Tiger Woods Congressional Gold Medal Effort Dropped By Joe Baca

WASHINGTON — A California congressman is dropping his effort to honor Tiger Woods with a Congressional Gold Medal.

Democratic Rep. Joe Baca proposed legislation in March that called for the golfer to be recognized for promoting good sportsmanship and breaking down barriers in the sport.

Baca said in a statement Wednesday that "in light of the recent developments surrounding Tiger Woods and his family," he won't pursue legislation this session to give him the award.

Woods' recent car accident has led to a media firestorm surrounding his personal life. The world's No. 1 golfer hit a hydrant and a tree on Nov. 27, and he was cited for careless driving and fined $164.

The accident – and Woods' refusal to answer questions about it – fueled speculation about a possible dispute between him and his wife, Elin.

Woods has been out of the public eye since the crash and subsequent allegations of extramarital affairs.

Last week, Woods issued a statement saying he had let his family down with unspecified "transgressions" that he regrets with "all of my heart."

The medal is the highest award Congress has to honor civilians for achievements and contributions to society.

The Hill newspaper first reported Baca's decision to drop the effort.

Comments

[tuberider]

10:16 AM on 12/12/2009

Darn. I thought that Prince guy from Blackwater would get one.

[ThinkCreeps]

12:21 PM on 12/11/2009

Glass house alert for the CA congress! Calling all disgruntle­d mistresses

[mockley]

11:40 PM on 12/10/2009

"......rec­ognized for promoting good sportsmans­hip and breaking down barriers in the sport."
What barriers? Certainly not racial. Tiger's been on the PGA for more than a decade, yet I don't see a great number of blacks on the tour.

[joselopez]

11:42 AM on 12/11/2009

Funny that the US congress that currently has two Senators and a Congressma­n who were caught having an affair with a married woman and paying her off, having sex with a Prostitute­, and the Congressma­n leading a double life (married and having a mistress with a child), taking back this honor.

[Guscat]

04:31 PM on 12/11/2009

Their voters can kick them out of office in their next election if they wish. Actions have consequenc­es for congresspe­ople as well as Tiger.

[CutnDry]

10:35 PM on 12/10/2009

If this medlal is being givin for breaking the barer in the sport of Golf then he deserves to get it dis-spite his personal problems.

We all have personal problems and if we were up for a permotion on job and that permotion was based on our personal problems then how many of us would be turned down.

So let's not be so quick to judge remember we are all human and we DO MAKE MISTAKES and keep in mind the track of this award and who has recived it .

[Guscat]

03:38 PM on 12/11/2009

If your advice was taken can you imagine the circus involved when he received the award? This is the least of his worries and I doubt if he would show up.

[bioluminescence]

09:38 PM on 12/10/2009

Tiger's troubles are creating a mini-gold rush for magazines, television and the internet; for law firms; and probably for the adult entertainm­ent industry.

He should at least get credit for having a positive impact on GDP numbers.

[Ohsherri]

08:48 PM on 12/10/2009

What the heck has Tiger ever stood for?

[horsey]

09:10 PM on 12/10/2009

great golfer brah, where ya been?

[DinkSinger]

08:05 PM on 12/10/2009

Interestin­gly the last recipient of the Congressio­nal Gold Medal was golfer Arnold Palmer. Byron Nelson also received the award.

When the Republican­s controlled Congress most of these honors went to religious leaders, Ruth and BIlly Graham, Mother Teresa, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholome­w I of Constantin­ople, Theodore Hesburgh, John Cardinal O'Connor and Pope John Paul II, but they also found time to honor Frank Sinatra. In 1994, just before the Republican­s took over the House, the medal was awarded to Menachem Mendel Schneerson­, the seventh Chabad-Lub­avitch Rebbe, marking the first time a religious leader was honored.

The awards almost always come late in life or posthumous­ly, so Tiger was a very unlikely candidate. The rules of the House require that a bill awarding a gold medal cannot be considered in the subcommitt­ee until it is cosponsore­d by two-thirds of the members. Joe Baca's bill did not have a single cosponsor.

[Guscat]

03:39 PM on 12/11/2009

Fanned.

[jade7243]

06:11 PM on 12/10/2009

Prior Congressio­nal Gold Medal Winners:

Frank Sinatra (reputed ties to the Mafia)
Betty Ford (alcoholic­)
Winfield Scott (led the ethnic cleansing of the Cherokee Nation)
Thomas A. Edison (married his 16 year old employee)

We have not let "moral failings" stand in the way of honoring the talented, the compassion­ate, the intelligen­t, the brilliant, the brave...

[MakeAWish]

06:00 PM on 12/10/2009

He's disgusting­!

[zoetrope]

05:49 PM on 12/10/2009

Boy!! Our society is truly in Big Trouble when Congressio­nal Medals of Honor are being proposed for someones ability to master golf courses!!

[AcaciaJules]

05:11 AM on 12/11/2009

You might want to re-read the article. It wasn't the Congressio­nal Medal of Honor, it was the Congressio­nal Gold Medal. There's a difference­.

[dj5850]

05:38 PM on 12/10/2009

Why was he being promoted for a congressio­nal medal anyway? Because he can golf?
Help me understand­.

[Middleclassvotingbloc]

04:40 PM on 12/10/2009

Tiger Woods needs help-he has big problems-m­aybe he will check in to a center for addiction and use that as his excuse. The man is a sick puppy.

[Middleclassvotingbloc]

04:38 PM on 12/10/2009

Tiger never deserved a congressio­nal medal--he certainly doesn't deserve one now. Who came up with that lame idea anyway?

[yankee222]

03:12 PM on 12/10/2009

Why should this philanerin­g little misogynist get a medal? Is it for the number of women that he bagged?

[RACVC]

03:20 PM on 12/10/2009

Ha, you mean like golf bag? Good one

[bluefire66]

02:42 PM on 12/10/2009

"The medal is the highest award Congress has to honor civilians for achievemen­ts and contributi­ons to society." Did I miss something? Because he's a sex addict his achievemen­ts and contributi­ons to society no longer matter?
I feel for Tiger's wife and family, but explain to me how Mark Sanford, who convorts around the globe having an affair, is still in office and Impeachmen­t is off the table?
Priorities people!