Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 518 of 1503)

Seeing as how it was going to be on his terms, the Golf Writers Association of America decided to boycott Tiger Woods’ public appearance on Friday.

From Golf.com:

The reasons for the boycott were two-fold. First, the insistence by Woods and his handlers to limit media access to a pool of reporters. Second, Woods’s decision not to field any questions. But there were also deeper feelings in play, and complicated ones, too. This is an association filled with members who had covered Woods, by almost all counts, fairly and with respect, chronicling his golfing feats even as he bristled at times at his media obligations.

The Woods story has gone everywhere and nowhere in the last three months, and it is impossible to know how the story will end. Eventually, the GWAA will be back behind the scenes, where it has been for much of its 64 years of existence, as an organization whose original goals included “an improvement in press facilities” and “interviews with players.”

That’s all the GWAA wanted Friday, an interview with Tiger Woods. He won’t give it. So the GWAA won’t be there.

I’ve never been to a golf event as a media member, so I don’t know what it’s like to try and track Tiger down to do an interview. But I can only imagine how much of a pain he could be when it comes to being accessible to the media so I’m all for the boycott. If he was crass and cold to a group that helped make him one of the most popular athletes in the U.S., then he deserves to be shunned when he embarrasses himself and then wants to establish the rules for making a public appearance.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ve stated several times on this site that Tiger doesn’t owe the media or us anything. But I see the GWAA’s point here. They’ve played by his rules for a long time and even when he’s entrenched in an embarrassing scandal, he still wants everything to be on his terms. I don’t blame the GWAA for thinking, “You don’t control the situation any more, Tiger.”

Of course, as soon as he takes his first steps back into golf, the media will be there just as they always have. He’s arguably the most recognizable athlete in America and this little boycott by the GWAA won’t go any further than today. But I like the fact that at least a small media contingent told him to shove it, much like I’m sure he’s done to them over the years.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Tiger Woods is deeply sorry for the “selfish behavior” he engaged in that brought upon a shocking sex scandal that has consumed his life since Thanksgiving. He also has no idea when he’ll return to golf, although he’s not ruling out that it’ll be sometime this year.

In his first public appearance in nearly three months, Woods addressed a small media contingent on Friday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and said he was deeply sorry for his behavior. He spoke for nearly 15 minutes and admitted that, “I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to” and how, “I felt entitled.” He also said that he was going back to rehab next week and therefore there was no timetable for his return to golf.

You could tell that Woods was genuine in his apology and he wasn’t just skating through a forced statement. I give him credit for speaking publicly because quite frankly, he doesn’t owe us anything even though some people feel otherwise. This is a private matter and just because he sells himself through endorsements, doesn’t mean we’re entitled to what he does behind closed doors. Did he screw up? Yeah, he did. But he’s obviously paying for it and he’s trying to take the steps necessary to ensure that he doesn’t make these mistakes again.

I also think it’s smart that he didn’t announce when he’d return to the links. He’s heading back to rehab next week and who knows how long that will take. It doesn’t make sense for him to rush through rehab and return to golf before he’s received help for dealing with the issues that got him into this situation in the first place. He should return when it’s the right time, whenever that may be.

There were no new or shocking revelations today. Anyone who thought that he would stand in front of a podium and either admit to or refute the allegations that have been made public is delusional. True, many people thought he would announce his return to golf but he didn’t, so let’s move on for the time being.

Photo from fOTOGLIF