Tiger Woods: mea culpa
I’ve not written about Tiger Woods before, and I’m not going to write much about him now. But I just turned on the news and happened to catch the last half of his public apology, in which he said “I am sorry” multiple times to multiple people.
It struck me that he sounded sincere. But it also struck me that he’s always sounded sincere, even when he was living a double life.
Woods has been in therapy, he reports. But compulsive behavior such as his is difficult to treat. I wish him good luck; as he says, it’s his future behavior that will tell the tale:
I convinced myself that normal rules didn’t apply…I thought only of myself…I felt I was entitled…I was wrong…It’s up to me to start living a life of integrity.
Yes.
Sadly the woman at work here don’t even think Woods should’ve apologized. They’re all Clintonistas and Obama zombies. One here even remarked ‘if the President can do it, anyone can.’ Sad
So would they be out there like Elin with the golf club, or would they just take it from their own man? If it’s the latter, I’m sure there are men out there who would LOVE to meet them.
“Sadly the woman at work here don’t even think Woods should’ve apologized.”
The woman at work is right inasmuch Tiger Woods doesn’t owe the pundits, the reporters, the public-at-large an apology! If he sincerely wants to go forward, apologizing to his wife and children are appropriate, and the family and friends he chooses. But that is a private. He’s right in his belief that it should remain so. And
It has been astonishing, not to mention disgusting, to witness the circus that has been conducted by the MSM and most of the public. The demands, the sense that everyone in the world is entitled to an apology arises from a gross level of schaudenfraude and inexplicable desire to see an accomplished person self-destruct. Curiousity might be natural, but the sense of being owed a full explanation with all the titillating and salacious details is disgusting. Woods has always been a scrupulously private man, has never sought out publicity or celebrity. His fame has resulted from his outstanding accomplishments which are on the golf course and the resulting solicitations by commercial companies for his endorsements.
Hong, are a hypocrite. You need a life beyond the vicarious thrills you seek via a Tiger Woods (or anyone else) open all aspects of your life to the world. When was the last time you told everyone you know about your sex life, all your faults and foibles? You are entitled to determine how you should live your life, and the rules you want to live by, but you, and everyone else, don’t have the right to dictate how others live.
Certainly you are entitled to an opinion, but that’s it. Your negative judgement of “the woman at work” for having an opinion different from your own, or your virtual trying, condemning and hanging of a Tiger Woods when you have no real facts — only rumor, innuendo, and conjecture from variouw media sources. And if you point to all the women who came out of the woodwork who couldn’t wait to inform the public with their stories, consider this: the fact that you would believe all they had to say, especially when it obviously was in the interest of self-promotion and financial gain shows your judgement isn’t so great.
The bottom line is that Tiger Woods is human, and he has faults and shortcomings just as all other human beings on this earth. All those who have vested in him powers of super-humanity and perfection that’s on them (and you)!
In my opinion, the fact that Tiger Woods cheated on his wife has revealed a much uglier truth: a public that feeds off others’ failings when they should be more focused and their own and living with integrity themselves.
“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:”
Csimon says,
“Hong, are a hypocrite [sic]. ”
Umm…how is it hypocritical again to ask a person to apologize for making an ass of himself? I thought that was normally done.
“You need a life beyond the vicarious thrills you seek via a Tiger Woods (or anyone else) open all aspects of your life to the world. ”
I couldn’t care less about Cheetah Woods but apologizing for adultery is generally what a decent human being does. Clearly you’ve painted me as this strawman since I’ve done everything I can to avoid this ridiculous story.
“When was the last time you told everyone you know about your sex life, all your faults and foibles?”
We’re talking about adultery, not some sexual tell all. Remain germane to the topic.
“You are entitled to determine how you should live your life, and the rules you want to live by, but you, and everyone else, don’t have the right to dictate how others live. ”
I can hardly tell Cheetah how he should live his life but I’m entitled to judge a fool and I judge you a failed personality. lol
“Your negative judgement of “the woman at work” for having an opinion different from your own,…”
I judge them negatively because their attitudes towards adultery seemed terribly blase. As I would hope is the general consensus here among actual adults.
“…believe all they had to say, especially when it obviously was in the interest of self-promotion and financial gain shows your judgement isn’t so great.”
Considering I never mentioned whether I believed all the salacious detail, I can only assume you’re projecting again. How many and how often Tiger cheated at this point seems immaterial doesn’t it?
“The bottom line is that Tiger Woods is human, and he has faults and shortcomings just as all other human beings on this earth. All those who have vested in him powers of super-humanity and perfection that’s on them (and you)!”
No I never said I was perfect. I just never cheated multiple times and lied and hid away from scrutiny like a caged mouse. I never said he didn’t have a right to privacy, only that it’s rather pathetic that the woman at my office think cheating is allright. Given that you took my short post to rant makes it hard to take anything you say seriously. lol
“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:”
Yeah when the day comes when I’m having sex with 10+ woman while having a beautiful wife at home will be one I’ll be happy to get judged. Only kidding my little prude!
It’s this kind of crap that makes me avoid comments sections. Hong, you have my sympathies for receiving an unwarranted diatribe based on a few rather innocent sentences.
Although I cynically see this as little more than a stunt to influence public opinion, I think he *did* need to apologize to the public. Apparently he earned way more from sponsors than from actually playing golf, and he and the press were playing up the image of the nice family man. In essence, he lied to the public about who he was, and the man who cheats on his wife while having odd sex with a string of women is not nearly as attractive an advertising spokesman.
Somebody pointed out a long time ago at Ace’s that Tiger’s real problem was marrying and having kids. Derek Jeter has probably slept with most of the eligible women in NYC, but nobody cares because he’s single. Adultery is still a big deal to many people, and I hope it stays that way.
The woman at work is right inasmuch Tiger Woods doesn’t owe the pundits, the reporters, the public-at-large an apology!
Actually, he does. He’s in the one sport where he signs his tally sheet and turns it in at the end of the day. His word means something.
Otherwise, I’ll win the next Master’s. Why, of course I shot a -25 today!
Excellent work Hong!
Tiger Woods didn’t kill anybody, didn’t cheat anyone out of their money, as far as I know didn’t break the law. He did choose to destroy his personal life and treat his family badly, which is a shame, yes. This is his business and the business of his wife and family. I have no desire to hear about any of this. It is truly bizarre that it’s gotten so much publicity. It’s no one’s business.
Tiger Woods is a genius athlete that has inspired millions, none of this has changed. Did we all love Tiger because he was a great family man and husband? No. We loved him because of his brilliance and competitive spirit on the golf course. I don’t want to hear about any public person’s personal life. That’s not what’s special about them. What’s special about them is the quality of the work they do which is what gets them notoriety in the first place. People should leave the guy alone.
“It struck me that he sounded sincere. But it also struck me that he’s always sounded sincere, even when he was living a double life.”
You know what they say, once you learn to fake sincerity, you’ve got it made.
I think they said that about Clinton, actually.
Seems like every channel i flip through tonight is about Tiger. Except the golf channel. Lol
RE: “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:” — (Jesus speaking) “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” John 7:24
For myself, I’ve wearied of people pressing their sexual practices in my face as if whatever they’re doing is something new and unique. Like dogs rutting in the alleyways of humanities lowest commonality, celebrities, homosexuals and the media think their titillating sensualism makes them endearing or desirable. Instead, I find the affects disgusting.
Since some people appear to appeal to Bible scripture for their justification, here are a few to chew on:
“Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:32
“But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;” 2 Peter 2:12-13
Apologies to all those who disagreed w/ my rant. No doubt you expect an apology, right?
Anyway, I did get carried away. Once I started writing, I guess I just vented at months of frustration at this being such a dominating story over many more significant problems in this country and in the world currently.
Nonetheless, I remain mystified at the feeling of so many that Tiger Woods owes them an apology for something he did to his wife and family. Was it reckless? Yes. Foolish & selfish. Yes and yes. The business of anybody who know the man’s name or who has watched him play golf, and become what many consider to be the best athlete in the world. We’ll just have to agree to disagree.
Julia NYC expressed my feelings much better. I completely agree with her assessment.
Tiger Woods was relentlessly hounded and virtually lynched by the media and the public. It has less to do with what is considered to be right or wrong, and more, exposes a distasteful thirst for dirt, gossip, and skeletons — in somebody else’s closet. Yuck!
By the way, Hong, you know how to rant pretty well yourself. Maybe hypocrite wasn’t the right word to use. Self-appointed judge and jury is more apt. (and clearly you are not alone). Chill out. I promise, what I wrote was definitely NOT all about you!
And thanks LilMissSunshine. What I should have written, being much more succint was, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged…”
“Apologies to all those who disagreed w/ my rant. No doubt you expect an apology, right?’
Not really since it’s clear you don’t realize what you did wrong rendering your apologia moot.
“By the way, Hong, you know how to rant pretty well yourself. Maybe hypocrite wasn’t the right word to use. Self-appointed judge and jury is more apt. (and clearly you are not alone).”
You have an interesting way of abusing the English language since I neither appointed myself nor sought the position. I expressed an observation of my coworkers and concluded quite reasonably that their opinions were symptomatic of a decaying culture. Where do you find the time to get things so wrong?
“Chill out. I promise, what I wrote was definitely NOT all about you! ”
Excuse me, did we miss the rant you just delivered railing about a point I never made? No, but take a breath and rethink your poor reasoning and reading comprehension. lol
““Judge not, and ye shall not be judged…””
Hearing biblical scripture used so ineptly is amusing. From an agnostic point of view, one might be cautious throwing around verses you clearly don’t understand.
Woods’ statement today showed some insight and some honesty. But it need not, should not have been public. An apology is made to those one has hurt or harmed; it is a prerequisite to being forgiven. Woods owes me nothing.
He has done nothing for me to forgive.
That it was public is a testimonial to our mass commercialism.
I’m personally sick of celebrities–though, of course, I always read about them when a People magazine is nearby.
Who can resist celebrities and celebrity magazines? They appeal to our inner nasty gossip, and there’s probably some important biological reason why we love gossip.
Anyway, I’m on both sides of this issue. One one hand, people should be able to carry on with their lives without other people staring at them or hearing about them 24/7.
On the other hand, it’s good that we still want to condemn adultery, especially on the scale of Tiger’s orgies. One of the problems with our current culture is that it’s in the gutter. Any sign that people still have standards is good. I could give a lot of arguments showing why it’s good to have cultural standards–even though they shift over time–rather than having no standards. The reason why I won’t list some examples is that right now I can only think of disgusting examples–and I still have certain standards about what I write on the net.
Whose business is it? Ours? I don’t think so. And since when is a public apology necessary for making private mistakes? Are we now all looking over each others’ shoulders? This is a statist metality and seems more a presage of hell on earth to me than the civility of an enlightened society.
And since when is being horny an illness? People have been unfaithful for thousands of years. It’s a moral failing, but his failure is personal and his apology should be to those he loves, not to us. How low we have fallen.
PGA: Hello?
Tiger: Yeah, this is Tiger. I can’t play golf anymore: the wife is all pissed off.
PGA: Yeah…. That happens to every guy. K’, let us know when you can play again.
He’s not a Tiger: he’s just another pussy with stripes!
Golf doesn’t care if you cheat on your wife. The course doesn’t care if you cheat on your wife. Your clubs don’t care if you cheat on your wife (your balls might….).
You’re a golfer, go play golf. Go golf. Go win–that is what you do. Who gives a crap about your personal life’ you’re a swine like any other celebrity…
I enjoyed watching you on the golf course–I don’t really care about you or your stupid family or your stupid whores; you simply made some of my Sundays more bearable before starting the week eating my guts out on Monday. You are there for my amusement and consumption–occasionally I will buy Nike balls–don’t pretend like I give a shit and I won’t pretend like you do either.
The reason he can’t play golf is because the other players would “get inside his head”. I can only imagine someone like Vijay Singh f’ing with him mercilessly on the walk between holes:
“So tell me, Tiger: was the Perkins waitress worth 300 million? Hahahaha! Maybe they should call it Porkins! Hahahaha!”
“Hey, Tiger: if you practiced putting as much as f***ing, you’d be doing well now….”
Neo,
My sweetie and I graded Tiger with an “A” today.
It was TIGER who felt he needed to do what he did today. My life could’ve gone on without it. But I respect him more (more than zero) because of his words.
He knows and states that he has many days of work cut out for him. He goes forth with his struggle for his children, wife, and current as well as future business partners.
Why?
Because, yes… he would have a hard time working through any business (even his charity) dealings with most people after what has happened.
I’ve always wondered which is the true superstar — Tiger Woods the golfer or Tiger Woods the role model. Tiger has actually inadvertently constructed the perfect test case to explore this question. The jury of public opinion will soon return an answer.
Oops! I did mis-type the judgement quote, but I was alluding to the previous post above which made my point quite nicely.
And Hong, you just illustrated my point re: your defensive responses. The holier-than-thou attitude is tiresome. No need to write a counter to every sentence I write. We disagree. Period. Obviously, some agree with you and some see things as I do. That’s what makes the world go round, and it isn’t what makes some people better than others.
He knows and states that he has many days of work cut out for him. He goes forth with his struggle for his children, wife, and current as well as future business partners.
But that is all contingent on his golfing not his fidelity to his wife.
There are tons of faithful guys out on the course hitting in the low 100s, how come they don’t make a billion if fidelity is so important to the game?
I’m faithful to my lovely wife. I hit in the 90s last week. Ergo I’m a better “golfer” than Tiger?
I’ll bet the other players are just practicing their one-liners to make him cry standing around on the tees…. The “apology” was sheer weakness. They’ll eat him alive.
Csimon:
“And Hong, you just illustrated my point re: your defensive responses. The holier-than-thou attitude is tiresome. ”
It’s actually quite tiresome to have to repeat myself. Having made no claim at superiority I merely wanted to illustrate you’re own lack of perpective and understanding. It’s apparent arguing with you is proof that idiocy can be contagious. You’re free now to babble without interruption. lol
It’ll be interesting to see if Wood’s public image can recover from this debacle of shame. I’m sure he bought himself a lot of sympathy with his performance. Appearing to cry on cue is almost standard procedure in the celebrity recovery playbook.
I’m with you Hong.
I could care less about the empty moral shell that is Tiger Woods and his little apology. Actually, I do care a little. I care enough to hope that he is never on top again . . . in golf or in females.
Our culture seems to love to build up heroes so we can tear them down. Theres this envy thing running though society where people need to justify their ordinary lives by pointing to the extraordinary as an undeserving farce.
Seems to me the compulsion that made Tiger an excellent golfer may also be the personality trait that makes him an unacceptable man whore by society.
I agree with Abe Lincoln who said something like “The people with no vices happen to be the same ones with little virtue”.
Neo, your succinct take on this mirrors my own.
Does Tiger himself know who he is, much less the public or press? Like many celebrities, he appears to have a carefully constructed image to present to the cameras or the golfing gallery.
When he got caught in his messy off-camera life, that image was marred. Now he seems to be trying to rebuild the same image.
I hope he can begin to change the way he thinks and acts.
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde…
“Anyone who can hear Tiger Woods’ apology without bursting into laughter must surely have a heart of stone.”
The Little Nell of Golf…
Christine Brennan, sports columnist for USA Today, probably knows a lot more about “inside golf” than the average person. Her take is that the new “repentant” Tiger is a lot like the old Tiger…selfish, egotistical, shallow, etc:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/2010-02-18-tiger-announcement_N.htm
The thing that really stuns me is that this staged “press conference” apology was deemed worthy of live network coverage in the middle of the day. Unbelieveable.
I really wish Tiger would shut up now, share all future apologies only with his wife and children, and go play golf.
This is treated as important for trivial reasons, sure. But it also is a perfect storm because it touches on some deeper forces and debates that are moving below the surface:
1. Race–Tiger was Obama before there was Obama, the very symbol of post-racial progress and a guy people could root for in the second whitest of mainstream sports (after hockey and ignoring for a moment things like yacht-racing and fox-hunting) and feel virtuous. Talk about clean, articulate, and attractive!
2. The leadership deficit–People look to celebrities for leadership in the absence of leadership from more traditional sources. Now here is another cultural leader with feet of clay.
3. The state of marriage and traditional institutions–What did those marriage vows mean, anyway, in the face of the temptations of the stresses and strains of human sexuality? Which leads us to…
4. Alpha males and hypergamy–There is a lot of chatter about “the hook up culture,” the ability of alpha males to bag all the chicks, the willingness of women to throw themselves at alpha males, and the ever present incentive for women to move up to a higher status male, even if that male “belongs” to some other woman…for now. Which leads us to…
5. The insecurity of married women–You are always getting older; the younger women are coming on; women your age are working out a lot and making smutty cougar jokes; you are at home with the kids. Has feminism helped or hurt you? Did you settle? If you did, do you have enough security? Could what happened to Mrs. Woods (I don’t know her name) happen to you?
We are talking about the sexual sickness of a celebrity savant with an extraneous ability to hit a ball with stick.
Take all the professional golfers, basketball players, footballers and tennis pros and put them on an ocean liner, park it over the Marianas Trench, load torpedo, and “Fire One”.
My life will be effected not.
And that goes for his billion dollar wife, too.
Geez, get a life people.
Tiger just hasn’t been the same since his return to the fairway.
For an extended time, Tiger Woods was one of my heroes. He epitomized superiority. Okay, I am not fantastic, in case a heroic public figure is seen to be so damaged, it will take the hero out of heroism. All of one has left is “-ism” — idiot, silly, moron. Is he an incredible golfer? You bet he is. In all probability he will always be thought of as one of the best in recent history.