You know what’s crazy? I’ll tell you what’s crazy.
The Tiger Press Conference.
Did time stop? Did the world stop spinning? Well sort of.
Honestly, it was pretty compelling.
Staged? You bet. Effective! I think it was. You got to start repairing bridges somewhere.
Tiger walks in to silence. He seems contrite. I’m sure he’d rather be anywhere but here.
“Good morning,” he says and he launches into a 13 minute, no question salvo that answers many questions and leaves many others unanswered.
“Everyone of you has good reason to be critical of me,” he says glancing up periodically.
“I want to say to each of you, directly, I am deeply sorry for irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.
People want to know how I was so selfish, how could I do this to my wife Elin and my children.”
Predictably he announced that he has apologized to Elin and what was said will remain between a husband and a wife.
He covered all the bases, from his fans, to his business partners to the kids who look up to him.
“I have let you down. I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you. I made you question who I am and what I did. I am embarassed for all I have done, I am so sorry.”
Most of his presser was monotone, but his voice did rise when talking about media reports he called grossly inaccurate.
“People speculated Elin attacked me. It angers me that this story was fabricated. She has never hit me. Ther has never been an episode of domestic violence ever! She has shown enormous grace and poise thruout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise not blame. The issue here is my repeated irresponsible behavior. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable. I stopped living by core values I was taught to believe in. I convinced myself normal rules don’t apply. I only thougth about myself.”
And there it was. The statement that most wanted to hear all along. The man facing his demons saying he was sorry to those who matter most in his life.
He talked about going back to rehab right away. He talked about returning to golf one day.
All in all, a matter that is truly private couldn’t have been more public. It was sad and engaging. It was a good start.
Here’s hoping that a family can heal and move on.
for 45 days, december ot early