Tiger Woods - Respect?

Article by NiceBallz.com

 

 

“…I need to make my behavior more respectful of the game.” – Tiger Woods, February, 2010

That of course was uttered by Tiger Woods at his anti-press conference/public apology/awkward-moment-of-the-year-nominee, a few weeks ago.

At that time, many criticized Woods for conducting the scripted apology at the same time as a PGA event that just happened to be sponsored by one of Woods ex’s.  Er, ex-sponsor Accenture, is what I meant.

Was it respectful of Woods to steal borrow the limelight?  Many argued that Woods had no choice.  The timing was the only open window in his rehabilitation.  Never mind the previous three months or so where a similar apology could have been made.  But ok, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.  Surely he wouldn’t do something like that again right?

Wrong.

Yesterday, in the midst of clown shoes Jim Furyk securing his first win in over two years, Woods once again put himself above the game of golf and his colleagues on the tour by doing two contained 5-ish minute interviews that shared absolutely nothing new or interesting.  But it did serve to have many golf fans, writers, bloggers and, oh heck…let’s just say everyone, tune their TV’s away from Furyk, to watch Woods tell us basically everything is personal and confidential.

Respectful of the game?  Why couldn’t Woods have done the interviews on Monday?

Because it would have been the lead story on Monday and possibly into Tuesday. To bury the news as much as possible, Woods and his team made a disrespectful, but selfishly great move.

  • The NCAA men’s basketball tournament was in the midst of paring down to it’s Sweet 16.
  • The PGA had an event happening.
  • The Healthcare Bill was being debated and (at the time) up in the air as to if it would be passed.

Woods would never be able to keep this from being widely picked up and written about, re-broadcast etc.  But there is a difference between being the lead on Tues. morning of The Today Show vs. squeezed in as the fourth or fifth segment on Monday morning.  They shorted the news cycle from easily two days to one, or one and a half at worst.  Good for Woods, bad for Furyk and the PGA.

Respectful?  Not in the least.

Then there are the interviews.  Let me preface this by saying I don’t care what Woods did with his collection of mistresses.  I also don’t think he has any obligation to share those details or be forced to comment on them.  I also fully realize that he cheated after years of temptation and living a life very few can imagine.  Do those things make his behavior acceptable?  Nope.  Does it mean I am repulsed by him because he’s a serial cheater?  Not really.  Of course it’s wrong, and you feel for his family, but it doesn’t impact me personally one way or the other because I am not the kind of person who elevates an athlete to hero status.  Many do, they’re called fans.  I get fans.  I just don’t agree with their practice of idolizing athletes and other celebrities, and being apologists for nearly any transgression their heroes make.

But back to the interviews - it’s obvious Woods isn’t going to use this disaster as an opportunity to really change who he is, so here are a few requests to Tiger:

  • Please don’t waste anyone’s time anymore with these public apologies. They come off as staged, insincere and are utterly unenlightening.
  • Please don’t tell me you’re going to be more respectful of the game and then at the two times you’ve had to upstage other players, sponsors and the PGA overall - you’ve done just that.
  • Just stop talking.  You’ve said enough by saying nothing.  As you said, actions are all that will matter.  Your actions thus far show you haven’t changed a bit in terms of your controlling and selfish nature.

Now, maybe I’m wrong.  And Woods really IS committed to changing and showing more respect for the game. If that’s the case then here are a few ideas for Woods to show it by his actions:

  • Play more events: I’m not saying a one in four, but wouldn’t it be nice if Woods helped out the game by playing one or two events that may be struggling?  It wouldn’t be just nice.  It would arguably be showing – respect to a game that has given him the opportunity to gain so much.
  • Engage: Don’t blow by the autograph line after you’re done signing your card.  Play a pro-am or two. Talk like a real human being to a member of the media you trust (if one exists…heck I’d take Feherty at this point). How about not giving the same lame soundbites in your post-round interviews?  How about DOING post-round interviews regularly?
  • Stop tossin’: I’m not even going to get into the swearing piece, because I swear on the course.  Not all the time, and I even successfully transitioned my bad tee shot reaction to “SHOOT!” from another word.  But the club tossing is absurd, and right now the last thing Woods needs is to brain someone with an errant driver toss. Plus, it just makes him look like a jerk.  Again, not a perception that needs a ton of reinforcing right now.

Of course I’ll watch The Masters.  And I won’t root against Woods, just as I’ve never really rooted for him.  I’ve rooted for great action, competition and something to remember. Which Woods has delivered in abudance.  And if he does again I’ll probably enjoy those on course moments much like before.

But where I would root for Woods is for him to do any or all of the above and show by his actions that he really has changed, and gets what respect means.