to everyone but the women who he also hurt. baby steps.
we have all had temptations. we have all hurt people who have believed and trusted in us.
its really too bad that tiger has so much money because money really does change everything and im sure that money influenced the speech he gave. for example it’s hard not to suppose that the reason he didn’t mention his alleged mistresses is because of either the possibility of lawsuits or because of the payouts hes already given.
the interesting thing about the money in regard to tiger is this – unlike other athletes, Tiger has decades to earn ridiculous amounts of money. so if he had to pay out millions to each of his alleged mistresses, who cares, he can make large sums of cash simply by returning to golf.
there was a time that the busblog had advertisers. there was a time when because of the content of this blog the advertisers pulled out even though during the time that they were sponsors the hits here doubled and their financial sponsorship didnt increase a penny.
when they pulled out not only was i majorly disappointed, but ultimately relieved because being stifled does not mesh with the reasons for starting a blog.
likewise, the failure of giving a full and comprehensive apology to the human beings youve hurt because of pressure or fears surrounding advertisers and finances doesnt mesh with the reasons for becoming a golfer.
if i was tiger i would have said everything he said including this: “im a golfer. i hit balls with sticks. i was trained and coached from an early age to use those sticks to whack those balls, but clearly i still have a long way to go in regards of honesty and in regards of what it means to be a responsible man. i was a terrible man to the women in my life, particularly those who were intimate with me and who trusted me.”
all relationships are tough: romantic, professional, personal, public, media, virtual… and as good as i think Tigers speech was this morning, i think it was a huge mistake not to address any responsibility for the feelings of the women he used. yes they knew he was a married man, but for some reason they kept finding themselves with Tiger. its hard for me to believe that he didnt lead them on. sure the women were adults and knew that being in an adulterous relationship with someone who is lying to his wife means that he is just as likely to lie to everyone else.
but on the day that all the networks are broadcasting your apology, you cannot leave out the other people who you hurt.
with that said, i thought the gloria allred post-speech press conference was inappropriate and unnecessary and i wish i hadnt seen it because now i feel like part of the problem.
update: the mighty mighty LA Now blog tackles this question and gets a wide variety of reactions in the comments