Public people, private lives, and Tiger Woods
 

I have never been one to much really care about the trappings and rewards of celebrity status. I suppose my heart goes out to Tiger, but based on what I hear and read, perhaps he deserves this.

I don't know if this is a rush to judgement or not, but it would certainly appear as if Tiger has been less than faithful to his wife. My impression of the whole accident is that he was leaving his house because there was some blow up about it, but of course, I can't know for sure.

It would seem as if Tiger could do a better job diffusing the situation by releasing some sort of statement to the effect of "I was arguning with my wife as couples often do. I left in a rush and crashed my vehicle. To me, this is the end of the matter.". That might make the media back off a bit, but who knows? The media loves a good scandal.

I know I cannot imagine the temptations of beautiful women being available to me pretty much whenever I want while travelling the world (frequently alone, I would gather). However, I would suspect this is not much different than it was before he married. I guess I don't really understand getting married and starting a family and then playing the field (there are currently a few women claiming they have had affairs, but again, I don't know for sure in this case). Why get married at all if that's where you are at? Everyone is human, but I regard the serial affair haver as much different than the person who has one in a moment of weakness.

This seems quite prevalent in the world of athletics with sports groupies and the notariety that goes along with the abilities and success.

I am sad for Tiger and his family. I suppose I do wonder though where the media should stop. Is it really any of the public's business? That isn't meant to be rhetorical....I really don't know.

I don't consider it any of mine.

Ditto.

I'm amazed at the slap of the wrist he got: a $165 citation, and a closed investigation.

Can you imagine what would have happened if he was a black man?

Or if he was Chinese or Native American!

I'm kicking myself more than Tiger.

I bought into the image Tiger presented to the world.

The only people who should care about this are Tiger and the cops.

Word.

And his wife.

And whoever he's banging.

I don't even know what happened and I don't care.

I find it rather mundane, really. But, it's good to know he's human and not a borg or something. ;)

Tiger finally admitted indiscretions. I guess the golfer's instinct to call your own penalty proved too strong.

My image of Tiger Woods does not at all rely on the quality of his private life. So it isn't really impacted.

Unless it turns out instability in his private live devastates his golf game. Since my image of him is based on his ability to, when in competition, focus to the exclusion of everything else.

But he could have banged the entirety of South Florida, calling his wife at the conclusion of each act to taunt her and it wouldn't much matter to me.

Winter rules, Tiger. Winter rules.


/golf geek





Something about trouble involving a black man married to a white woman in the deep south. Also, the white woman appears to be some sort of immigrant. That's all I can tell you. Anything more than that would be conjecture at this point.

I just so don't fvcking care at this point.

I don't care, but I have to admit, the image of Tiger flooring it backwards down the driveway, throwing it in gear, only to suddenly see through his drunken haze his wife standing in his headlights waving a couple of golf clubs over her head, causing him to swerve into the hydrant and tree has me pretty amused.

I wonder if Tiger could have gotten her out of a vehicle with his driver. I think he might have pulled it.

I now have this vision of the family using golf clubs for all manner of difficult household chores.

As to caring or not, it doesn't detract from my regard of him as a sportsman. However, unlike, say, PacMan Jones, he is paid lots of money to endorse things based on his image. Anytime someone, be it politician or athlete or evangelist, dines out on a wholesome image and that image is tarnished, it is certainly a phenomenon worth noting and, perhaps, chuckling at.

True, his various employers definitely have reason to care (if not about the events themselves then the reaction of the buying public).

But people who are buying non-golf stuff simply because Tiger Woods is attached (while I never have, there are certainly cases where I am more aware of a product because of his face) to it, well I'd say they deserve to be disappointed.

From golf . com:

From Tiger's press release today:

Translation:

People should only pay attention to me when I want to sell them something using my carefully crafted image. Or when I'm winning tournaments. Or when I'm giving interviews. Or when I talk about the wonderful psychic connection I had with my Pops. Or when I release photo spreads taken with my family. Other than that, please respect my privacy. Let me have my cake and eat it too. Wah!

I grew up around the game of golf. My dad started teaching me to drive using a golf cart. I was always told that the sportsmanship and good grace (or lack of) shown on the course says more about a person than how they play the game. It's all about honor and integrity. In professional golf, with all the cameras and officials watching the tourneys, I suppose cheating isn't too tempting. But the game really is steeped in tradition, and honesty is a big part of it. Cheating on your partner and cheating on the course are separate issues. Right?

I never did. He's a brilliant golfer as far as I can tell. What he does off the course is his own business.

It really must suck to live life in a fishbowl.

Yeah! We should be able to see every minute of his life, just like every other celebrity. We should be able to just stick cameras inside their houses and whatnot.

Seriously, that is the most simplistic statement.

I happen to agree with Sac here to an extent.

When so much of what makes you popular is your carefully crafted image, and you make 92% of your income off of it, I think whether he is really as he appears to be is of interest to the public in general. You can't make a living off your image and try to hide whenever what comes out doesn't fit in with that image.

I agree in this way:

Once you put yourself out there as a public figure you have to expect you're going to lose control of your privacy and that the demands of the public to invade that privacy don't really know any bounds.

That, of course, is not the same thing as saying we have a right to know about his infidelities or that our collective demand to know is reasonable or appropriate. Or that he has an obligation to abandon any attempt to maintain his privacy.

That said, Michael Jordan was quite the philanderer. It doesn't seem to have damaged his spokesperson career to any great extent.

I've said nothing of the sort. Personally I don't give two sh*ts for the cult of celebrity culture we live in these days. I don't think we have a right to know what goes on in Tiger's private life. And frankly, I don't want to know. But if Tiger thinks he can earn millions of dollars by doing nothing (my opinion of celebrity endorsements) with no strings attached, he's a fool.

And if I've learned anything from watching Tiger Woods, it's that he's no fool. Which, in my estimation, means he's trying to play the victim with regards to all the negative attention he's receiving. He damn well knows the score - and always has -, but suddenly he doesn't like it.

And seriously, my simplistic statement was simplistic on purpose...it was me being Tiger being a whiny baby. Simplified for effect. See? Simple.

I submit that Tiger has traded on his power and celebrity to put the kabosh on a police investigation.

The exchange:

Suspect's wife: "I'm sorry. He's sleeping."
Police: "Oh, okay. We'll come back."

is one I have yet to see in court transcripts.

I don't know that is so much flexing power and celebrity since there is no legal obligation to talk to the police just because they come to your door asking to talk.

To the extent that power is involved I suspect it is the knowledge that there is a lawyer on the other side of the door more than happy to remind the police that nobody has any such obligation. So you might as well go away politely and try again later.

That's true, Alex. But a transcript of the cops being turned away at the door by my wife would go like this:


Suspect's wife: "I'm sorry. He's sleeping."

<several minutes of threats, bullying tactics, and outright lies about her obligation to let the cops come in and talk to her husband>

Police: "Oh, okay. We'll come back."


Unless, of course, they knew I had a lawyer behind the door.

He's a 100 X Millionaire!!! For ****s sake, guy, retire NOW, get out of the limelight and stop doing endorsements etc. Then you can have your total anonymity and avoid dismay.

Geezus. How much money does ONE person need ???? That is so totally out of balance.

Sorry, I get like this at times because hyper-enormous amounts of money get thrown at people who have a talent for hitting a little ball into a hole, or into a goal, or over a net. I am so totally non-sports oriented, therefore it boggles me to see the amounts of money these people earn.

*prepares for onslaught*

I wonder how many people work for Tiger either directly or indirectly.

Actually, he's something like a 1,000 x Millionaire (or, that's what he's earned, presumably he has spent some of it. And the FedEx Cup had to change their annual prize money rules because it was quite possible under the initial rules that Tiger Woods could end up with an annuity worth more than a billion dollars if he won most of them over the next 15 years (he's already one the two he was eligible for, would have been three if it weren't for his knee surgery last year).

But I'm not really bothered by his money. He literally does one thing better than anybody else in the world and regardless of whether you or are I willing to, a lot of people are willing to spend money to watch him do it (I just enjoy doing it for free on TV, which impels other people to spend money to make sure I can).

SacTown Chronic - You're right that is likely how the conversation would go with most people. But I don't know that being able to efficiently invoke your constitutional rights is quite the same thing as abusing your celebrity and fame.

Plus, if you weren't Tiger Woods I suspect they'd never even be on your doorstep again. A couple years ago a guy came home into our complex and managed to drive his Jeep over a water pipe and then lodge it into a tree. The police came out, asked if anybody was hurt, asked him if he'd been drinking (his "no" was apparently credible testimony), helped pull the car off the tree and left.

I do think the tone of coverage (and our responses likely) would be dramatically different if the genders involved were switched. If we suspected Tiger had intimated his wife with a golf club there would not be comments of "that's what you get if you cheat" or "she's just being chivalrous and doesn't want him to go to jail." It wouldn't be a humorous "ha ha, Tiger got beat up by a girl!"

I still wouldn't care (I'd be interested in knowing, but that's not the same as caring; I'm a curious snoop just like everybody else) but I suspect the official pursuit and media condemnation would be much stronger.

For sure. As soon as I heard the "golf club to the window to save Tiger" crap, I asked Crystal what's the point of such a lame lie. I think my exact words were "It's not as if Tiger chased her with a golf club. Nobody cares enough to justify such a half-assed, transparent attempt at a cover-up".

And now: sex jokes.

"One must forgive golfers their inevitable indiscretions since the guys in the gallery are always yelling, 'Get in the hole" with every shot."

Granted, the guys who are yelling this are all gay. Whether they know it or not.

To which I will pose the question: how much is too much? Where exactly is the line to be drawn?

Personally, I don't think he makes too much.

And the children, harumph, harumph!



Think of the children?

Well, neither of them is yet 3 years old so I don't know if they should care. They should care later but it might be asking a bit too much of them to care now.

Only Republicans think of the children.

Duh.

I didn't even know there were children. I guess I wasn't obsessing over the details of Tiger's life enough.

I only knew he had children because when they were born it was mentioned on golf broadcasts I was watching (yes, I watch* golf, and I've never played a serious round).


* Golf is a great sport for watching while doing other things in the house as it only requires you to pay attention 10% of the time, especially near the end of the round when only a handful of pairs are still playing. Plus, I'd argue it is the sport most improved by HD.

well, as Alex pointed out, the guys a billionaire+, so I say to him: don't crap on about how you've got to be scrutinised in everything you do in the public eye, retire and get out of the public eye. Then you won't be required to behave in order to placate your sponsors.

I think 1 billion is probably enough to live on for the rest of anyone's life. Why do they need more?

Retire and do what? Golf?

Become a doctor. Oh wait.
Become a hockey player. Oh wait.

What do professional golfers do when they retire.

Go to the Masters tour.

well, presumably become an ordinary guy who happens to have a billion dollars, and play around with your mistresses.

...or you could go to Disneyland !!

Accepting that putting yourself out there as an incredibly successful product spokesman means you are rejecting any continued expectation of privacy for any area of your life.

Does simply playing professional golf do the same thing? That is, to reclaim his privacy must he never again stray from his home? Do I have some right to demand information on the sexual peccadillos of the guys making a living on the PGA tour but not doing much in the way of endorsement?

Does merely doing something in your life that causes strangers to know your name mean you have some obligation to those strangers?

As far as having enough money to retire, most certainly he does. However, i don't htink Tiger is interested in the money any longer. He is interested in being known as the best ever, with the most majors and tournaments won. Surely he can be discussed among the best ever, but until he has both of those, it could be brought into doubt that he is. He wants it to be known without a doubt.

Athletes want the competition. While the money is great, they want titles and their name to be known for all eternity.

Then why is he still in advertising, and video game development?

Err, then why doesn't he play golf and do commercials for free, or donate everything to charity? I guarantee he would still be a massive celebrity without the paychecks.

He does something he's good at and enjoys, people are willing to pay him to do it. It doesn't really get any more complicated or philosophical than that.

I don't need $1,000. Possession of $1,000 would not change my life in the slightest.

But if someone said, hey stand in front of this camera for two hours and I'll give you $1,000 I'd still do it. Being driven by the pursuit of money and refusing to take easy money are not the same thing.

If Rolex offered me $1,000 to be in an ad for their watches I'd do it and then say **** off to the first person who said that meant I had to tell them who I was having sex with.

The catch-22 for someone like Tiger Woods is that the guy who buys a Rolex or Gillette razors because of a Tiger Woods ad is the same guy who does want to know who Tiger is sleeping with and might even think he has a right to now. There's no on/off switch for being celebrity-struck with some people. These are the people Tiger Woods Inc. has been actively courting for years. It's what advertising outside your field of expertise is all about.

Yes, but it's one thing to acknowledge that it's going to attract those kinds of people, it's another to claim that those kinds of people are within their rights, or that he should just roll over and accept it.

It's inevitable, and probably a bit shortsighted if one is taken by surprise by it, but it's still worth pointing out that it's pretty reprehensible behavior.

Does Tiger Woods doing ads for golf balls open him to the same loss of claim to privacy has him doing an ad for shaving gel?

When it comes right down to it, Tiger Woods is the golfing personality whose indiscretions, I would probably be least interested in. He may be a bit of a robot, but he doesn't really personify that icky white Republican fake gentleman vibe that the PGA cultivates. Phil Mickelson? Paul Azinger? Some tradition-spouting stiff at Augusta? Bring it on.

Oh, I'm not claiming he would or should do anything for free. I just don't think that's his driving force.

I can't imagine the decision to take part in this image was the result of anything but the desire to cash a $20million check.

Agreed. I would never claim that these people are within their rights to demand total access to Tiger's life. Or that they're being reasonable or rational in doing so.

In my view neither ad should result in losing the claim to privacy. But then, I'm not a celebrity whack-a-doodle. But I think a golfer selling golf equipment to golfers is different than a golfer selling his celebrity to everyone. The latter, imo, is going to lead to a much more extensive invasion of privacy -- in good times and bad. Not that I'm saying it's right, or that Tiger is wrong for going for every advertising dollar he can get, mind you.

On a personal level, I feel for Tiger and his family. Even an (alleged) cheating dog doesn't deserve to have his awkward attempt-at-a-cover-up-voicemail played to the world. Truly cringe-worthy stuff.

If I'm not mistaken, scaeagles is saying that money is not the driving force behind Tiger's golf success, and I agree. Take away the endorsements and those giant winner's check and Tiger probably would still put in the effort to surpass Jack Nicklaus. I don't think you get to be the best in the world at anything by doing it for money.

And I'm sure Richard Williams still would have raised his girls to be tennis players from infancy if they had been born in the amateur era.

That's exactly what I mean, Sac. I don't think Tiger is so sold on the Gillette brand of razors that he considers it a necessary act and wants to do it as charitable work to spread the good news of close shaves to all. I meant that Tiger doesn't golf because of the financial success any longer. He golfs because he wants to records, the titles, etc.

I take no credit (responsibility?) for this:

Apparently the police asked Tiger's wife how many times she hit him. She said, "I don't know exactly. Just put me down for a 5."

"Just put me down for a 5" = snowman, at minimum. Oh Elin, you hot-headed vixen.

I wonder if this will drive a wedge in their marriage?
I guess Tiger isn't much of a driver when he is drunk.
Too bad he can't take a mulligan on this one.
Tiger Woods is so rich that he owns lots of expensive cars. Now he has a hole in one.
Apparently somebody else besides his caddie has been handling Tiger's woods

No, no obligations at all, but on the other side of the coin, if you want to have extra-marital affairs (and face the possibility of being found out/sold out/blackmailed), then it's better not to have sponsors to answer to.
Not at all, but see point above.

What's the difference between a golf ball and a Cadillac Escalade?

Oh dear. Golf Digest had already gone to press with this cover:

I think people look at celebrities in the same way they see their friends and neighbors who also get gossiped about. Celebrities though are like everybody's neighbor - so while only my workmates can gain entertainment talking about the trainwreck of a life one of our coworkers may have - celebrity trainwrecks can be talked about with anyone, anywhere - even on LoT