My latest Sympatico column deals with the public relations disaster that is Tiger Woods at the moment and whether the public should be expected to turn a blind eye to the whole affair.The full column is here.
Here’s a taste:
Late last Thursday night, Tiger Woods, the biggest sports star on the planet, had a car accident backing out of his driveway.
Could happen to any of us, I suppose. Maybe you whack the trash can with the family van while on a late-night pizza run. Or perhaps you’re running to the 24-hour drug store to grab the kids some medicine and bump into a parked car.
Regardless, no one would pay too much attention to a fender-bender if Average Joe smacks the mailbox with the bumper of his SUV. But Tiger Woods isn’t average at anything he does. He’s the best golfer of all-time, married to a bikini model-turned-nanny, and when he’s not under the glare of television cameras either on course or in a studio filming one of a myriad of commercials, Woods has managed to stay quite private.
The future for Woods will likely be under the glare of photographers hanging out of circling helicopters over his home in the suburb of Isleworth as insinuations that a marital infidelity might have led to the accident. The rumors have generated tons of ink. First it was the Enquirer, then celebrity gossip website TMZ.com. Both floated theories that certainly didn’t follow the innocent car accident theory. They linked Woods to a NY socialite who allegedly had (is having?) an affair with him. The tabloids are saying Woods’ wife Elin, the mother of his two children, had “gone ghetto,” on the golf star, attacking his car with a golf club (hopefully not the putter Woods used to win all 14 majors) and causing the accident.Is that the truth? Who can tell? After all, everyone in this soap opera has now lawyered up “ from Woods, who has hired a noted Orlando criminal attorney, to the hussy in question, who retained a noted L.A.-based lawyer. The police have wanted to speak with Woods since the accident; his handlers turned them away three times before finalizing the matter by saying their client had nothing to say.
