I am sitting in my living room in tears having just watched Tiger Woods apology on TV. I am blown away by his candor, his admission of his transgressions and his taking full responsibility for his behavior. There was never any doubt that the press had uncovered a huge scandal, but his standing up and claiming ownership the way he did is impressive.
I am deeply touched by his openness regarding his therapy and dedication to getting the support he needs. I feared that his apology might digress entirely in the direction of the cause of his foundation, but he quickly made his way back to the topic at hand.
Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I rarely comment on current events, but this press conference had me riveted. Not only am I part of a recovery community myself, but I also regard Tiger Woods as a quintessential entrepreneur. He humbly demonstrated how to tell the truth. What he did today was amazing to me. He accepted total responsibility for the mess he’s made, asked for help, admitted that he will continue to seek treatment and even talked about looking for spiritual solutions and increased balance in his life. When he ended by giving his mother a gigantic hug I dissolved.
I sincerely wish him all the best one day at a time.
I too watched and was impressed by Tiger Woods’ confession and sorrow for his behavior. My thought is this: if he works as hard on recovery as he does to play golf, he will rise above the fray and be even better than before on every level. I wish him well and feel thankful that a public figure of his stature was so open, humble and determined to take responsibility. Bravo.
anyone in the recovery community understands the strength it takes to face yourself and loved ones..can one imagine facing millions and doing this?? pundits and other media look like fools as they analyze his speech. unfortuneately for the pro athlete world-there are hundreds of guys who cannot keep their flys zipped!wonder if tiger’s agony will influence their behavior…
Hi Jane,
I had to repond to this because I watched the press conference and all I saw was a very well thought out script to appease the public, sponsors and the media.
I have no doubt that his apology was sincere, and hope that he will continue to make amends, but I don’t see the reason for a public apology at this time.
We have to hope that private, sincere apologies have been made to those people in his lives that really count. Does Tiger Woods really owe me an apology because he fell from grace? No, he doesn’t.
For anyone to admit their mistakes (or addictions etc), and promise to get treatment and move on is always commendable, but these things appear to have become de rigueur (?) for celebrities in our society. It seems that often when this happens, all is forgiven, and the person is absolved and then hailed for being such a stand-up, honest person.
I would really respect him more if he had made a brief appearance right at the beginning; asking for privacy with regard to his family, apologizing to his fans and assuring his sponsors and member of his foundation that he would make things right as soon as possible.
Tiger is not a foolish person; he wants to go back to playing golf, and I think he felt this was necessary before he could go forward with those plans.
I truly don’t doubt his sincerity, but I do doubt the motive.
I was interested to read your blog on Tiger, because I had the opposite reaction.
I agree that he was sincere in his apology, but I doubt his motive for doing the press conference. I think he has always been reluctant to address the issue, publicly, and he was made to do this by his representatives.
He had to reassure his sponsors, foundation and fans if he wanted to continue his career, successfully.
I believe that apologies should be made privately, to the people who matter the most, and that actions speak louder than words.
Jane, I do apologize, my post that I wrote yesterday was not posted, so I reposted today. Then they both popped up at the same time!
I am truly not a Tiger Woods bashing looney who felt she had to write again and again…
Kindest regards,
Wendy
@Wendy,
Thanks for following the dialogue so closely. I can edit out any of these if you wish. I’m glad to hear your point of view.
@Elaine
Like you, I believe Tiger has the opportunity to change the direction of this trend and has made a good first step in that direction.
@Suzanne
Time will tell. He has so much to gain by directing his vast energies and talent toward his family. I believe that there could be even greater rewards in his game if he does.