Tiger Woods - Pt. 1

Here's an email I sent to a college professor of mine about Tiger. Here it goes...

I do my best to not watch the news or read the newspaper too often, but I, like everyone else, have been unable to escape the Tiger Woods story. With two wars going on, the economy in very bad shape, and kids getting shot in The Bronx, I would have thought that there were more important things to worry about, but alas, I am incorrect as the TMZ/reality trash/US Weekly masters of the universe have managed to turn a golfer into the most important moral issue of the day.

#1 – Morals?

I do not think that Tiger Woods’ behavior was correct. Dude is married, with children, and he should not be out there committing high-risk behavior and then going home to his wife. Definitely not a good look. However, I do not believe that the media should be playing the moral judge of character and conduct, especially trash publications like TMZ, US Weekly et. al, because they do nothing but follow famous people around, which I would argue is an immoral assault on people’s privacy. Just because somebody is “famous” does not mean that you have the right to stick a camera in their face after they come out of the bathroom because you somehow feel a sense of entitlement to someone’s life because they are your favorite actor or athlete. Mind your own business and get a life.
And for the money argument, look at the top executives at Goldman Sachs, NBC, Disney. They make tens of millions of dollars. Do we follow them around with cameras because they make a lot of money? Maybe we should, but we don’t.

#2 Marriage?

I hate to say this, but marriage ain’t what it used to be. Over 50% of marriages are ending in divorce, and with the expansion of connectivity that our society has witnessed, I believe those numbers will rise. I blame 75% of this on men, as we are too horny for our own good, and end up thinking with the little head a bit too much. We like Craigslist ads and internet porn. However, I think that women need to be much smarter with their decisions in spouses. I can think of people that I went to high school and college with that have gotten married, and have clearly ignored the warning signs of their spouse’s behavior. If I know that your then boyfriend and now spouse cheated on you, and we are not even friends, how many other people know? Are you the only person that did not know? Someone very close to me, and a recent divorcee, said that she caught her husband cheating while they were “dating” but thought that things would change when they got married. Twenty years later, it did not, and they got divorced after he was caught in a few long-term affairs. Sound familiar? The warning signs are there; are we listening?
Kudos to those loyal husbands that don’t cheat. I’m not sure if you are happier at the end of the day, but you have my respect.

#3- The Entourage

I find it hard to believe that Ms. Woods was completely in the dark about this. Simply put, take a look at Tiger’s closest advisors and friends, such as Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. Have you heard about what these guys do for fun? Jordan is an icon, but is also a notorious philanderer, a fact covered up by a soft media that did not go after him (in full disclosure, I am a Knicks fan, and believe that the NBA conspired to have the Bulls in the finals and threw games the Bulls way to save the league) and chose not to report his prolific cheating. Barkley is not the icon that Jordan is, but he is in the same cheating boat, and was recently caught by police driving drunk to receive oral sex from a woman that was not his wife. Those are the stories that we know of. So, its not like Tiger is hanging out with house Dads that go to Costco and Home Depot for fun, and attend pancake breakfasts at the local fire hall. If your husband hangs out with dudes that cheat, chances are that “guys night out” is more about other woman than hanging with the guys.

#4- The Endorsements.
Corporate America distances themselves from anybody that does something remotely human, because it can hurt their brand. I understand it, but these companies need to get over themselves. Gatorade will sell unless Osama Bin Laden is pitching it. Nike? No way they drop Tiger; he made them a legitimate golf contender. I have Nike clubs because of Tiger. I ain’t the only one. And, by the way, they make their sneakers in sweatshops. Point: Tiger. Other companies ran away from Kobe, only to find that he was not convicted of rape, and rebuilt his image so that nobody even remembers that he was on trial for rape. How are those companies that dropped him feeling now? Corporate America really means not loyal to anyone, so its not really a big deal that some sponsors chose to drop Tiger. If they were really flabbergasted, then they should give back the money that he earned them while he was endorsing. I’ll begin to hold my breath.

#5 – Tiger is Bigger than us all
Tiger Woods does not need endorsements. Nor does he need to be in the good moral graces of society. He is the greatest golfer the world has ever seen, and nothing will change that. His mental focus, and tenacity on the golf course is almost machine-like; to truly appreciate it, one has to play golf and try to stay focused with nobody watching, let alone millions and millions watching. The guy eats pressure for lunch. The best move for him is to get divorced, pay his wife something (like 25% of his net worth, because I don’t remember her sinking any putts or winning a green jacket), and live up the villain thing. Go out, hook up, enjoy life. Instead of wearing Red on Sunday, wear black all the time. Ignore the media. Win tournaments. At the end of the day, you don’t have to answer to anybody. Take a page out of the A-Rod book: dumps his wife, hooks up with a Hollywood hottie, and becomes clutch in the playoffs and wins a World Series ring for the New York Yankees. Not too bad.
Would the media cover this story if Tiger was sleeping with all black women?