I heard the public apology by Tiger Woods last Friday on the BBC London evening news show, and was kind of satisfied when fate had me go through a long stretch of tunnel during that story on the way back from east London to Heathrow. I find it odd that Tiger Woods has to apologise to the rest of us for cheating on his wife. It is his wife that got hurt. We were just a bit disappointed (actually, I wasn’t; I didn’t care).
It’s not as if Tiger Woods is a priest or someone else who makes his living preaching about such matters. He plays golf for a living, and while golf may be known as a “gentleman’s sport” without tolerance for the boorish antics other sports are notorious for, golf is notorious as the sport of the rich and privileged, of those very so-called gentlemen. In some places, golf courses are known for environmental damage, for being built on stolen land and for using scarce water. A few years ago George Monbiot wrote these two articles ([1], [2]) about the involvement of Gary Player, a renowned South African golfer, in a golf development in Myanmar (Burma) and in other countries in the Far East where golf is the sport of corrupt and oppressive elites.
I’m not sure what reputation sportsmen have in America; in this country, footballers in particular are rapidly acquiring a reputation for being overpaid, unsportsmanlike prima donnas. But when one has a domestic crisis, whether it’s his or her fault or not, I don’t see why they should have to retire from public view and then make a grovelling apology to the public. Unless (as with the recent John Terry scandal) it may affect his relationship with his team-mates, it’s got nothing to do with sport.
I submitted a comment to this effect to this post at Shakesville, and for some reason (and no, the “prima donnas” bit wasn’t in it) it got deleted although my comment list at Disqus still lists it.
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…I don’t see why they should have to retire from public view and then make a grovelling apology to the public.
Normally in the US, this would not be the case for most errant athletes. Frequently, they will be suspended for a period of time, if they play for a league, but they don’t normally make a “groveling apology.” Usually they have their agent type up a nice letter that says all the right things while the athlete goes on with “business as usual.” JDsg´s last blog ..A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything
Salaam Alaikum,
The trend for a public apology for private matters is a rather distasteful one. With Tiger Woods, I think it was the sheer scale of his infidelity which shocked the most, but again, it’s a matter for those close to him, not the world at large.
As for John Terry, there does seem to be a very unpleasant climate surrounding Premiership footballers, the way that women are treated as objects to be used and discarded is deeply unhealthy for all involved. However, what perturbs me more is the fact he tried to use a super injunction to cover up his proclivities, but then the fact that such injunctions exists, is a big threat to freedom of speech.
We are very fortunate to have a (reasonable) amount of press freedom, sadly, it seems that it is only in such cases that the press truly fights for this liberty. Safiya Outlines´s last blog ..Won’t you take me to the Queen of Hearts?
As well as being a golfer. Woods is a professional family man. He was sponsored by companies because he was supposedly faithfully married to a photogenic wife with photogenic children. The sompanies concerned arebothered about their investments and Woods- apart from any concerns he has with his family- is concerned with his income.
As Thersites stated above this has less to do with any sense of moral shame than it is do with rebuilding brand ‘Tiger’. I think it’s also a part of the 12step program for revovering addicts.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
In this case apparently Tiger is a sex addict.
Having said that I must say that I don’t think he was saying sorry to the general public, he was saying sorry to his sponsors.
When I first knew something was not right about this man was when he recruited certain close people of particular ethnicity who dominate the US porn industry. One of them had a close relative involved with one of the biggest internet adult ventures.
He is still with the same people, and the stupid man does not realise that everybody else made money while he lost nearly everything. When will he make them pay?
Salaams:
I think it is about the fact that Woods built a public persona around his “character.” That’s what made him a role model. So, when people find out that it’s all a fraud, of course, they feel hurt and betrayed, and feel entitled to an apology.
The bigger picture is that he is prostituting himself to the indstry; it’s the price he must pay to get back in the game. Safiyyah´s last blog ..iPhone Photography
Salaams, Tiger was set up on a pedestal by the world of sports. Not only was he at the top of his golf game, but he had the looks, charisma and the character. It was all one big marketing package. Personally I dont think he needed to have a press conference to apologize to the world. I really dont care one way or the other.
Yusuf,
you and your readers might find this interesting.
http://johnlambert.wordpress.c.....d-culture/
Ashley Cole will be entering the modern day confession box soon, i expect.
Salaams:
Off topic, but did you see this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/201.....RueW1vbWg-
(Jeez - long link) Safiyyah´s last blog ..iPhone Photography