Tiger doesn’t need to apologize
Tomorrow morning Tiger Woods is going to hold a press conference to, I assume, apologize to the public for his actions and to let the world know what his future plans are in golf.
Since this announcement, everyone has come out of the woodwork — sports writers, bloggers, fellow golfers — to put in their two cents worth and most are taking shots at him. They don’t like the idea that it will be a very controlled environment as only a few journalists are being invited inside and questions will be limited. Boo hoo! God forbid that they won’t be able to try and pry into the most intimate details of Tiger’s sex life and then broadcast them to the world.
Their argument, as always, is that the public has a right to know. What bullshit that is. Why do we have a right to know anything about his private life? Tiger Woods is a golfer and a damn good one, arguably the best we have ever seen and may ever see. Of his golf, yes we would like to know as much as we can if for no other reason than to improve our game. But that’s where our connection starts and should end with the man.
In my opinion, I don’t think Tiger should ever have to publicly apologize or say anything publicly about his life off the course. But that’s me.
In his column today, sports writer Jason Whitlock wrote that he would like to see Tiger Woods retire even though he admits to being one of Woods biggest fans. He writes: “Don’t let for-profit “journalists” turn you into Michael Jackson. Walk away.
“Tiger, you’re now trapped inside the belly of the beast. Capitalism has perverted journalism to the point that fairness, accuracy and privacy are all irrelevant. Bloggers and media corporations working in conjunction with porn stars, strippers and undiscovered reality TV hos can all make money exploiting your personal life.
“This is never going to change. You could fire Stevie Williams, make Elin your caddie and keep her by your side at all times and the tabloid media will still publish the allegations of every moderately attractive woman looking for her 15 minutes.”
How rightWhitlock is about the media, but I disagree that he should retire. Yes, by doing so he would deprive the vultures who consider themselves “journalists” more fodder for the utter crap that they write, but he would also deprive millions of people around the world from watching a master perform in his chosen field and encourage more young, non-white kids to take up the game.
I am not a golfer although every so often, if prodded enough by my friends, will take to the course to hit the ball badly. But I admire anyone who does their job well, whether it be Tiger Woods tearing up a course on his way to another major victory, or a carpenter who produces a perfect piece of furniture.
I may not approve of what Tiger has done in his personal life but it is none of my business. I don’t feel I have any right to know the details. Nor should you.