[jbcole]

Golf is a gentleman's game, being the only game in which one is required to call a penalty on himself. The "First Tee" program teaches youngsters not only to play the game, but to have pride in themselves and responsibility for their actions. It teaches them, most importantly, that integrity matters. Tiger Woods has shown the world that he has no integrity. Though he can probably not be banned from participating, he has certainly damaged the image of the world's greatest game. I would call on all other PGA players, who really care about the game of golf and all that it represents, to refuse to play in any tournament with Tiger Woods, or at the very least to refuse to be paired with him. He is a true embarrassment, and has done as much to damage the game of golf as he previously did to help it.

[cn-thekell]

is this a case of "greatest strength = greatest weakness"? tiger sounds like he's got a case of hyper-focusing a.d.d., like michael phelps.

woods could become a poster boy for radical honesty & dealing with mental/emotional issues. or he could remain in hiding, sucking the pga into his skanky abyss.

[mt_guy]

Keeping adultery 'private' doesn't shield others from harm even when they don't find out about it.

In Tiger's case, his 'transgressions' are going to hurt lots and lots of people for whom he's been very good - all those members of the PGA Tour, those golf course owners who've seen memberships and paid rounds increase due to Tiger's making golf more popular, those event sponsors in cities where Tiger WAS going to play in 2010, etc.

It's worse for his family. You can't ever really replace your real father and your husband you loved first. Those people will never be the same as they were before.

Way to go, Tiger. Why don't you go take a swim in your cold hard cash and cool off.

[msay3]

Another clay-footed idol in the long list of many......Seems like lately, the squeakier-clean the image, the dirtier the personal cess-pool becomes.

[mountainstates1]

If commercial companies like NIKE still pay that monster Michael Vick for endorsements after he tortured to death dozens of dogs for his sick, twisted fun, they sure aren't going to back away from Tiger Woods just because he sleeps around.

[T_Sip]

Tiger is to golfing like Ali was to boxing. They put their names and sport on the world map and for Tiger to destroy thoses images is downright disgraceful, all because he can't keep his pants zipped.

[mikeg490]

Tiger is getting exactly what he deserves-he is a great golfer but a dipsh*t on the course. I can't wait for the gallery to yell some witty rejoinders when he hits his next golf ball.

As far as the news media goes there is no news media. The NY Times humped the Iraq war for two years until we went in and it went south. They predictably morphed into this anti-war crusader rag. I think CBS was right with them. It's all BS.

[ccoates77]

Tiger has done amazing things to date both as a person and as a golfer. These accomplishments are attributed at least in part to his strong family upbringing and especially to his father?s love and commitment to him growing up.

So how does he do this...how does he do this to his kids and wife of only 5 years? I am perplexed and so disappointed in Tiger. He was one of the few real role models left out there. Now no longer!

I am disgusted with him and maybe it?s not fair but I will boycott every product and company that he endorses. That's the only way I can show my disgust.

Lastly because golf is about much more than just a game, it?s about honesty, integrity, etc. Let?s be careful to never put Tiger in the same sentence with Arnie or Jack?ever. I am so disappointed!

[msay3]

I'm sure his father is turning over in his grave....Fame and fortune are the basic building blocks for dishonor, it seems....Not in every situation, but for most....Just read the headlines...Fame, fortune, power....Next chapter, it all goes to the head...What emerges is a selfish, self-indulged destructive S0B who doesn't think twice about the destruction of lives as long as he fulfills his own selfish, primal, inconsiderate desires.....Did he ever stop to think about what this would do to his children?? A big resounding NO!!!!!!!
The best justice for this kind of behavior is CASTRATION !!!!!!!!

[WalterLII]

I have to question the statistics in the piece. I don't doubt they are true, just that they have been chosen so as to make Tiger Woods's draw bigger than it is. It is big, no doubt, but he PGA Championship 2008 was a rain-delayed mess, with the leaders not even getting on the course Saturday. Another stat seemed to compare Tiger Woods's events to all PGA events. Many PGA events have few big names at all; it's not just Woods who skips them. And finally, were those stats year-over-year, or comparisons from a Tiger Woods-attended event to the prior week. Tiger Woods' participation increases interest, to be sure, but the stats offered in this piece must be taken with a huge grain of salt.

[Sophie963]

What direct impact has Tiger Woods?s actions had on your life? The answer for the vast majority of us is - absolutely none! And given that the answer is none, the yardstick of whether an individual?s private behavior is going to positively or negatively impact our own life, or society as a whole, should serve as a standard by which we measure the necessity of violating someone?s inalienable right to privacy. Nowhere is it written that an individual?s choice of profession, for certain as an athlete, deprives him of his constitutionally-protected rights.

More importantly, what is the true measure of a society that can show no worthwhile sincere interest in the physical well-being of a human being found lying in the street unconscious and bleeding? What is the true measure of a society that cannot empathize with the emotional pain a celebrity?s mother, wife, child, and other family members are experiencing and ask themselves how would they feel if the indiscretions of someone they love were being feverishly regurgitated by their neighbors and co-workers, or a gossip-hungry media? The continued inability to place ourselves in the shoes of others is especially disturbing given the purported facts that led to the recent Steve McNair tragedy. Even if the mean-spirited innuendos and speculations regarding what exactly happened the night of Woods?s car accident and his purported marital indiscretions are not far-fetched, is it the media?s and society?s intent to drive an emotionally distraught wife to fatally harming herself, her husband, and/or other members of her family?

The incessant obsession with the private details of Woods?s life is sorely reflective of what a malicious, callous, and envious society we have digressed into that can only make our individual selves feel better by disparaging and tearing down others. The media?s relentless focus on the private lives of celebrities is also indicative of the sad state of journalism, including the so-called proper media, and its insistence on appealing to the worst in people to improve viewership and readership instead of deploying some respectable investigative skills and responsibly reporting on those social concerns which directly impact society as a whole.

Attempting to justify the media?s repeated violations of privacy with the insistence that professional athletes are role models is also an extremely weak and self-serving retort. Athletes and other celebrities are not, and should not be, responsible for setting the proper example for your child. You, the parent, and the individuals that are actively involved in the day-to-day care of your child bear the foremost responsibility for setting a proper example for your child. Yet, far less scrutiny and press coverage is given to the parents, teachers, clergy, etc. who are daily abusing children entrusted to their care despite the fact that child abuse has become a national epidemic.

As further food for thought, if an individual does not have the social accountability to stop buying Nike products because of the company?s purported reliance upon child labor, as well as accusations of forced labor, then for certain nothing Woods is currently being maligned for is going to stop that person from buying Nike products. And truth be told, consuming products simply because a famous face is being paid to market the product is enormously naïve and imprudent.

Lastly, many of our own co-workers, as well as the executives responsible for the day-to-day operations of our employer, regularly commit the same indiscretions being attributed to Woods, as well as very harmful financial indiscretions. Yet, not only do we as an employee never demand to be apprised of a co-worker?s or executive?s private indiscretions, but the potential financial ramifications of an executive?s indiscretions is likely to have a far more significant impact on our individual lives than anything Woods has ever done.

Perhaps the true hypocrisy of it all is that numerous members of the press who insists on inundating us with incessant gossip about the personal indiscretions of others are likely guilty of the very same indiscretions. What is the likelihood that members of the mass media, who largely shape our views regarding various issues, are themselves cheating on their spouses; verbally, emotionally, and physically abusing their family members; indulging in the use of illegal drugs; and/or not paying their taxes, as well as committing several other transgressions they relentlessly flog others for while keeping the intimate details of their own lives secretly tucked away?

Indeed, let s/he without sin cast the first stone; and do unto others as you would have them do unto you because with each and every violation of another individual?s protected rights, we are eroding our own personal right to such protections.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Plea-For-Quality-Journal-by-Sophia-Eralich-091206-705.html

[WalterLII]

Spare me the melodrama. First off, what Tiger is going through is not even on the scale of tragedy of something like the Virginia Tech shooting, which was covered 24/7 on live television. Stop trying to make this into something it's not.

When Tiger gets good publicity and profits to the tune of hundred of millions in endorsements, that's fine, but when he's shown to be a phony, we should just ignore it? Move along, nothing to see here...

People follow this storyline for the same reason they watch television sitcoms or anything else: it's funny and amusing! People enjoy having a laugh at someone else's expense. There is even a word for it: schadenfreude.

By the way, good luck with your attempts to control other humans' thoughts. If you are successful, be sure to tell Bill Clinton. I'm sure he'd like people to forget a couple of episodes from his life.