What is that Tiger Woods said or did that operates as a waiver of his right to keep his personal life personal?
On "Larry King Live" last week, Rick Reilly and Christine Brennan offered the following conclusion: Because Tiger is a well-paid endorser, we have the right to dig, pry, speculate, and watch the potential destruction of a marriage and therefore of a man, a husband, and a father. I get the conclusion; I live it daily with my clients. Nevertheless, I am waiting for someone, anyone, to provide a rationale as to why professional athletes must be subjected to voyeuristic examinations, speculation, and public ridicule when he or she proves, despite their athletic prowess, that they are human.
I was impressed by Jason Whitlock's recent piece on the treatment of Tiger because it did not blindly defend the media's right to know, but it was a little too neat in its conclusion that Christine, Rick and others are attacking Tiger now because Tiger did not speak to them earlier in his career. No doubt Tiger failed to build the same relationship equity with the media that he had with the public -- an odd result given that he was presented to the public through the media -- but it is a little too convenient to conclude that the media frenzy is institutional payback for Tiger's voluntary reticence over the years. Indeed, this would not explain how the media has treated other athletes when their personal tragedies are turned into public scandals.
I respect Christine and Rick and I do not think they are motivated by malice. I believe Christine and Rick and others in the media believe that they have the right to inquire. I just want to know why. If there is a relationship between popularity, much of which is created by the media, and the loss of one's right to enjoy some privacy about the most intimate details of one's life, someone in the media ought to be able to explain the rationale for this phenomenon as opposed to incessantly repeating the conclusion.
We have created a new class of Americans our country called "Athletes." For example, the focus on drug and steroid testing in sports is absurd when you consider that professional athletes are tested more than Supreme Court Justices, Members of Congress, the President of the United States, and other elected officials. Additionally, despite the disproportionately high incidents of substance abuse among health care practitioners and the undeniable potential risks to their patients, there are no uniform workplace testing programs for health care practitioners that are similar to the testing programs in sports. What is it about possessing the elite athletic prowess that justifies treating a man or woman differently from others whose impact on our lives are potentially much more profound?
Should Tiger have acted differently? Absolutely. From his various "transgressions" to the manner in which he dealt with his curious fans and the media, he certainly could have made better choices. However, I am not throwing stones because I am further from perfect than he is. I wish he had done one of two things: Either told us "it's none of your damn business" or stepped up as Ben Roethlisberger did shortly after the vicious allegations of sexual assault were levied against him. Ben, his family, advisors, and I certainly considered and debated these two options. Ben concluded that he wanted to address the false allegations and that he could capture all of his conflicting emotions - anger, resolve, concern for his parents and teammates - and make them work for him to deliver a 10-sentence statement with strength and sincerity. It took us two days to draft the statement and it made a difference.
The question of whether Tiger should have handled the media differently ignores the question of whether the media should have handled itself differently. By virtue of our appearances on CNN last week, have Rick, Christine, and I forfeited our right to keep our private lives private? If not, why not? Is a man or woman who is paid $100,000, $1,000, 000, or $10,000,000 to play a game to be subjected to the same scrutiny as Tiger with his $1,000,000,000 in earnings? If so, why? If not, what is the turning point in the nexus between earnings and the right to have a private life? I am sure that Tiger and many other men and women who are paid to play sports would like to know the answer so they can balance their financial demands with their desire to be human.
The media does a good job of getting answers to the questions it wants to ask. How about they spend some time answering the ones I have asked?
Once Mr. Woods decided to use his talent with a set of golf clubs in the public domain to market his greatness as one to be emulated in our own personal development, that makes him rich beyond most peoples dreams, only to become the higest form of hyprocrisy in our collective conscience requires the full light of day.
Once Mr. Woods decided to use his talent with a set of golf clubs in the public domain to market his greatness as one to be emulated in our own personal development, that makes him rich beyond most peoples dreams, only to become the higest form of hyprocrisy in our collective conscience requires the full light of day.
You have set the mark to allow everything that is said about you (even tho' every word is paid for) to be reported to the world. You are public figures and therefore are fair game. No private life is allowed. You will be guilty until proven innocent and your colleagues will sell papers and airtime at your personal spiral.
No one knows the truth about Tiger and Elins' personal life or what goes on inside their home.....
And that's the only truth to this story
I have seen them complain about Tiger putting his statement on his website instead of giving it to the media....Every statement the media gets on Tiger is from his website as well as the family photos. You folks know everything about Tiger after his fans do. Your opening line, "Just posted on Tigers' website" and then you quote the website....no change there so what is the problem?
The black SUV chase with 'a blonde woman driving' to the hospital was the saddest thing ever. You made people believe it was Elin in that ambulance, and she was driving the SUV. You folks rode that story for hours while our stomachs turned. There were no 'life saving measures used', Listen to the 911 Call. You should be ashamed.
We fell in love with Tiger Woods the golfer...He gave my family and I many days of excitement we will never forget. He never preached faith or family but we put him on that pedestal anyway....Our mistake.
Many of us are hurt but that is our fault by our wishful thinking.
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Whether it's about our neighbour or some famous cheater. It's gossip and it's life and we all do it about people we know or know of. That's just life. The people we like to see fall are those who are hypocrites - fake image and all. Tiger CHOSE to be in the public eye. He's good friends with (or so I've read) Kobe Bryant. He knows how the media works. If anybody thinks they can have a zillion affairs and none of them will come forward you are fooling yourself. Seriously, porn stars? Why wouldn't they blab. He's worth a billion. He could have retired after 100 million / 500 million / 900 million... While I feel horrible for his wife, it's because HE cheated, not the media.
Reilly, who is a smarmy feminine hygiene product disposal container, if you know what I mean, is basically saying that they will help Tiger recover his good standing with the public as long as he gives them access to him. In other words, as what happens on political chat shows, access is exchanged for going easy on the miscreants that those shows think they need to maintain public interest in said programs.
In that way, the media, especially ESPN, who Reilly works for, is begging to be Tiger's 12th mistress.
I hate this! Unlike some of these fundamental, religions paragons of virtue who get caught with their pants down, soliciting sex in bathrooms or groping employees in hot tubs, Tiger Woods never claimed to be anything other than what he is...a brilliantly talented athlete who never had much of a normal childhood. He's also a black man married to a beautiful white woman. Should this matter? Of course not! Does it? Wanna' bet?
He deserves better from all of us. We deserve better from ourselves and the media.
Too bad the press didn't question GWB's background and casus belli.
Yea, those bankers are getting the big bucks and inquiring minds what to know how our taxpayers' money is spent.
C'mon there is more justiification in knowing that than in knowing about TIger Woods' affairs. At least we taxpayers own some part of the bankers. Tiger earned his money.
For the dignity of his wife and the protection of his children, I say enough is enough. Okay to the initial reporting--he is a public figure--but we don't need all the gory details. Let the family heal in private.