Chin Music | Jason Biondo
Let Tiger Out of the Woods
(Feb. 24, 2010) This will be the last time I write about Tiger Woods.
That is, until he is again the focus of ESPN and not the E! Network. When the greatest golfer on the planet resumes his purpose as an athlete and passes the tabloid torch to the next inevitable poor fool.
Like millions of others, I tuned in to Tiger's public statement as it happened live on Friday. But my setting was unlike 
anyone else's, and, in retrospect, it was an appropriate parallel to the man on the screen. Beyond the confines of the historic building, an immaculate blanket of snow clung to the contours of the fairways at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton. Even in its dormant state, void of a glimpse of any of its sprawling greens, the ancient American links course maintains a regal sense of dignity.
Somehow, beneath the layers of what this winter has brought upon Tiger Woods, I saw the same traces of something strong and unwavering in the man.
The sports and entertainment worlds had begun to dissect his speech before it was ever delivered. Initially, Woods was ripped by the media, because he handpicked which reporters were allowed into the room. Furthermore, it was made clear that there would be no question-and-answer period at the conclusion of his words. He would say what he had to say, and he would leave. As it has been throughout his blessed life, the day would be completely on Tiger's terms.
Initially, I too resented this bulletproof public relations stunt. But somewhere along the way, I witnessed a sports miracle.
Tiger Woods, a premier professional athlete, owned up to his wrongdoings by holding himself unconditionally and solely responsible for his actions. He then apologized. Not a rehearsed, "I'm sorry" through awkward, forced man-tears, but a direct and honest apology . . . to his family . . . to his friends . . . and to his fans.
Can I get an Amen?
We live in a time when sport heroes barely have a moment to relish in their glory before shame and scandal belittle their athletic accomplishments and reveal a seedy and suspect underbelly of the very components that we thought made them great.
Performance-enhancing drugs have made a mockery of baseball, leaving a scar so deep we must learn to live with it and move on. The players from the steroid era are being exposed like frightened bugs hiding under the last log in the forest. And when they are forced in front of a camera and a microphone to explain themselves, we the public are rewarded with hollow excuses and half-apologies. Even though their actions directly affected the sport that they played, we digest their insincerities as remorse. We are fools to accept such insulting acts of unaccountability.
Yet here stood Tiger Woods, with the world watching, apologizing not for something he did to besmirch his sport while playing it, but rather how he dishonored the game from his actions off the golf course. Interesting. It reminds me of an anecdote my Sicilian grandfather used to tell. It was very wise. It went something like, "That's none of your god-damned business."
Tiger Woods didn't have to apologize for being a bad (okay . . . the worst) husband ever. At least not to the public. Maybe 1 percent of the people who tuned into Tiger on Friday have a relationship with him that goes beyond him being awesome and you being awed. To those who know him beyond that, an apology was certainly necessary. For the rest of us, consider yourselves lucky to be noticed.
Don't join the emerging bandwagon of Tiger tamers who can be seen charging down morality lane, carrying signs with tired and unoriginal regurgitations like "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" and "Only Time Will Tell." For those who feel that Tiger Woods has hurt you personally, please get a grip. Your inflated sense of self-worth is eclipsed only by your delusion that you have a connection with a famous stranger. Exhibit some integrity on your own behalf, and admit that all you want to see is Tiger back on the golf course.
The man said all that he had to say and more. Be satisfied, America.