By now, we have all heard of the Tiger incident. What we don't know is what is the real story. Tiger has dodged the police interviews several times now most likely to get his story straight but there are a few questions that are critical including:
— Where he was going at that time of the night?
— How did he lose control of his SUV at such a speed that the air bags didn’t deploy?
— Why were both rear windows of the Cadillac Escalade smashed?
— If it was a careless mistake, why not speak to state troopers trying to wrap the investigation?
Tiger has requested privacy but by his not coming forward it only magnifies the story and perpetuates more rumors.
Tiger has had a stellar career thus far and has been the model athlete/role model. This incident puts a black mark on his otherwise flawless image. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.
14 comments:
If I were Tiger I'd just clam up. People are going to speculate no matter what. Just get healthy and play golf.
If it's purely innocent, why not just come forward and deal with it?
Sure, it would be good if everyone got off his back but that ain't happening. His silence only creates more stories and will spin it even further out of control.
If it is something more and he did have an affair. Seems to me that it will come out eventually and it just gets more and more ugly.
Coming clean may not be fun in the short term but eventually it always seems to be the better option.
Still, Tiger has the best advisors working for him and I'm sure they will take care of him.
Even it is is innocent people will talk. If it is not innocent it will hurt his image.
The more he talks the more this story stays in the news. He isn't required to talk and with no new news to fuel the story it will die out.
I think he is handling it right.
Disagree.
If you just come clean and tell the truth, even if it is sordid, there are no more rumors or speculation or people coming out of the woodworks to create a story.
Look at baseball and all the steroid allegations. The one guy that came out looking the best was Andy Pettitte because he came out and at least appeared to tell the truth to the best of his knowledge. People respected that and he has largely been forgiven.
Now look at Roger Clemens or McGwire or Palmeiro or Sosa. Those guys have severely hurt their reps for their denials or not wanting to speak about their indiscretions.
Look at A-Rod. The guy tells half truths.
Just come clean and there will be the initial uproar but eventually everything will die down and all will be fine because there won't be any opportunity for third cousins that want to get famous to spread rumors or media trying to create stories that just aren't there.
I am not saying he should lie or tell half-truths. I am saying he should just say, "This is a personal issue and while I understand the interest it may generate, my family and I wish to keep it personal. Thank you!"
Let people speculate. They will do so no matter what you say. Then, just recover and play golf.
Unlike steroids or other scandals, there is nothing that he did that was illegal (at least nothing that I can see). He may have been drinking - I guess - but there isn't any evidence of that that I have seen. So just keep quiet.
Why let people speculate? Whether you did something wrong or not, why not just come clean? End the speculation. End any rumors. End anyone's hopes of making a buck off of this "story."
He is the most recognizable athlete in the world. Fair or not, certain things come with that -- both good and bad.
He doesn't owe the public anything and he is well within his right to keep silent. However, it seems like the right thing to do to just air it out and be done with it.
He may not have done anything illegal but should the suspicions of infidelity be true, he has done something immoral. Just come clean and be done with it.
Otherwise, the rumors will swirl. It will be hard for him to play golf as many of the questions he will face before, during, after his play will be focused on what happened. Just get it out there and be done with it.
Bestselling author John Feinstein had a good take on what Tiger should have done.
First, he should have spoken to police right away once he got his faculties together. The cops would have spent a few minutes in his house, gotten a couple of autographs, maybe given him a ticket and that would be it.
Second, he should have come out and talked to the media and just said that my wife and I had a disagreement. We are a normal married couple. I chose to leave and got into an accident. End of story.
Any questions regarding the tabloids, Tiger could have just said that that is beneath me and I'm not going to talk about it.
By and large, the situation would have diffused and no harm, no foul.
You can see what not talking about it has done. It has escalated into a much bigger story than this needed to be.
You say the situation would be diffused. I say otherwise.
Let's assume that he came clean and he had an affair, his wife went nuts on him, and he was running away from his wife because she was threatening him.
His image is still hurt by that. His wife looks like she is crazy. And now there is a public record of stuff you don't want public. On top of that, his wife could be charged with assault (that is a criminal charge brought by the state).
Some DA who wants to make a name for himself could use the case to push his own political agenda.
There is no reason in the world to assume that everything would have worked out fine. I say he is better off doing what he is doing.
The tabloids will give up when there is no news to report and the next scandal breaks out.
Right now, the story is much bigger than it needs to be. CNN's website has multiple stories/videos on Tiger on its homepage.
Look, all he needed to do was what Feinstein said and by and large, this would be over. Don't give the details of the argument. Just say that there was a disagreement and you were leaving and say the tabloid headlines are beneath him.
Asking for privacy basically has the exact opposite effect. Rumors will swirl and speculation will grow as to why he was leaving after 2 am with just a t shirt, shorts, and no shoes. That he was in and out of consciousness in a one car accident in his driveway where he wasn't even going fast enough that his airbags deployed.
He could have diffused it by just answering the cops early on and not dodging them multiple times and creating an aura of suspicion with them.
Again, by going the route you are suggesting, the story has magnified way more than it ever needed to be and once Tiger shows his face, he will be bombarded with questions. If that's what you like, than good for you.
Good luck, Bear fan.
No matter what he did it would be a big story - HE IS TIGER FREAKING WOODS.
In a week there won't be any more stories about Woods whether he talks or not. By next week we will have a new "controversy" to deal with.
Of course it's a story regardless because he is TIGER FREAKING WOODS. You don't seem to understand.
If he gets out in front of the camera, he can control the story. By hiding, the "story" becomes the story and fascination increases. Rumors swirl and everyone wants in. By hiding, the story will not go away quickly. It's not right and Tiger does deserve privacy but that ain't happening. Again, a celebrity asking for privacy only serves the opposite effect. When Tiger shows his face, the questions won't be about his golf swing or defending titles or anything else other than what happened the early Friday morning after Thanksgiving.
Publicist and crisis communications expert Howard Bragman said Woods' strategy of refusing to speak out is not working.
"It's not working by the measure of your goal, and your goal is to make the story go away," Bragman said. "His not speaking to the press has become the story, and that's the last thing you want."
Bragman said that means the tabloids can take the lead on the story rather than Woods getting out in front of it and controlling the flow of information. By his seeming evasive, Bragman noted, the appetite for details is heightened.
Frankly, I'm surprised at your take on this situation. You seem like the kind of guy that would say to just get it out there and appreciate honesty and just get it over with.
One more thing, in a perfect world, Tiger would ask for privacy and it would be granted. We don't live in that world. The world we live in is one in which there is a ton of paparazzi and media dying to get the scoop on this and even maybe make something out there that isn't in order to sell papers and make money.
SI's Joe Posnanski sums it up when he writes, "This is going to sound very, very wrong... because, well, it is very, very wrong. But I'm sorry. I'll admit this straight out: I am fascinated by this Tiger Woods accident story. I'm fascinated, and I'm paying close attention, and I will read whatever stories come out about it. Sure, I know it's wrong. I know it's gossip. I know it's rubbernecking on a highway. I know. Tiger Woods and his family deserve some privacy in their lives. They should have the right to go on without having to share the most personal details of their lives. They should not have to deal with reporters and photographers stalking them. And so on. I believe these things with all my heart.
And still... I'll read every word. I cannot help myself. I'm dying to know."
Tiger could control the whole thing by coming out and ending any rumors by just telling the truth. Again, it is a private matter and for the rest of us, it would just be contained. However, as you stated, he is TIGER FREAKING WOODS arguably the most recognizable athlete in the world and people are dying to know what happened. The story won't go away until he speaks.
You make the incredible assumption that Tiger could control the media if he just comes out and tells the whole truth.
That is ludicrous.
Let me point out 2 other reasons why he is doing the right thing.
1. If it turns out that he (or more likely his wife) lied to police in their initial statements about what happened then he could face more serious charges of lying to authorities - including criminal charges. Instead he has to pay $150 fine and is cited for some kind of traffic incident.
2. If he has had multiple affairs then he has to open up about all kinds of things. There is a second woman who is already claiming that Tiger had a long term affair with her. Why put that and any other potential stories out into the public domain?
You citing a few people who say "Go public it is the best thing" doesn't mean a whole lot. Someone on Yahoo Sports said Tiger is doing it right. SO? That doesn't mean my view is right - it means there is disagreement about what to do.
But think for a moment. You must believe that Tiger has not already consulted with top PR people. You don't think he has also consulted with top lawyers? I'm sure Tiger has gotten good advice and it seems perfectly reasonable to me what he is doing.
I don't doubt for a second that he doesn't have a team of "experts" telling him how to handle this.
To your points:
1. I said that he should have spoken immediately about the situation. It becomes a little more difficult now that it has already been a week.
2. It's happening. People coming out of the woodworks to get in on the action.
Who is the person on Yahoo? Just curious. Where is the story?
Again, by coming forward, he controls the story. People are going to hound him until he speaks so why not just do it early on. This whole thing would have been over by now if he had just spoken. Instead, a week after it happened it still makes headlines on most major news websites and is still one of the top three stories leading off news programs.
Again, I am all for his privacy but in the world we live in that ain't happening, friend.
Dan Wetzel basically says he is doing it right.
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