The Tiger Woods scandal: How much do the media really need to know?

Poor Tiger Woods. After carefully controlling his image for nearly 15 years as a international celebrity (he was actually on "The Mike Douglas Show" when he was 2, already showing off his golf swing), Woods probably figured that the media might cut him some slack when it came to explaining -- or actually not explaining -- what happened in the wee hours of Nov. 27 when he crashed his car outside his Florida home.

But the crash, and Woods' inability to provide a logical account of his behavior, unleashed the media dogs from hell. Now, Woods finds himself deep in the rough, with several women having suddenly popped up, eager for their 15 minutes of fame, happy to divulge details of their alleged sexual affairs with the golf legend. (One woman claims to have had a 31-month-long affair with Woods.)

But the most depressing aspect of the whole imbroglio is that Woods still harbors the quaint notion that, having broken no laws, done no physical harm and never uttered a controversial word in his life, he should be allowed some privacy while he mends his fences. As he put it in a statement Wednesday:

I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. ... Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. ... Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions.

Have sadder words ever been said? Because Woods couldn't be more right. He's not a public official nor a high-minded preacher or cable TV public scold. What he does with his private life should be his own (pardon the pun) affair. Sure, he has zillion-dollar endorsement deals from the likes of Nike, but he earned those deals because he's the greatest golfer of his generation, not because he's a paragon of personal virtue. But in today's wildly intrusive media universe, being a winner isn't enough to protect your privacy. 

We are a nation of busybodies, and when a hero or a champion or someone who is perceived as a role model turns out to have feet of clay, we feel a need to know every prurient detail about his or her transgressions, no matter how little they have to do with the hero's public performance. For years, baseball writers have been on a witch hunt against steroid users, heaping scorn and hurling charges against a variety of stars, often on the flimsiest of evidence. But at least you can argue that steroids, as performance-enhancing drugs, are a form of cheating, enabling athletes to achieve goals and win awards they didn't deserve.

But the only cheating Tiger has done is most likely on his wife. He hasn't forsaken his public or disgraced the game of golf. The justification for digging up the dirt on Tiger, according to a sportswriter who was interviewed on NPR on Wednesday, boils down to this: In the media, we are not very good at letting go of a story until there are some clear answers.

Of course, that's not exactly true. The media have let go of stories all the time, from how cooked-up evidence of weapons of mass destruction led to the invasion of Iraq to how, in the midst of a horrible financial meltdown, Wall Street fat cats got bailed out by the government while regular folks got the shaft.

But those are tough stories. The salacious stories that revolve around shameless behavior, whether it's Tiger's transgressions or the "balloon boy" or the brazen White House state dinner gate-crashers, they get the media full-court press, complete with front-page headlines and congressional hearings. 

I suspect that Tiger is undergoing the media's version of the full monty in large part because he's a tabloid virgin. This is his first brush with scandal, the first tarnishing of his image. With rare exception, the more squeaky clean the celebrity, the more vigilant the scrutiny. If Charles Barkley's wife chased him down the driveway with a golf club tomorrow night, no one would bat an eye, since he already has a long string of bad-boy behavior that has lowered our surprise factor. Ditto for Charlie Sheen or Kiefer Sutherland or Michael Vick. But if Derek Jeter or Peyton Manning were nabbed in a drug bust or arrested in a nightclub fight, the media hell hounds would be in full pursuit.

So Tiger has to play the game, the modern-day media kabuki dance of acknowledging his sins, asking for forgiveness and allowing himself to be humbled and cleansed, not by seeking out a spiritual guide, but by going on TV, sitting down with Oprah or Diane Sawyer or Bob Costas and facing the music. We demand public contrition from our heroes. The good news is that Tiger will survive, since as the old Arab parable goes: The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on. There will be a new scandal, a new celebrity in trouble and the media circus will pitch its tents at his door.

No one knows this better than Allan Mayer, a veteran crisis management consultant who's now a principal partner at 42 West. He's the guy who first laid out Rule No. 1 of celebrity scandal problem solving, which holds that if you don't tell your story, chances are that someone will tell it for you -- and you probably won't like how it turns out. Mayer was optimistic about Woods' future, noting that the public views athletes in a different light than movie stars.

"For a movie star to be successful, the public has to love you," he said. "But for an athlete to be successful, they simply have to win. All Tiger has to do is win a few big golf tournaments. If he doesn't play well, the story will probably stay alive, because everyone will be wondering: Why isn't he winning? Are his private issues affecting his performance? But if he starts winning, he'll be fine."

In other words, in America, whether you're playing Pee Wee football in Midland, Texas, or holing a long putt on the 18th hole of the Masters at Augusta, winning cures just about everything.

Photo credit: David Cannon / Getty Images

Comments

[East Cost]

This is by far the best article written on this subject since the thing hit

[Ann]

A fine article and you are absolutely right. Tiger hs said he's sorry for what happened and now he has to continue his career amd keep on winning and sooner or later, the people who live vicariously through celebrities will find another star they can try to destroy. Thank you for your blog.

[Sara]

Nope. Tiger Woods doesn't have to play the game. He can choose not to. And he is. And you and everyone else who has idolized him can choose to disown him as a hero, but that's your choice. I hope Tiger is able to humble himself to the only people who really matter right now: his family. And I hope the public can be humble enough to leave him alone.

[rational human]

Poor Tiger?! You're a moron, the man cheated on his wife - to bad she didn't use a bigger club to beat him with. And he did disgrace the game of golf, golf is a gentleman's game and he is a pig. This isn't his only mistake, it's just the first time he's been caught. He has gotten away with a holier than thou attitude all these years but now the truth comes out.

[tiger tale]

Man, are you missing the story entirely. Tiger is a public person -- that is the deal he made when he sold his name, his image, and his reputation to Nike, Gatorade, Tag Huer, Accenture, American Express and all the rest. What a public person does is of public interest. I'm sure interested. If you're not, that's OK. But don't blame TMZ and Radar for giving me what I want.

I haven't read a single good story about Tiger's troubles in the LA Times, either. Not one.

[betty]

Too bad --- he is still a creep --- for all he has - a beautiful wife/ 2 strong healthy children and all he can do is think about the sleezy whore lurking around every corner --- too bad she didn't whack him over the head! How sleezy !!! He is done in my book!!!!!!!! Once a cheat always a cheat!!!!

[WB]

Tiger, like many regular folks, behaved immorally. Whether you are a celebrity or a member of any community, this type of behavior does, and should, be condemned for many reasons. And the person who commits the acts should begin "acknowledging his sins, asking for forgiveness and allowing himself to be humbled and cleansed." This is how people grow and develop character. This is not a new "game". This is journey we all are on. We fall short in one way or another, hopefully recognize our sins, feel true remorse, and do the hard work that true character requires. Best of luck, Tiger.

[Le Sublime Heretique]

Enough said. Why do we seem to forget the fact that public image is not what made Tiger but his raw talent. And it is only through that talent that corporations sorted after him with millions in endorsement. Even if he does not make enough using his talent. It is obvious that it is only Playing Golf that has gotten him there. So does he really need to apologize to the public? I say no. He owes me nada.
If any corporation has a problem with that, then they should start to draft a contract that clearly outlines the required attributes to have and things that are unacceptable or immoral according to image campaign.
Marketing in this country has gotten way out of hand and started to look like a money laundry scam...

[philosopher]

Tiger is tiger, he has to live with whoever he is. His wife was s housekepper, now she is very rich. The public put these people on such high grounds which they do not deserve. It is what it is.

[SandyC]

What he does with his private life should be his own affair???? That would be true, if Tiger didn't seek out women who's "profession" is to party with celebrities, and have sex with them if they want to. What do you think these women are after? Two things: Money and Fame.

The reason the media is continuing to report on this is that these women are doing what they do -- selling their stories of hooking up with Tiger. So don't scold the public or the media. Tiger bears the responsibility for his stupidity, and for the pain his wife is going through now.