The Tiger Woods Dilemma

 The Tiger Woods Dilemma

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The Masters weekend is almost a holy weekend to golf fans, specifically those of us from Georgia. In most years, it often ends up on an actual holy weekend with Easter in the Spring. This year is different, and while it is exciting to watch both the Masters and football on the same weekend, I hope we can all get back to more normal traditions in the upcoming year. But despite the uniqueness of this year’s tournament, there is a constant that remains: the excitement for Tiger Woods.

There’s something about Tiger playing well that gets any golf fan hanging on to every swing. Maybe it’s the fact that he changed the sport forever as a young fitness-focused golfer. Maybe it’s the Georgia bias in me when he wears red and black on Sundays. Maybe it’s the barrier that was broken as he crashed the party of a relatively pale community. Whatever it is, it’s hard to argue that he isn’t one of the most exciting athletes to watch, even while playing one of the least exciting sports to watch. But every time I start to cheer for him, I catch myself and remember that maybe he is not worth rooting for.

I will start this by saying Tiger Woods’ personal issues are widely under-detailed, and in some cases we do not know the entire situation. That being said, Tiger’s personal life makes it really hard for me to cheer for him. He certainly isn’t the only athlete, and in many ways he is far from the worst offender, but Tiger has done some things that bring his character into question that will likely always overshadow his success on the course for me.

Infidelity is a hard thing to be cool with. When you have a family, that is your priority. Infidelity threatens the cohesion and integrity of a family and, if children are involved, their lives will never be the same. It’s one thing for someone to be in an abusive relationship and want out, either physically or mentally, and those folks need support. But assuming that wasn’t the case in Tiger’s marriage, flying around to hook up with porn stars and strippers is a real poor decision. More recently, Tiger was cited for operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Based on multiple accounts, the majority of his impairment came from a combination of limited alcohol and some unique medications, so I wouldn’t put this incident at the same level as your typical DUI/DWI. Regardless, his actions were reckless and irresponsible and once again his character came under fire. Maybe if this unfortunate driving incident was the only offense, I wouldn’t think much about it, but compound that incident with the significant infidelity and I cannot consciously be a fan.

To Tiger’s credit, he has put an enormous amount of effort and money into a variety of charities and foundations. Just this summer he teamed up with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Phil Mickelson to raise $20 million for COVID relief. By themselves, Tiger’s community works are exactly what I want to see from successful athletes off the field. These efforts help his case, and maybe a continued pattern of service will ultimately change my mind, but it’ll take a while for me to get there. 

Tiger Woods is probably the most notable situation regarding questionable off the field character, simply because of his excessive level of fame, but he isn’t the only one and other athletes have done a lot worse. For example, professional athletes are cited for domestic violence and sexual assault at an absolutely pathetic rate, and I would personally list those above Tiger’s actions in the “things scumbags do” category. But all these situations really invite the question of whether athletes should be viewed as role models or not. 

We have been and always will be consistent at Odin Development with our answer; athletes can and do serve as outstanding role models. There are so many young folks around the world who view athletes as their role models, or even their idols. While I think parents, siblings, and friends provide a better pool for role models, partly because of simply proximity and accessibility purposes, many kids don’t have those people in their lives, so athletes can help fill those voids. Understanding this, athletes should embrace this role and act accordingly, both on and off the field. Especially with modern technology and constant video capability, it’s nearly impossible to hide from the public, so as athletes go about their every day lives they should know young men and women are watching, learning, and replicated everything they do. Now these athletes don’t HAVE to change anything; if they want to lie, cheat, and have questionable character that is their decision to make. But as a society, we need to be mindful how we admire athletes who make poor personal decisions, and keep an eye on our kids who want to be just like them.