Woods owes the public no apology

By Matt Vachlon

At the end of the day it really only matters what Elin Nordegren thinks.

Whether or not the number of women Tiger Woods has had an affair with reaches 100 or had stopped at one, I stand by this statement. So no matter what Woods says in his much publicized apology Friday, you really shouldn’t take much notice. It’s just not that important.

Simply put, just because the 24-hour news cycle reports something, that doesn’t make it automatically pertinent to our lives. We’ve reached a point where we really need to start thinking for ourselves when it comes to these things.

Now before you jump on me for being a womanizer or someone who doesn’t support the sanctity of marriage, let me clarify. From a moral standpoint I find Woods’ infidelity utterly reprehensible. In fact, the number of women coming forward has already reached a point that is so high in my mind that I’m pretty much numb to it now. And I know that I would personally never dream of cheating on my girlfriend/wife.

But that doesn’t mean that what he has done has affected me in any way. And it shouldn’t for you either.

For starters, can you honestly say that your being a fan of Tiger Woods stems from his being married and having children? After all, he’s been a pro since 1996, won his first of 14 majors in 1997 and it wasn’t until 2004 that he was married and 2007 when his first child was born. So unless you’re somehow related to Elin, or are Jesper Parnevik, sorry, that argument doesn’t fly.

Additionally, does what Tiger did really impact your enjoyment of the game of golf? I agree that he has certainly given himself, and to a certain extent the PGA, a black eye in terms of harming his image and losing endorsements, but most of that image was built on winning golf tournaments. It’s not as if Woods was caught taking steroids or other performance enhancing drugs or doing anything else that would compromise his legacy relative to the sport. Regardless of how this apology goes, he will still be four behind Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles heading into his next major.

I also never really expected an apology. As an adult, it would be naïve of me to assume that any athlete is the perfect role model that he or she make themselves out to be. All I have to do is think back to some of my teammates in high school and I know not everyone is a standup individual.

And please don’t tell me that children who look up to him are victims here either. That’s where parents come in, to provide proper perspective. After all, a young aspiring golfer only needs to adopt Woods’ work ethic, not his personality.

Who knows what Woods will ultimately say Friday. But I advise you to save yourself the trouble of worrying because what you think is the least of Tiger’s worries. Ask Elin.