December 10, 2009

I Am NOT Tiger Woods

I am amazed that two weeks into the Tiger scandal, I still cannot get enough. It’s all disturbing and disappointing and yet I cannot stop reading about it. Which led me to reading an article by Jason Whitlock, whom I typically think is amusing and entertaining while giving us an interesting view into the world of sports. But I have a hard time with his recent article regarding how the Tiger scandal is about more than sex. Whitlock seems to think that it, or at least the public’s outrage, is about race.

Whitlock frequently stretches to make any issue into a race issue. He thinks that the country is upset because it was a mixed race man, who let’s face it, most of us think of as Black because it’s easier than listing all his ethnicities, cheating on a white woman. I don’t care if you’re green or purple or blue or any combination thereof, my indignation has nothing to do with the color of their skin. It has to do with the fact that a man cheated repeatedly on his wife. Even worse is that according to many of the women that have come forward, Tiger had some sort of ongoing relationship with these women.

I personally have never met either Tiger or Elin. I have no idea what they agreed to before getting married. For all I know they agreed to have an open marriage or they’re swingers. I would assume however, that even a non-traditional marriage means that you don’t publically humiliate your spouse and children. Some people want Tiger to speak up and tell us all what is and has been going on in his marriage. I have no problem with them keeping their private life private. In fact, I hope that they do. The less I hear about how good Tiger is in bed or whether or not he prefers to wear a condom the better.

Do I think that Tiger asked to be put on a Tim Tebow type shrine as Mr. Perfect? Not at all. Regardless of whether or not you asked for a pedestal, you know when you’re on one. And that means that your decisions and actions are going to be looked at and scrutinized. We as the public put Tiger on a pedestal. We helped to create that iconic image. And as always, we’re disappointed when our icons fall off those big ass pedestals. I’ve never aspired to be like Tiger Woods. I don’t even have the energy to aspire to golf like him. And despite knowing that no one is perfect, including idols, it is disappointing to find out that they’re just as human as the rest of us.

So yes, Tiger has had multiple relationships with women outside his marriage. Based on Elin’s coming after him with a golf club, which I find incredibly amusing and ironic, I’m guessing that even if the marriage was open, public humiliation wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal. Here’s the thing that really gets me though. After two weeks, I still can’t get past this one tid bid. Tiger Woods went to Stanford, which is notorious for not bending its academic standards for athletes. The guy is worth a billion dollars. Yet somehow the supposedly smart guy with more money than he can possibly spend didn’t think of buying a second phone? A “little black phone,” if you will. I guess brains, money and good looks aren’t everything after all.

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