Tiger came out a little after 11 and looked pretty distraught; not surprisingly, you could tell that the ordeal was really affected him. He spoke very slowly reading a prepared statement and seemed extremely genuine and honestly sorry for his actions. At times, he looked directly into the single camera in front of him when he was apologizing to or addressing his children and wife, Elin. They were not in attendance, and I think by looking into the camera, Tiger was doing his best attempt at directly addressing them without them being there, and I appreciated it.
My thoughts about his speech are pretty simple, and he mentioned many of the same ideas himself. He had to make a statement like the one he did today apologizing, but I think that what he said today will do little to nothing in determining his future and how he is remembered. It was little more than a necessary lip-service; he had to make sure to mention everyone possible that he hurt, and he seemed to do that. However, his legacy as a man, husband, and father will not be made by some speech but rather by how his behavior and actions improve or don't in the future.
Journalist Rick Reilly, who I used to respect a lot more, has launched a campaign of Tiger advice and seems to have become Tiger's self-proclaimed psychologist. I understand Reilly has a relationship with Tiger and has covered him and the sport of golf for years but Opera, really? I think that's a bad idea and would do more harm than good. Tiger gave his apology on his terms today, and regardless of his stipulations like no questions, he relied on himself and himself alone and did not do it through some third party like Opera.
My only thought about how Tiger handled this is that it should have come sooner. He should have pulled a David Letterman and talked within a week after it happened. Instead, he let the media and public speculate about every aspect of the story, and it simmered for far too long.
One thing is certain: when Tiger does return to the tour, either get out of his way or get run over.
Pete,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you chose to write about Tiger's speech because I have been meaning to watch it or read about it and have not had the time. The fact he chose to deliver the speech himself as opposed to through a third party does show a high level of sincerity. Like you said though, unfortunately his actions speak louder than words and this "mishap" will be remembered far in the future. Although I do believe the apology should have been addressed sooner as well, Tiger has done everything he could so its up to the fans to decide whether they will support him in his future efforts.
I watched Tiger's speech as well and thought that it sounded terribly fabricated and monotonous. He spoke so slowly that it became awkward and it seemed as though he was attempting to provoke this insincere sense of sadness.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the speech is really inconsequential anyway and it is his future actions that will determine how his public perception is shaped now. I also watched some of the ESPN commentary that followed the statement and for some reason each commentator seemed to think that Elin should have made an appearance- a claim which I disagree with.
Overall, I think Tiger's private life should remain that way. He has apologized (however insincerely) and now we can all move on.
I never intended on watching Tiger's speech, but sitting at work at 11am on Friday, all the televisions in the room immediately turned to one of three major network television news stations that interrupted their regularly scheduled programs to show his speech. I was most struck by how important this speech was on everyone's agendas; however, I quickly realized that if one network televised the speech, they all had to in order to remain competitive and keep their viewers satisfied. Overall, I agree with you that Tiger should've spoken sooner instead of letting the media attack him and his personal image. I also think that this all should remain a private matter and he should just go back to doing his job in golf as he always has.
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