Now that The Masters is over and Tiger is officially back on Tour, who knows what the public perception of him will be in the months and years to come.
His official legacy has many chapters yet to be written. My guess is that by the end of his career he will still go in the books as the greatest golfer of all-time (and one of the most beloved).
However, after watching The Masters and more notably the post-Masters media coverage, it seems like all of a sudden the cliché thing to do is make Tiger the bad guy and pit him versus the new good guy, Phil Mickelson.
Here is your typical mainstream media perception after just a few days:
Tiger is bad. Phil is good.
Tiger bangs lots of women. Phil is the perfect husband and father.
Tiger sometimes swears in frustration. Phil always has a jolly smile on his face (even when puking away a major).
Tiger is a no longer a role model. Phil is the ideal role model.
Tiger loves sex in sick, addicted way. Other than for procreation, Phil is celibate. (I hope this isn’t true)
Ok, maybe I made that last one up. Regardless, the media is going over the top with their treatment of Tiger. I’m just going to say what no one else wants to admit: Tiger Woods is getting a raw deal.
Yeah, I said it. The adulterous sex-addict that is Tiger Woods is getting a raw deal. Sexting and all.
Was Tiger unfaithful to his wife? Sure. Do we all now know that he loves sex and apparently has had multiple partners over the last few years? Yes. Does this give any one of us the right to demand answers from Tiger? Absolutely not.
Love him or hate him, nothing Tiger Woods has done gives anyone the right to pry into his private life. The only person I can think of that should want answers is Elin. As for the rest of us, we are entitled to nothing.
Ask yourself, does anyone have the right to demand answers about your private life?
One of the best things about living in a free, capitalist society is the inherent right to privacy. Nothing, including celebrity status, takes this away. The media forgets this all too often and mainstream society falls right in line. It becomes the norm to believe that we are entitled to answers from everyone.
Shortly after the conclusion of the 2010 Masters, renowned sports author John Feinstein made one of his frequent appearances on the Jim Rome show and most of the talk was about Tiger and Phil.
John, a perceived expert on golf, was allowed to babble on for what seemed like an eternity. For anyone familiar with the Jim Rome show, Jim isn’t a big fan of anyone having the mic other than him, so this was even more disturbing when most of what Feinstein had to say was critical of Tiger.
Unfortunately for us, we can’t listen to the interview because Jim Rome lives in the dark ages and charges for this content on his website. (For this and many other reasons, I prefer The Dan Patrick Show)
Considering the exponential amount Tiger has increased golf’s popularity, the fact that Feinstein had anything judgmental to say about Tiger disappointed me greatly.
Then, one of the voices of the sport, Jim Nantz, took a pretty vocal stance against Tiger, comparing himself to Tiger in the sense that he would be fired for “taking the Lord’s name in vain.”
How Jim Nantz thinks this is a fair or meaningful comparison is beyond me. Jim facetiously asked something to the extent of “what about the father and son standing on the tee” in reference to Tiger’s swearing.
What about them, Jim? Are you inferring that Tiger should be more of a role model to that boy than his father? Or maybe you think that they boy would never hear “bad” language for the rest of his life.
The truth is that athletes are not required to be role models. Sure, some athletes are great examples of a decent human being, but that doesn’t take away from the role of the parent. If you are looking for a role model for your kid, start at home.
It was not very long ago that Bill Clinton was being grilled for the all too well known Lewinsky Sex Scandal. The President of the United States actually managed to piss off enough people to get himself impeached, yet today is widely considered one of the highest rated Presidents ever.
That is a serious indictment on people’s willingness to forgive and forget. My prediction is that it won’t be long before this Tiger vs Phil bulls**t is kicked to the curb and the media is back to riding on Tiger’s nuts.
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If Tiger would have won the Masters, they would already be all over his nuts. All it will take is one victory, and Tiger will be back on top. (no sexual innuendo intended)
Tiger Woods became a role model when he was paid millions of dollars by Nike to make this ad…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAnlcW_ILyw
True, athletes are not required to be role models, but when you put out a commercial like this and profit from it, things change.
this whole situation is so rediculous, this time last year all these same people were kissing tiger’s ass, now he is the scum of the earth. Tiger has always had his blow ups on air, but now it’s a big deal to jim nantz for some reason … suck it jim nantz
Actually Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice. There was nothing about sex or Monica. I’ve always had a problem with Tiger’s refusal to sign autograph’s, club throwing and swearing continually. All of a sudden everyone notice’s. My problem is I have always hated HYPOCRITES and now we know he is the biggest one out there. He portrayed this family guy for 100 million a year. It is a LIE.
no one had the right to ask the president of the united states about his personal sex life. once the door was opened to ask those questions, there was no way the situation could’ve ended in a positive way. i agree he, like tiger, should’ve probably used a little better judgement but its not our call to tell them how to live their lives.
Phil Mickelson is arguably the best left handed golfer ever. All those people that think lefties are hacks, take another look!