THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — With a public apology, Tiger Woods disclosed his "personal failings" and acknowledged he had "not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves."
He did not mention the allegations of an affair in Wednesday's statement, saying he would deal with "my behavior and personal failings" alone with his family.
His appeal for privacy likely won't close a shocking saga involving one of the biggest names in sport.
Rachel Uchitel, a New York nightclub hostess who has denied having an affair with Woods, had scheduled a Thursday news conference with her attorney in Los Angeles. But attorney Gloria Allred canceled that appearance Thursday morning, citing unforeseen circumstances. She earlier had planned to make a statement about Uchitel's relationship with Woods.
Last week, the National Enquirer published a story alleging the world's No. 1 golfer had been seeing Uchitel, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Woods won the Australian Masters.
Uchitel denied having an affair with Woods when contacted by The Associated Press.
Woods has faced intense media scrutiny after a car accident outside his home early last Friday morning and sordid allegations of affairs. In a 317-word statement on his Web site Wednesday, Woods acknowledged he had "let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart."
The statement followed an Us Weekly cover story of a Los Angeles waitress claiming she had a 31-month affair with the world's No. 1 golfer. Woods' words were posted three hours after the magazine released a voice mail - provided by the waitress, Jaimee Grubbs - that Woods left on her phone three days before he rammed his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and tree outside his Florida home.
"Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions," he said on his Web site. "I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves."
The investigation into Woods' accident ended Tuesday when the Florida Highway Patrol issued a $164 citation for careless driving. The inspection of his personal life is seemingly just beginning.
It is an odd turn for Woods, whose career as a golfer, a pitchman and perhaps the most recognized athlete in the world has been largely without blemish since he turned pro at age 20.
Read more:http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1944650,00.html#ixzz0ZW7EvsOd
What's your reaction to the recent revealing of Tiger Woods' character? Identify 2 or 3 things he should have done to be better prepared for the temptations great leaders are exposed to.
Maybe find a routine to go about things while he was out on the road. Even just a simple call to his family while he was traveling couldve gone a long way. This was unexpected and if the alligation of an affair is true it makes me ask why? Too much to lose.
ReplyDeleteI just think it goes to show that the some of the famous people that people look up to and idolize aren't as great as they seem. Tiger should have known that there are so many people that look up to him. I think that his reputation is never going to be the same.
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked by the whole thing, but then again I'm not. Like most celebrities, they have to ruin it somewhere down the line. To prevent this, he could have been more prepared and known that this happens to most celebrities, therefore could have made plans not be like most famous people in this generation. He could have also gone to a counselor if he was having marriage or family problems, or he could have even told his wife that way they could work through it together, but like all good things come to an end, so did this one unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteHe was flying high, his wings were clipped, then he fell. I'm not surprised at all. All public figures are forced to "be good" and follow their rules. When he broke them, he was finished. People are only shocked when their expectations don't meet with the reality at hand. Woods could have solved this easily. If he was in love with Uchitel, just end it with his wife and be with Uchitel. Why suffer all the layers of lies and deception when the love is not true? America has the highest divorce rate of any nation and it is actually not looked down upon in this society. But when adultery happens, it's a massacre. Since he was icon, there were many luxuries. Other women liked him and he didn't reject the temptations to cheat on his wife. He could have went against his nature to be with other women and be loyal to his wife.
ReplyDeleteThis whole saga has really disappointed me. I have always been a big Tiger fan. He seemed to be doing everything right. He always seemed to be the great athlete that we needed. Tiger needed to obviously spend more time with his family. He needed to be closer to his wife, because if he was then he would not need to be seeing other women. I like his move for taking off golf for awhile. He looks like he has set his sights right with putting family in front of golf. This is something that he should have done in the first place. Tiger can still come out of this but he has a lot of trust issues to make up. People will still follow him waiting for now any mistake he makes. Like everyone is saying he was to good to be true. Now, what seems like every athlete has, everyone has found out his hidden life.
ReplyDeleteI was dissapointed when I heard about this. Tiger has been a great example and a role model for so many people. I'm not sure where he went wrong but he could have prevented the situation by making better choices. He needs to keep in mind what is really important to him. I also think it is a good idea for tiger to stop golfing for now and focus on family. Over the years tiger has built up alot of trust and a good reputation with alot of people. The past few weeks people have either lost that trust or began to question it. Tiger is going to have to start all over to build up that trust with people. It may take a while but if he continues to make the right decisions from now on I believe people will begin to trust him again.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I really don't know what to think. He's obviously made a huge mistake. I guess I thought he already claimed his family was important to him. But I'm glad he's taking time off from golf to get counseling and focus more on his family than he did before. This could have been prevented if he kept his values and vision close to him. He stated that he's got his set of morales, but he strayed from them. So, if he kept them closer to him and reviewed them on a daily basis, I think it would have made a huge difference. Also, I don't know how much time he actually spent talking to or spending time with his family while golfing, but maybe he could have created more "family time" to help keep his values in mind.
ReplyDeleteI think people make mistakes, it happens. Now that it happened so many times and so many people have come out sayin they were apart of this incident thats a little disappointing. But people loved him because he was good at golf not beaucse of his personal life. So, i dont see himas a golfer any differently, but as a person as a whole, a little disappointed.
ReplyDeleteFirst i would like to say that no matter what tiger does in his personal life doesnt take away from the fact that he is an amazing golfer and that kids still look up to him as a leader. Saying that i think that because he is such a great and influential leader he should think about his actions more than what he had. Just because you are great at something doesn't mean that you don't get the same consequences as the "average" person. I think people will still look up to him because of his past consistency. That is one thing that he has prepared himself for in the past because if he wasn't consistent then he wouldn't still get looked up to after his recent actions. I think he should have developed more of a think about what your actions now will do to what people think later. He should have thought through his action before hand and realized what he had infront of him now.
ReplyDeleteThis shows that a lot of famous people may not be the person you think they are. I am sure tiger is not the only person, and i still think tiger is a person to look up to. He made many mistakes and had way to much to lose. He could have just called his family at least one time a day to just keep in touch and maybe that would have stopped some of the temptations he had.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked when I found this out about Tiger. However, I thought to myself, why is America so caught up in what HE did wrong when we make faults too? Nothing can excuse Tiger's behavior, but I do not think we should be so caught up in the wrongs celebrities have made because they are human too. It is hard to resist temptations while traveling as much as he does, but a simple call home or having the family travel with him every once in awhile could have helped prevent this. Temptations are always there. You just have to be able to resist. I still believe Tiger is a good leader with great work ethic. He has just made some mistakes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Tiger has no excuses for his behavior, I feel sorry for him on some sort of level. If he were a 'normal' guy this issue probably could have been resolved within his family without the rest of the world following their every move. From what I know, Tiger did not grow up with great influences, his father was also known to show unfaithfulness within his relationships and this message probably got passed on to Tiger. Tiger did not put his priorities into perspective, or if he did he obviously did not put them into the correct order. If he would have taken the time to make his family more of a priority, even with a hectic lifestyle, he would have been able to easier resist the temptation.
ReplyDeleteI was kinda half surprised and expectant of this circumstance. Now, am I saying that I predicted Tiger Woods of all people would do this...absolutely not! I thought he possessed great integrity and is the last person that would delve into this sort of thing. However, he is human and has a nature that brings on these kind of temptations. Sure, being in the media spotlight and being a prominent athlete does sort of magnify the situation, but the problem remains. I think that this was a long,slow eroding process that started with smaller incidents or course. I don't think he kept his long term goals or vision in mind when deciding to participate in these activities, but rather was focused on the short term pleasure. Did not stay focused on his life vision!
ReplyDeleteI was really disappointed to hear about what Tiger had been doing. He had a lot of fans that supported him for how he played the game but also for his character. Becasue of his bad decisions he ahs lost fans, sponsers, and his family was torn apart.
ReplyDeleteI was really shocked and disappointed when I heard about this. He seemed like such a good person on cameras, but cameras don't show everything. I think he should have thought about his actions before/while he was doing them. He should have thought to himself about how he and his family would feel if any of his secrets got out. This really shows that people need to always think before they act.
ReplyDeleteEven though Tiger Woods has accomplished amazing things as a golfer I think the mistakes he's made in her personal life degrade all that. Now when I hear his name I don't think of a great golfer anymore. I think of the poor actions he's made. I no longer think of him as a leader and great person.
ReplyDeleteI think he should have a routine he has when he goes places so he is not tempted by these things. Something else he could have done is stay true to the things that really matter to him instead of getting caught up in being a celebrity. Tiger woods is a great golfer but made a very poor decesion.
ReplyDeleteI think he should have had his morals in line more and on his breaks go somewhere to refresh himself. He should know how to deal with the temptations by now.
ReplyDeleteTiger Woods being a successful golfer has had a reputation people dream of, which was all ruined by a big mistake. Being in the pros he has temptations all over everyday but he has to be able to control his feelings and he didnt do a very good job with it.
ReplyDeleteObviously Tiger didn't have his priorities straight at this time and he paid greatly for this. He acted out of his own desires and didn't think about his family. All this did was it showed that Tiger is human and he makes mistakes too. He just made a big mistake at a very bad time.
ReplyDeleteEven though Tiger Woods has apologized and is the best golfer, i don't think the same of him anymore. If he was a true leader, he would have lived by his morals better and not have done any of this. After he did this, he should have just been truthful and told people about it, instead of hiding it.
ReplyDeletethis is serprising but everyone makes mistakes. he failed to acknowledge his values. if he would have been thinking about how this would effect his image and his family he wouldnt have done it. he also shouldn't have acted on impulse that's rule number one. basicly he just needed to step back and look at what he was facing. although hine sights 20 20.
ReplyDeleteEven though Tiger "apologized" I don't that he will really change his ways. I really don't know what to think so much about it other that the fact that he let alot of people down. There are many little kids that looked up to him and I feel that a man in his place he really needs to think before he acts.
ReplyDeleteI am very disappointed in Tiger. I think he got wrapped up in the fame and fortune as many celebrities do, and let it get the best of him. It's very unforuntate, seeing as he's let down millions of young fans and followers who had looked up to him as a leader previous to this incident. He is and always will be an amazing golfer, but has definitely lost the respect he took years to gain. You would think that being able to go home every night to a beautiful, loving family would be enough for anyone. How could they be interested in anything else? This should automatically reject his temptations for anything else. He also should have kept the thoughts of all his fans and the people who look up to him in the back of his head-- does a good leader behave like that? I don't believe so.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to hear that Tiger had done this. I didnt see it coming at all. I think somehow he should of got away from the temptation and spent more time at home with his family. I think that wouldve been the best thing for him. It was definantly the wrong thing to do and no one should ever do this. I think that he may not be the best role model to kids anymore but i still think hes a stud
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