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Tiger's Damaged Goods by John M. Curtis Copyright
Dec. 4, 2009 Succumbing to a media tsunami, the world’s No. 1 golfer, 33-year-old Tiger Woods, took a hard fall, when his Nov. 27 early-morning car crash forced him to admit publicly a history of serial cheating on his 29-year-old Swedish wife Elin Nordegren. While giving no details, Tiger confessed to unspecified “transgressions,” highlighted by 24-year-old Los Angeles cocktail hostess Jaimee Grubbs, whose carefully recorded text-messages and voice-mails reveal a 31-month affair with the billionaire winner of 14 major golf tournaments. Saying he regrets “with all his heart” his actions, Woods confessed “I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves,” trying to execute a textbook damage control strategy. At stake is a veritable sports advertising empire, making his billon-dollar corporate endorsements the most lucrative in all of sports history. Tiger’s apology, while a good first start, doesn’t excuse his serial cheating on his wife, showing no sexual fidelity at least since the birth of his firstborn daughter Sam Alexis June 18, 2007, perhaps a far back as his Oct. 5, 2004 marriage in Barbados. Grubbs’ account dates her affair with Woods to a few months before Sam’s birth through the recent birth of his son, Charlie Axel, Sept. 2, 2008, up until his most recent text to Grubbs, asking her to remove her name from her voice-mail because of a growing fear of contact by Elin. Tiger’s recent request for Grubbs to conceal her identity and cover up their affair is at odds with his emphatic mea culpa. “I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves,” said Woods on his Web site. Since turning pro at age 20, Woods has cultivated an impeccable image and brand for commercial endorsements. Questions about the sincerity of Wood’s mea culpa will no doubt affect his sponsors’ willingness to continue his commercial endorsements. “For all those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology,” said Woods, reflecting the kind of careful wording crafted by damage control experts to woo back his fans. Belying his sincerity, Woods expressed ire over his invasion of privacy. “But no matter how intense the curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy,” undoing, in no small part, the first part of his public apology. While Woods seeks privacy for his indiscretions, the public seeks honesty on which to draw conclusions about Woods’ real character. Serial cheating on his wife with young children speaks volumes about Wood’s real integrity. Tiger can’t have it both ways: Acknowledging his “transgressions,” while, at the same time, resenting the fact that it’s made public. True contrition involves more than saying the right things for the purpose of undoing a PR disaster. Just yesterday, Woods admitted that he’s not perfect, presumably for what the Florida Highway Patrol calls “careless driving.” Today’s admission came after Grubbs came forward with convincing proof of her affair. Only yesterday, Tiger was denying a National Enquirer story about another alleged affair with 34-year-old New York party-girl Rachel Uchitel. Grubbs might have come forward out of spite after learning of Tiger’s other affair with Uchitel reported by the Enquirer. More sordid details to emerge will further taint Tiger’s pristine brand, a problem for advertisers. Before the incident, Tiger’s presence at tournaments doubled the Nielsen Ratings. So far, Tiger’s main sponsors, including Nike, Gatorade, Gilette and EA Sports, all signal they have no plans to change marketing strategies. AT&T declined comment, waiting to see whether more damaging PR emerges. More damaging “sex-texts,” e-mails, voice-mails from Grubbs or Uchitel, who currently denies any affair, or others coming forward in the future would no doubt force advertisers to reconsider Tiger’s contracts. Zeta Interaction, which measures Internet posts, said there’s been a drop in Tiger’s 91% positive approval rating to 74%. Perhaps most telling is his negative approval ratings that went from 9% before the incident to 26% after. Whether that translates into actions by Woods’ sponsors is anyone’s guess. Woods’ golf game is a finely tuned instrument, dependent on positive reactions from largely adoring and supporting fans. Tiger needs to do more than post an ambivalent apology on his Web site. He needs to stop whining about privacy and make clear how he intends to deal with what looks like a serious sexual addiction causing his serial adultery. Whatever happened in the wee hours of Nov. 27, it’s clear that Tiger needs some professional help. Like others that allowed sex to wreck their lives, like former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Tiger is entitled to get help to control self-destructive impulses. Carrying out an affair while his wife was pregnant with his firstborn, through the birth of his son, to present-time shows a reckless and cavalier side inconsistent with Tiger’s carefully honed image. Insincere apologies reflect the same phoniness that led to Tiger’s serial cheating. Whether he wants privacy or not, his fans have right to know the real Tiger before giving back their admiration and support. John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma. |
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