Woods apologizes to family, friends

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    Tiger Woods, in his first public appearance since crashing his SUV near his home Nov. 27
    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 Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

    Woods, speaking in front of a small group of associates that included his mother, Kultida, and tour Commissioner Tim Finchem,
    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 Thanksgiving
    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 Thanksgiving
    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. Accenture, a global consulting firm, ended its relationship with Woods as a spokesman, and AT&T,
    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.

    Nike, his major sponsor, has remained in his corner.

    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.

    (c) 2010, Los Angeles Times.

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