As I watched, with rapt attention, the press conference of Tiger Woods today I was struck by his message and the depth of it. I freely admit I am a fan of Mr. Woods. I also was greatly disappointed by the revelation(s) of his infidelity. My opinion, for what it's worth, is that the message was heartfelt and honest. I truly sensed that he stood before the assembled group of his friends and peers, not as the invincible superstar we have known him to be, but as the flawed and remorseful man that he is today. He spoke of temptations, hope, weakness, and entitlement. It was a statement to fit the crime, perhaps more should have been around to witness it.
"The Golf Writers Association of America voted overwhelmingly to boycott the conference." The irony is delicious. In a speech delivered by their sports' greatest star, perhaps THE greatest, the word "entitled" was mentioned. Perhaps the GWAA should research it. The protestation of a speech delivered by their meal ticket because of his unwillingness to meet their collective needs is the epitome of entitlement and is, quite simply, pathetic. It is galling to me, even in this TMZ fueled media world, that any legitimate "news" agency would refuse an opportunity on any such grounds. Media integrity aside, what happened to human decency?
For a span exceeding 13 minutes, a man addressed a nation of rabid viewers, confessed his sins and apologized for them. I will not debate the depth of the evils and ills to which Tiger has fallen, but I will commend him for taking this step. I would doubt that many of us would readily air our collected dirty laundry to even our closest friends. That takes courage and is as difficult as mending a broken heart should be. In a room filled with friends and family, Tiger laid bare his life. I'm not certain I could, or would do the same.
The president of the G.W.A.A., Vartan Kupelian, said, “To limit the ability of journalists to attend, listen, see and question Woods goes against the grain of everything we believe.” In case you are unaware, 3 seats originally (6 seats later) were offered to the GWAA, specifically so they could "attend, LISTEN, and see" the individual which has provided them livelihood. The only caveat, would be that questions would neither be posed, nor answered, by ANYONE. Though these conditions were fine with Tigers' MOTHER and friends, it appears it was just too much of a strain for what I am certain is Mr. Kupelian's highly developed sense of morality. I suppose we must all believe in something, even if it is hypocrisy. Interestingly, The Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg News Service, were able to overcome any such convictions though, admittedly, these agencies do not compare to the power and prestige of the GWAA.
He was speaking of news anchors, when Anderson Cooper said, "If you're not careful, you can become used to being treated as though you're special and begin to expect it." Today I witnessed one man attempting to cope with that realization and recover from it, thankfully someone was there to report it.
Friday, February 19, 2010
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Having had about five years worth of close association with sports writers, the sad truth is that many of them are the remora to professional sports' sharks. Apologies to Greg Norman. They fill a certain niche and have no other reason to exist than to travel around the country on somebody else's dime to tell us that the home team was pleased to win the game, the guys behind me played great and everybody really stepped it up against a good opponent. If there is a perceived threat to their gravy train existence, they will scream bloody murder. Funny how the apparently not-so-secret secret on the Tour was that Tiger had a ship in every port. But these same "professional" journalists didn't see fit to report THAT story. Where were their "beliefs" in open, honest journalism then? They realized that they would have lost their meal ticket and been relegated to local high school football wrapups. Now, however, when they can't "investigate" and "question" there is plenty of indignation to go around. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteI've been following this Tiger "circus" for a while now and there are some things that have really been "sticking in my craw" so to speak. Since you brought the subject up (and elogquently) let me use this space to air it out:
ReplyDelete1. Media Opinionmeisters: Regardless of their self described status (pundit, expert, authority) they are really just part of the media at large and as such they feel entitled to access to every part of Tiger's world and they scream bloody murder when they don't get it. Admtittedly, there are a lot of celebrities out there whose fame is derived FROM the media...i.e., they are famous for being famous (I'm looking at you, Kardashians and Hiltons). But this is not the case with Tiger. He is a legitimate star athlete with record accomplishments that will stand the test of time, whether the press covers them or not. So they are NOT entitled to a question and answer question under the guise that he "owes answers to his fans" when really it's just another avenue for them to make money AND to keep this controversy alive. And oh, by the way, I AM a fan and he doesn't owe me Jack. I just like the way he plays golf.
2. I keep hearing these Women's Rights Reps and just women in general saying "What about the women he had the affairs with? He certainly owes them any apology. After the way he used them." Please. He did NOT use them any more than he was used by THEM. Certainly, he got what he wanted. So did they. Otherwise, would you have heard from Mistress's #'s 1 through 19 on television every night? All paid appearances, some parlaying their 15 minutes of fame into legitimate jobs, some blackmailing Tiger and ALL trying to stretch this drama out as long as they can for THEIR personal game. I'm looking for the accompanying book tour, reality shows and survivor appearances next...
3. "Tiger is such hypocrite for doing this as he has always marketed himself as such a good husband and family man". ummmm...no, not really. Guess I must have missed all those Tiger commercials with him walking through the park with the wife and kids doing the family thing. Who was the sponsor for that? Certainly, our opinion of him was that of a doting father with a beautiful wife, but he was NEVER marketed that way. Not that I'm aware of anyway.