Apparently there has been some news about Tiger Woods in the past 24 hrs? We emerged from our tryptophan coma to find out that Tiger had taken a 2:30am (brief) joy ride in his Escalade into a fire hydrant and neighbors tree.
Not sure about you…but this is actually fairly common behavior at our family holiday gatherings. Just sayin.
That said, you probably have read all the salacious details and speculation about what T-dub may have been up to both in the past day or two and more recently with one Rachel Uchitel.
Suffice to say, the golf blogging community is getting their collective rocks off over the topic, so why should we not join in?
We’re fairly agnostic on the entire subject. If Tiger did in fact fool around on his spouse, then how can anyone be surprised? What pattern of behavior by political leaders, athletes and celebrities, let alone the general public’s behaviors, should lead us to expect more from him than anyone else?
If he didn’t do anything untoward, then a strong response from him to the Enquirer piece should have occurred. It hasn’t.
But Tiger should be thinking about how he tries to start getting his word out on this subject. Old school spindoctors would advise Woods to ‘get control’ of this situation. There is no control in today’s world of Twitter, texting and 24 hour news cycles.
As two guys with 25+ years of professional experience in journalism and communications (including things like crisis communications) we feel like we have a unique point-of-view to add to the current drama around Woods & Co.
If we were asked to counsel Tiger what would we say? Here’s a start:
Get well, but be fast at it: Make sure you’re right in mind & body before making any decisions or speaking publicly. By most accounts Woods’ injuries sound relatively minor. So he’s gotten a bit of a pass during the past 24 hours on no public response. But now the clock is ticking and he needs to get public…quick. He will face mounting pressure from now through Monday (and beyond) to speak publicly on what happened.
First, kill all the lawyers (ok don’t kill, but hem them in): So many people in a public position revert to the law when in trouble. “I can’t answer that on the advise of counsel,” or “My attorney will now read a prepared statement,” or “Please refer all calls to the law offices of Dewey, Cheatum & Howe…”. Not good responses in the court of public opinion. Woods has now involved the law via his accident. He needs to make sure he’s listening to his legal counsel as a result, but he would be mistaken to have one of the least trusted professions (along with politicians and used car salesmen) be the voice for his story in the next 24-72 hours.
Be honest & prioritize: Admittedly it’s easy to say ‘be honest’. But that’s only part of it. Right now there are two brewing issues that are separate but linked (or are they?). Did Tiger fool around with Uchitel and what were the circumstances around his accident? Everyone is speculating that Uchitel = car crash. Because of this, Woods needs to prioritize and focus on getting the details out around the accident. It is something that has happened in an undeniable way. If he was making a run for a late night pint of Ben & Jerry’s then get that word out. If something else then he needs to determine what is the right level of transparency and where he draws the line around ‘this is family business’.
Wrap it up: Once the accident business is resolved, Woods may have bought himself some time, but he ultimately will need to respond to the speculation that he has cheated on his spouse. Does he need to do the Barbara Walters tearfest? Probably not. But Woods needs to close the chapter by personally saying ‘ain’t true’ or ‘…is true and we’re dealing with it as a family…’ or ‘…is partly true but here’s what isn’t…’ and then say he is done w/the subject. Of course no one else will be done, but if he’s said all he has to say on it and has some measure of credibilty and transparency to it, then he can at least deflect further questions to what he has said.
If nothing else it will be interesting to see how camp Woods deals with their first full-blown crisis. Thus far, they seem to be stumbling a bit a lot, but with Woods resources he should get the right minds in the room and get back to doing what he does best soon enough. Or not.
Hack is a pen name for a marketing and media relations professional who enjoys blogging as a means to pursue his passion for his favorite sport – golf. He represents the yin to his collaborator’s yang. He doesn’t so much play golf, as the game plays him to his delight and likely demise. Follow his perspective on Twitter at @
Since I’m only getting my “facts” from multiple news sources I can’t say I know anything about the story, but I do know things about common sense and physics and I’d like to point out some issues with the “facts”. Why? We had a lot of twitter users telling us we couldn’t say things about Tiger because “he’s done so much for golf”. When people tell me I’m not allowed to question the status quo, I dig my heels in.
Attention to details has been diverted with the speculation of an affair (how childish)and adding story details like, Tiger’s wife used a golf club to break the window of the SUV. How appropriate. A dumb detail of the story but we’ll all remember it because it will be repeated 1000 times at the water cooler. It distracts people from asking questions like:
1. Knocked unconscious when vehicle sustained $5000-$8000 damage (Cadillac Esca)? Does Tiger have a glass jaw? C’mon… Look at the stats and costs of a collision at 3MPH for some vehicles. We’re talking about an expensive vehicle here.
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2007/03/fender-benders-cost-estimates-unless.html
2.His wife broke out the window with a golf club (add spice to the story) and pulled him out of the SUV. I’d like to see that. Pull a 180 lb dead weight from the front seat, to the outside of the vehicle. How often do you see “super models” moving around kegs of beer? I’m not saying it’s impossible, I’d just like to see her do it again.
Tiger is a cash machine that multinationals have invested heavily. It is in their best interest to protect him and his image. Nothing wrong with that, but just shows what money can buy.
Who’s invested with Tiger? http://web.tigerwoods.com/sponsors/sponsors
• CBS reported a 48% drop in ratings for its coverage of last summer’s AT&T National, an event that Woods normally hosts and plays in.
• ABC reported a 14.6% drop in its ratings for the 2008 British Open despite Greg Norman’s unexpected lead going into the final day of the tournament.
• Woods has been credited for helping to make Nike Golf one of the leading golf apparel and equipment companies in the world, with an estimated $600 million in sales.
• Ticket sales for WGC-Accenture Match Play were down $400,000 from last year before Woods made his comeback announcement.
The true story isn’t about the crash, or speculated affair. It’s about how people with money can spin ANY story so we don’t ask questions. In this age of papparazzi, internet, twitter and journalists paying police for information, how is it that it took 12 hrs for a story to break. That is a flex of power.
I’m here to thank Niceballz for providing me with my soap box and writing a good story and seeing through some bullshit. If I was American, I’d be from Missouri.
Tiger Woods has typically been very swift to defend his wife, Elin Nordegren, in the past. At the Ryder Cup in Ireland he called out the media — specifically an Irish newspaper, The Dubliner — for publishing nude photos supposedly depicting Nordegren topless. However, the photos were not of her and she won a libel lawsuit against the publication. The point is that despite his penchant for privacy (it is also the name of his yacht), I expect that Woods would defend his wife ASAP based on past experience — unless there really is something more to all of this speculation, and maybe even then.
However, Woods generally only addresses the media in the context of golf, to the disappointment of some followers who would like him to take a political stand. But, he has addressed his health and some personal issues like the death of his dad and fatherhood during golf tournament press conferences in the past. The Chevron World Challenge, where Woods is the host and four-time champion, begins Thursday. His Tiger Woods Foundation is the charity beneficiary. Provided he is healthy, Woods is likely to address the media on Tuesday or Wednesday in his role as tournament host even if he cannot or does not play. Whether he addresses his crash and rumors of infidelity next week will hopefully help us separate fact from fiction, and may give us a glimpse into how he plans to handle this and other issues the rest of his career.
My only real question for Team Tiger would be this: If there’s nothing to hide, then why not talk to the cops & then make sure both stories are treated separately and minimized? First, by turning the FHP away not once, but twice, you have poured gasoline on to a situation that seemingly should have been handled in less than an hour. Yet now the speculation has run rampant & you come across as someone who thinks of themselves as above the law. Tiger has allowed the lines to be blurred between what could have been spun as a tabloid hack job & a minor accident. Now it has essentially evolved into a story that is one in the same. That was a colossal error in judgement that in my estimation will cost Tiger one way or the other.
Sorry WW, but your POV is far too rational and sound for this blog.
…when will people stop expecting Tiger to do what simply makes common sense? Don’t they know he’s super-duper awesome at golf?
Far be it from me to argue with the Holy Trinity (Hack, GolfWriterGuy & 33%God) BUT….
- Who confirmed that the speed has gone from an estimated “under 35mph” to a definite “3mph”?
- Wouldn’t you smash the rear window to break the central locking system rather than a window near to the driver?
- Who says he was unconcious when he was helped from the car?
- Was he definitely EVER unconcious? (Neighbour too far away to be sure?)
- Who confirmed that she pulled him out the rear window?
Seems plausible to me that she helped him out of the (now unlocked) – driver’s door and then he semi-collapsed on the pavement from shock/disorientation (probably just trying to milk the situation – men, eh?).
For the record I’m the idiot who pressed on the accelerator thinking I was in reverse gear(manual car, obviously)and smashed into my husband’s car in our own drive. I have also occasionally wanted to take a niblick to him – the one kept handily in the front porch:-)