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19 February 2010
It's no wonder Tiger Woods has mystified his fellow golfers for so long on the course. The guy is harder to read than a 75-foot downhill putt.
To be fair, I don't know what I expected out of Tiger's Friday press conference. But I don't think I expected to feel an contradictory mix of both sympathy and cynicism for a man who literally turned the sports world on its ear three months ago.
Now in the realm of sports apologies, it certainly wasn't the worst. Tiger owned up to his mistakes, never blaming anyone but himself for his infidelity. He used the words "I'm sorry" repeatedly, apologizing to everyone from his family to his sponsors to his fans. He admitted he felt entitled by his fame and fortune, and confided in the gathered audience that he felt like the normal rules of society didn't apply to him, a refreshingly honest admission by an athlete in today's world.
Yet, despite all of this, there was still a voice in the back of my head, wondering "Is this real?" Perhaps its the cynic in me that has grown jaded from years of watching athletes and celebrities abuse the rules and then have their secretary or lawyer issue a press release to explain their behavior. But the entire time I listened to Tiger, I never believed that he was ready to fully embrace the consequences of his actions.
Of course, my doubts started with the press conference itself, which was essentially a handpicked group of media members and supporters, none of whom were permitted questions. This enabled Tiger to say what he wanted, without being sidetracked by inquiries or details that may have conflicted with his story. Thus, he comes off as apologetic, without really releasing any information that wasn't carefully planned and plotted out long before. If he truly wanted to clear the air and put this issue to rest, he failed miserably. When you go to great lengths to control the information released, it implies that there is information you don't want to be released, which only enhances the speculation about what it could be.
(And we all have witnessed what happened when the rumor mill is given free reign. In the span of about five days, a bizarre car accident turned into a domestic dispute where Tiger's wife clocked him with a golf club after finding a text from another woman on his phone. How much of this is true? We don't know. But by refusing to comment, Tiger only enabled the rumors to
grow wilder and spread more quickly.)
Secondly, Tiger's words may have sounded great at the press conference, but the manner in which he delivered them left a lot to be desired. He tried his best to deliver his apologies with emotion and remorse, but came off sounding like an auditioning actor reading a script for the first time. Instead of the heartfelt, genuine tone he was no doubt going for, he instead gave the impression that he was merely reading a speech prepared by his public relations manager. You can maybe chalk some of that up to nervousness, or even anxiety, at having to admit his shortcomings in such a public forum. But between the carefully controlled environment and the less-than-genuine emotion during the speech, the entire press conference came off as somewhat, if not entirely, staged and disingenuous.
Of course, there are those who will point out that this "press conference" may not have even been necessary. That what Tiger does behind closed doors is his business. That Tiger's relationship with his wife is nobody's business but theirs. That by prying into his personal affairs and airing his dirty laundry, we've crossed a line. That Tiger doesn't owe us anything in the way of an explanation or details and answers.
And I get that. I certainly don't feel as though I'm entitled to any answers. I don't feel that Tiger needs to tell me the sordid details of his affairs before I can root for him on the course again. But I do think there is something to be said for accepting responsibility for not only your actions, but for who you are and what you stand for as a person. Tiger has become incredibly wealthy, in part, because fans are willing to pay big bucks to see him. They will spend money on a product he endorses, because they admire his athletic ability and his image. He has worked tirelessly to cultivate a certain image in the public eye, because he cares what the public thinks about him. He cares how fans view him. And yet at the first hint of trouble, he disappeared from sight, offering only some flimsy excuses to explain the litany of questions left in his wake. For anyone who has supported Tiger over the years, it was like a slap in the face. He basically told his fans that they mean nothing to him. That he will do what he wants, offer an insulting explanation and expect them to buy it at at face value. When they don't, then all of a sudden he'll accuse them of intruding on his personal life. It was a stinging realization, that no matter how much we align ourselves with an athlete, they truly don't care about us beyond the dollars we give to them.
Look, we all get that Tiger made some monumental mistakes. And while I don't condone cheating on a spouse, I'm hardly in a position to judge anyone for their actions. So I'm not really all that angry or upset about his infideilty. After all, I don't watch Tiger because I care about what type of husband he is; I watch him because he's a terrific golfer. But I do wish he would have showed his fans a little more respect. He may not owe it to them, but it would have been nice if he offered it anyway. And by releasing a canned, cliched statement in a ultra-controlled environment, after disappearing for three months, he left a lot of questions still lingering.
Where does this all go from here? No one really knows. But I do know that Tiger's answers didn't entirely win many people over. If he had been 100 percent honest and forthright, this might have turned into a dead issue. But by holding onto some details, by leaving so many things unanswered, Tiger has left the door open for more speculation, more rumors and more criticism.
But he at least did get one thing right in his speech.
He has no one to blame but himself.
