OK. Let’s be honest, Tiger Woods may be the world’s best golfer, but he still can’t see the forest through the trees. He is a real-live human being who pulls his pants on the same way we all do, one leg at a time. But he took those pants off too many times and now has a lot to overcome, as he said in his sex-scandal apology Friday at the TPC Sawgrass golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Besides needing to overcome his bad public speaking skills, Woods also needs to overcome his pride in thinking he can regain “balance” and establish morals in his life all by himself.
He did admit that he needed help, but he still thinks he can make all his wrongs right through extensive therapy. The thing is, I doubt that a repetitive string of “sorrys” is going to restore trust and heal the hurt he caused his wife, children, family and employees, let alone fans.
But before we all get on our high horses of “odious comparisons,” let’s remember Woods is, in fact, only human.
So, does that mean we forgive him after his reading of a scripted apology sapped of any heartfelt sincerity? Does it mean that we carry on as we did before? Elevating him to hero status in the golf world for his incredible winning record and athleticism?
Well, what it should at least mean is that we can learn from his mistakes. Somehow, as we do with any admirable public figure, we extrapolate that if such a man can be a champion at sports in the public eye, he can, will and should be a champion of morals and integrity in his private life.
With his series of unfortunate events last fall, Woods finally realized that all actions have an equal and opposite reaction — Isaac Newton could have told him that. But like clockwork, celebrities forget the third law of physics and continually prove that it is beyond difficult to be moral and famous simultaneously.
The irony of it all is that while we are gung-ho for morals being en vogue for celebrities, we buck those very values in our private lives, somehow convincing ourselves that the simple selfish things we do will have no effect on anybody else.
This is a lie.
Buying into this lie got Tiger Woods into trouble and secures for many of us our own litany of sorrows. Wallowing in these regrets or gloating over someone else’s sorrows only perpetuates this cycle of selfishness.
Like Woods said, he needs help. Although therapy never has been known for completely gluing broken, betrayed hearts back together or making something old new again, it’s a step in the right direction. Admitting that one can’t do it alone is a crucial step toward accountability.
Woods’s mess might be just an example of what’s wrong with the world of sports today. But let’s not forget that the world of sports is only a sampling of the real world — admittedly a sampling twisted by disproportionate wealth and fame. But as we ask ourselves, “What’s wrong with the world these days?” the most likely answer to that question is, “We are.”
Reach Catherine at catherine.e.smith@asu.edu
