So the hub bub continues about Tiger Woods and his “image.” Last night, they even aired a special interview with Tiger – his first on camera appearance since the scripted statement in February in front of a select group of friends. I didn’t see, but I have read several recaps about said interview. Which, I might add, was only 5 minutes and he stood up the entire time. (Nothing says comfort like standing up talking instead of sitting down on a nice comfy couch.)
Interesting timing, don’t you think? His interviews were perfectly timed with the health care reform vote—something the majority of Americans was glued to. Gotta believe that timing was intentional. (Somehow, I think more people would have watched Tiger’s interview had it not been the same time as the most historic health care reform vote ever.)
Even Ari Fleischer didn’t want to work with him anymore. And who can blame him, really? An email from Fleischer to several news outlets today confirmed he is no longer working with Woods. Hmmm, does Tiger think he is out of the woods? Does he think his latest interview with ESPN and the Golf Channel has helped him so much he doesn’t need PR representation?
I found the transcript for the interview, and noticed a few interesting parts. And in Ray of Sunshine fashion, I thought I would break it down for you…(note: Rinaldi is the ESPN interviewer.)
Rinaldi: For a lot of people, the spark of those bad things is Nov. 27. Early that day, what happened?
Woods: Well, it's all in the police report. Beyond that, everything's between Elin and myself and that's private.
Rinaldi: Why did you lose control of the car?
Woods: As I said ... that's between Elin and myself.
Rinaldi: If it's a private matter, why issue a public apology?
Woods: Well, I owe a lot of people an apology. I hurt a lot of people. Not just my wife. My friends, my colleagues, the public, kids who looked up to me. There were a lot of people that thought I was a different person and my actions were not according to that. That's why I had to apologize. I was so sorry for what I had done.
PR translation: I HAD to publicly apologize. I could never return and make oodles of money at golf unless I said I was sorry. Plus, I’ve always had great PR representation who succeeded at making the world believe I was a good person. Life was a lot more fun then.
Rinaldi: You said you were in treatment. The simple question is, for what?
Woods: That's a private matter as well. But I can tell you what, it was tough, it was really tough to look at yourself in a light that you never want to look at yourself, that's pretty brutal.
PR translation: I got caught and had to go. Rehab is the “in” thing to do these days. Look at Britney.
Rinaldi: What'd you see?
Woods: I saw a person that I never thought I would ever become.
Rinaldi: Who was that?
Woods: Well, I had gotten away from my core values as I said earlier. I'd gotten away from my Buddhism. And I quit meditating. I quit doing all the things that my mom and dad had taught me. And as I said earlier in my statement, I felt entitled, and that is not how I was raised.
PR translation: I saw a person my mother was ashamed of.
Rinaldi: Why not seek treatment before all of this came out?
Woods: Well, I didn't know I was that bad. I didn't know that I was that bad.
Rinaldi: How did you learn that? How did you learn it?
Woods: Stripping away denial, rationalization. You strip all that away and you find the truth.
PR translation: I learned it by stripping away stuff. After all, strippers helped me become the man I saw, so I thought stripping away at denial would help me find the truth. Trust me, stripping away clothes with strippers was MUCH easier.
And to be fair to Tiger Woods, he did admit he was wrong and hurt a lot of people. He also apologized to his wife, mom, family and fans.
Rinaldi: I ask this question respectfully, but of course at a distance from your family life. When you look at it now, why did you get married?
Woods: Why? Because I loved her. I loved Elin with everything I have. And that's something that makes me feel even worse, that I did this to someone I loved that much.
Rinaldi: How do you reconcile what you've done with that love?
Woods: We work at it.
PR translation: I’ve been with so many women now, no one else will touch me, so I’ve got to convince her to stay. And, she is beautiful.
I hope to not write about Tiger Woods anymore, but when he opens the door, I have to go in (figuratively speaking, of course.) I wouldn’t touch him with a 25-foot pole.
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