By TheMooreAmerican.com
The work production in America took a dip for 13 minutes around 10 a.m. Friday. From the moment Tiger Woods stepped to the podium to give his first televised remarks since his car accident Thanksgiving, it seemed the entire country was glued to their television, radios or live Internet feeds.
For almost a quarter of an hour, Woods read a prepared statement whose topics ranged from apologizing to his family, friends and business partners to ripping the media for making spousal abuse accusations about his wife, Elin.
“I want to say to each of you, simply, and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in,” Woods said. “I know people want to find out how I could be so selfish and so foolish. People want to know how I could have done these things to my wife, Elan, and to my children. And while I have always tried to be a private person, there are some things I want to say.”
The entire proceeding was carried on all three major networks. Four ESPN channels, the Golf Channel, the Spanish channel, Headline News, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News also broadcasted Wood’s remarks.
Besides Woods, it’s hard to imagine any other person on the face of the earth who could command such rapt attention. If the president, the Dali Lama or the Pope admitted to a sexual addiction, the same coverage and more would take place. But no other athlete, movie star, politician, head of state or CEO could come close.
Wood’s iconic status was only part of the reason for such interest in his press conference. The biggest reason is we like to revel in dirt. It’s a national pastime. And for some people it gets no dirtier than Woods admitting to indulging in as may as 14 extra-marital affairs with various women across the country. The uproar of the scandal made it impossible for most to ignore.
From the day the affairs started to come to light, people started demanding that Woods publicly apologize, as if he owed them something. As if his personal life somehow affected the recession, lack of health care, global warming and high crime and he had to make amends to the world for it.
We tend to do this a lot. We want people to bear their soul, prove they are sorry for whatever they have done and promise never to do it again. If they shed a tear or two and breakdown emotionally, all the better.
This has become the norm. From Jimmy Swaggart to Gary Hart, public figures must pay penitence by standing in front of the nation and beg for forgiveness. Woods is the latest to fall in line.
“I am also aware of the pain my behavior has caused to those of you in this room,” Woods said. “I have let you down. I have let down my fans. For many of you, especially my friends, my behavior has been a personal disappointment. To those of you who work for me, I have let you down, personally and professionally. My behavior has caused considerable worry to my business partners… I am embarrassed that I have put you in this position. For all that I have done, I am so sorry. I have a lot to atone for.”
While I do not condone Wood’s transgressions, I wish he would not have showed up Friday. In a perfect world, he could deal with his family and friends in private, then show back up to work and only get questions about his golf game.
But that is not the world we live. The unwritten rules state that once you enter the public domain on purpose or by accident, you now belong to the world. You no longer have a private life and all of your actions must be accounted for.
“I knew my actions were wrong,” Woods said. “But I convinced myself that normal rules didn’t apply. I never thought about who I was hurting. Instead, I thought only about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries that a married couple should live by. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn’t have far — didn’t have to go far to find them.”
Woods tried his best to control the situation by taking no questions and filling the rooming with his own people and very few media, which angered few self riotous people. But even then he knew he had to pour his dirt out there for everyone to roll around in. And for 13 minutes Friday, that’s what we did.
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