheater and a bad father,” but there are worse much people out there. He owes it to his family to be a better person. He owe us nothing. Tiger knows what is best for his family, but maybe the only way to silence everyone is to not go into a shell and turtle it. Maybe he needs to get out there, let his game and his actions do the talking. Give them something to talk about by showing he can be the best golfer in the world and repair you family at the same time. Tiger, they could not beat you on the course, do not let claim victory over you by keeping you off the course.
We are a forgiving people and love a comeback story. Kobe took the personal attacks and the criticism like a man, used it as fuel and is now back on the “pedestal.” I expect Tiger to do nothing less. I will co-sign with Jemele Hill and say that to the public Tiger might be “a cheater and a bad father,” but there are worse much people out there. He owes it to his family to be a better person. He owe us nothing. Tiger knows what is best for his family, but maybe the only way to silence everyone is to not go into a shell and turtle it. Maybe he needs to get out there, let his game and his actions do the talking. Give them something to talk about by showing he can be the best golfer in the world and repair you family at the same time. Tiger, they could not beat you on the course, do not let claim victory over you by keeping you off the course.
We share the same birthday and I would like to think we have a bound, but I do not know him as much as his advisors do.
I would say, 'Be a good father and husband,' because that is a responsibility he has beyond what he does for a living," Fregia said Wednesday. "And I would tell him to continue to be all that we expect him to be. He's not perfect in any sense. But he should wake up every day trying to strive for that perfection.Paul Fregia
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Excellent blog in response to the Tiger Woods (soap opera) story!!
ReplyDeleteWhile, no doubt, his indiscretions have disrupted both his personal and professional life, I think it highlights the fact that we, as society, often confuse what constitutes a role model.
The other night I was watching the Joy Behar show, who was interviewing an editor from Vanity Fair (VF) about its most recent issue, in which Tiger has graced the cover. The VF editor talked about the photos and how they came about (i.e., taken months before Tiger's affairs became nat'l/global news). The striking thing about the interview was that he said that Tiger "duped" everybody. That is, with his polished schoolboy demeanor, Tiger led folks and companies into believing that he was pure, somehow beyond "sinful" acts.
Even though, I was surprised (if not mildly shocked) by Tiger's affairs. I don't, feel that I was "duped" in any way. I have always seen Tiger as earthly and as human.
One can see this in his reactions to both victories and losses on the links (he does curse a lot), to his celebration of the 1997 Master's with the BIGGEST "man-hug" EVER with his father, to his brief removal from the game when his father died.
Despite Tiger's personal escapades, he is still the most dominant athlete of any sport (save MJ) and will ultimately be known for this.
Is he still a role model? It depends on how you look at it. As a father and a husband--probably not. Although, his married life does teach us a lesson. Is he a role model in the sense of what it takes to be mentally acute, physically strong, focused, over-powering, and a champion, in a game of precision and will--NO QUESTION. And, this is what should be our focus. That is, if we are looking for particular qualities in an athlete....NOT, the failed or disappointing measure of a person in private life OR, the impression of being "duped" by someone tragically human--warts and all.
Mr. Tiger Woods did not "dupe" us. Bernard Madoff DUPED us!
Besides, at the end of the day, how many of us even know Tiger's real name?
Pssst... Eldrick Tont Woods.