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Where’s my apology, Tiger?
Last Friday, Tiger Woods faced the nation and apologized for his recent unfaithful actions.
If you saw or heard the address, you may have noticed that Woods apologized to nearly everyone from his wife to the guy who washes his red Sunday shirts.
He was throwing out one “I’m sorry” after another, perhaps one for every mistress, as if he knew class-skipping college kids may be using it for a drinking game. Over and over again he apologized, but I personally didn’t get it.
Yeah, he screwed up. His actions brought upon his family a host of problems and new nuisances. He destroyed his image and jeopardized his close relationships, but what did he do to you?
What did he do to anyone aside from his wife, kids, family and friends?
Was he in a relationship with you? I guess it’s possible, but probably not. Did he sleep with someone you know? For the slim majority of Americans, that’s a “no” as well.
Tiger’s infidelity didn’t take money out of your wallet. It didn’t make your life more difficult. His actions only affected a small group of people, so why was he delivering a mass apology?
Golf fan or not, what sort of person’s life is in disarray until Tiger Woods apologizes for being a jerk? I know there probably are people like that, as I can recall the numerous suicides immediately following Michael Jackson’s death. Considering how extreme fans can be, surely there were some who legitimately felt they were owed an apology. Well those who did got what they wanted, but in my opinion, Tiger shouldn’t have given those hardcore fans or the rest of the world any sort of apology.
Even if I was a crazed Woods fan, the type to follow him on tour and buy his unwashed clothes on eBay, I wouldn’t expect Woods to tell me he’s sorry, assuming I could think rationally.
I don’t think anyone’s disagreeing that what he did was despicable, but it was his decision to make. Private behavior shouldn’t require public apologies unless a crime’s committed. Yes, he defined the word “sleaze,” but he never promised the world he wouldn’t, either.
So why was he basically forced to make a public apology for personal wrongdoings that, face it, aren’t really uncommon? Why does being a celebrity mean that we’re owed an “I’m sorry” for every major screw up? No one wants a stranger to approach them with “I just want you to know, I cheated on my wife, and I’m sorry I let you down.” We don’t need to hear it from Tiger, either.
Anyone saying we should expect more from Woods and other celebrities because of their status is farther removed from reality than Dennis Franz is from People’s title of “Sexiest Man Alive.” We should expect celebs to behave like middle schoolers with money. Maybe worse.
Come on. Tiger wasn’t really sorry, at least not when he said it to us. That was evident from the Charles Barkley-like acting when he said “I’m sorry.” It probably even said “Close eyes, lower head and sigh” in his script. It looked that forced, but it doesn’t matter if he meant it or not, because we didn’t really need an apology from him anyways.
I don’t think of Tiger any differently after his press conference last week. If anything, the “sorry” session left me feeling a little slighted. He apologized to his family, friends, fans and employees, but he didn’t specifically address non-fans and people who don’t give two putts about him. I have to listen to all this Tiger talk just like everyone else, so it would have been nice for my category to be included, too. Screw the screwing around. He let me down by leaving me out.
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