and the parade of reports about his alleged sexual indiscretions that
followed, apologized to his family and friends Friday in an emotional
14-minute presentation at PGA Tour headquarters in
Woods, speaking in front of a small group of associates that included his mother, Kultida, and tour Commissioner
frankly called his behavior “selfish,” said he was embarrassed and
acknowledged that he had caused pain to his family, fans, business
associates and friends.
“For all that I have done, I am so sorry,” Woods
said. “… I had affairs; I cheated. What I did was not acceptable, and
I am the only person to blame.”
Dressed in a blazer and open-collared shirt, Woods
looked alternately at the camera and to the group in the room and
acknowledged that he has been in therapy for 45 days, from the end of
December through February, and will be returning for treatment and
therapy Saturday.
“I was wrong and I was foolish,” he said. “… I
brought this shame on myself. I hurt my wife, my kids, my mother, my
wife’s family, my friends, my foundation and kids all around the world
who admired me.”
His wife, Elin, was not present, but Woods said that
he is trying to save his marriage. He said reports that Elin had hit
him were “utterly false” and said there has never been an instance of
domestic violence in his marriage.
“Please leave my wife and kids alone,” he asked of
the media. “I recognize I have brought this on myself. I’m the one who
needs to change. …
“I have a lot of work to do and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it.”
Woods also mentioned that he had been brought up as
a Buddhist but had strayed from those beliefs. “Obviously, I lost track
of what I was taught,” he said.
Woods said that he plans to return to professional golf but gave no timetable.
He concluded by saying, “Finally, there are many
people in this room and there are many people at home who believed in
me. Today I want to ask for your help. I ask you to find room in your
heart to one day believe in me again.”
He then walked over and hugged his mother.
The world’s No. 1 golfer did not field questions
from the small group of reporters allowed to attend his announcement.
But his presentation and expression of his emotions were far more
revealing than his usually guarded interactions with the media.
Perhaps the world’s most recognizable athlete,
Woods, 34, is also one of the most private. His contacts with the media
are generally orchestrated on his terms, and he rarely reveals anything
about his personal life. This announcement had a very different
feeling, in which Woods’ revealed the depth of his feelings.
Three wire services and a group of three pool
reporters to be suggested by the Golf Writers Association of America
were invited. But Thursday, the writers board of directors voted
overwhelming not to participate because reporters were not permitted to
ask questions.
There were two cameras in the room to record his
statement. Media not invited to attend the announcement gathered at a
hotel about a mile away for a satellite feed.
Until Friday, Woods’ only comments regarding the car
crash and reports of up to a dozen affairs were confined to three
general statements on his Web site. In mid-December, he admitted to
infidelity on the site and announced that he would be taking an
indefinite break from competitive golf. He had not been seen publicly
since the accident, and his agent and representatives would not reveal
his whereabouts.
He has never addressed specifics of what led to the accident late on
night, and questions about what he was doing and what involvement his
wife had never been fully answered, though speculation has been
rampant. Woods made it clear Friday that his hope is to keep the
relationship with his wife and family a private matter.
Shortly after the accident on
weekend, multiple reports began surfacing, fueled by aggressive Web
site and tabloid newspaper reports, that Woods was engaging in
extramarital affairs. For a stretch in December, it seemed a report of
a new mistress appeared almost daily. Woods’ image, if not as the
classic family man but at least as a committed father and husband,
suffered substantially.
Most media experts have suggested that Woods’ best
tactic would be to publicly acknowledge the indiscretions, come fully
clean about them and what happened the night of the crash, and simply
ask his fans for forgiveness. But Woods remained quiet, limiting his
response to three postings on tigerwoods.com, until Friday’s frank
statement.
The damage to his reputation has come with a financial hit as well.
which had been displayed on his golf bag (a valuable piece of marketing
real estate), followed. Gillette stopped airing ads with Woods, and
Golf Digest suspended use of his monthly instructional articles. Watch
company Tag Heuer reduced his presence in advertisements.
Woods’ eventual return to the PGA Tour, even while
he is trying to manage resurrection of an image that is far from what
the tour embraces, is something that can only benefit the tour.
Television ratings for events that Woods plays are generally twice what
they are for events that don’t have him in the field.
What the reaction to Woods will be once he returns —
from fans and players — remains to be seen. But many expect that,
assuming there are no additional revelations that further tarnish his
reputation, if Woods begins winning again, events of the last three
months will fade into the past.
—
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