Tiger Woods Latest: Why Reporting of a New Woman Shows the “Tick Press” Faction – and America – at Its Worst
December 2, 2009 by dwil
To editorialize, I hate TMZ, People Magazine, the National Enquirer, US Weekly, and any other base, classless, piece of turd magazine that makes its money off of “dishing the dirt” on “celebrities.” I do not mean “hate on,” I mean, I despise of them, the people who work for them and the company-corporate – and more – interests behind them. And I hate all the sports websites or blogs that seek to emulate that garbage.
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Tiger’s statement:
“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart,” Woods said on his Web site. “I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.
“Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.
“But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don’t share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.
“Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it’s difficult.
“I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.”
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It is easy to understand the infatuation with, and “reporting” of movie industry folks who “need” their faces in the media on a constant basis so that they maintain continued relevance beyond the most recent film in which they appeared. This dysfunctional relationship between movie “star” and Hollywood reporter ha a construct of a, now century-old, Edward Bernays-contrived propaganda campaign derived to aid the movie industry and solidify its presence as a permanent fixture in the collective conscious of Americans.
Bernays, America’s first and greatest marketer-propagandist (and the reason his nephew, Sigmund Freud, is famous today) was the man dreaded rag newspaper and rag magazine magnate William Randolph Hearst turned to when Hearst needed to find a way to sell a new line of women’s magazines he wanted to figuratively force down women’s throats.
By realizing – what is ancient hermetic knowledge – that people react to certain descriptive words, phrases, and images on a deeper emotional level than we are often aware, Bernays went about forming an advertising campaign for Hearst. Bernays associated the Hearst’s magazines and their message with glamorous Hollywood starlets of the time. To the common woman the message was, ‘read these magazines, be like the stars.’ To the movie industry the message was, ‘if your starlets are continuously in the public’s mind’s eye, more people will watch your movies.’
Now that the Entertainment and Sports News Network (ESPN) has entered the sports fray, athletes have joined movie actors in the tabloids. And ESPN did not “go tabloid” on athletes until the company began broadcasting professional sports.
Because they began an on-going relationship with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and more leagues and associations, they were forced, by choice, to sacrifice the news aspect of their organization. ESPN has, for almost two decades, been unable to actually break a news story concerning an athlete. They are forced to allow other news organizations, whether it be a local newspaper or the Associated Press, to break stories. Then and only then does ESPN step in. and when they do, they immediately attempt to co-opt the news produced, throw as much manpower as necessary to the story, dominate the headlines, and shape opinion surrounding the story.
And because the first word in the acronym, ESPN, is “E” and that vowel stands for Entertainment, raking athletes under the coals for off-field actions has become part and parcel of their company-wide reportage, an integral part of their company-wide being. ESPN used and continues to use MTV “veejays” to discuss the off-field acts of athletes. ESPN began the ESPY’s, a ridiculous affair that awards various moments in the year of sports. It was derived to give the illusion of being the sporting equivalent of the Oscars, replete with a pre-award red carpet show and an around the block limousines line.
Out from those vehicles step athletes, movie actors and pop music stars dressed to the nines, all mingling with each other, all trotting out the threadbare adage that most musicians and actors wish, on some level, that they could be pro athletes, with the athletes avowing the vice versa.
Of course they each wish to be the other.
They are all portrayed as the pinnacles of beauty and virility. They are all portrayed as what everyone is told to aspire to be – well-known, well-liked, ever young, rich, and perennially happy. They are the big boys and girls on the grade school, high school, and college campus. They are the neighborhood kid who made good.
The perception is America at its most juvenile. To laud these people to the point of undue adoration, to the state of godhood in some instances, is as childish an act that a human can endeavor. To write off their on-screen, on-stage and on-field acts is one thing, but to ascribe to them some sort of cultural or socio-cultural meaning is as gross an error as the “average” person can make. Conversely (at least socio-culturally) it is no accident that pushing these people as cultural icons is used as part of the web of societal control mechanisms by those people who would wish to maintain their positions of power unquestioned by the populace as a whole. It is why Dick Vitale can still be viewed as a wholesome, grandfatherly figure despite appearing on commercials ogling Hooter’s women’s breasts with his good eye. It is why Bill Raftery can yell “Onions” as a way to say “He’s got big balls,” and the word becomes part of the NCAA Basketball landscape. It is why Peyton Manning, while at the University of Tennessee, was widely rumored to have attempted to match his brother Cooper’s sexual exploits at Mississippi, but can still be seen as the an awe-shucks all-around good guy.
And into this toxic cauldron comes the reluctant and perhaps psychically fractured figure of the former Eldrick Tont Woods, now Tiger Woods. Woods is preternaturally public shy and is therefore reluctant to have his personage allied with anything outside of his given profession. He may well be psychically fractured because of a heinous kindergarten incident wherein White boys tied him to a tree, taunted him mercilessly with racial slurs, and physically abused him, at one point allegedly throwing rocks at Woods.
That Woods found strength through golf is an understatement. It is possible that each time Woods strikes a golf ball he is at once pushing back the memory of that event and at the same time striking the boys who performed that malicious and racist act.
Despite his obvious want to keep his off-course life private, Woods has been, on a number of occasions, thrust into the public light for reasons other than golf. Whether it be Kelly Tilghman’s remarks about other golfers getting Woods in an alley and lynching him – which besides being myopic and racist, shows Tilghman’s general insensitivity toward other people, or is illustrative of her ignorance of the backgrounds of the golfers she covers – or the topic of why his presence has not fostered an outgrowth of Black PGA – at least – golfers, Woods is staunch in his right to deal with these issues privately.
And yet.
The one athlete who has never, ever sought the limelight is being shown to be the one athlete these vile creatures that are the sports and entertainment gossip rags, virtual or otherwise, have been impatiently waiting to take down. Because he is so private Tiger Woods has become the biggest notch on the gossip rags’ belts.
They are not vultures, as these birds feed off the carcasses of the dead. They are ticks that bore into their host and feed off their blood and poison everything they touch.
And the “new woman” who alleges that she has text messages and much more from Woods, is, if all this is true, the perfect 21st century Jezebel. That a person would go to the length to store text messages and keep voice mail correspondences outside of a business setting is a sure sign that she knew her dalliance with Woods was and is a way to be the center of the national eye. She was, after all, once a contestant on a VH1 reality show – “Tool Academy” – and no one participates on those programs if they have not fed into and desperately seek the bullshit fed to them about life as a public figure.
This woman – all the reality show wanna-be stars, for that matter – is akin to the sudden appearance of a growth on one’s body. She is potentially malignant, yet if dealt with properly will have her moment of life, no matter how negative the impact, but will eventually go away.
For Woods, her appearance, if her story – and any other wart women who might appear – is true, is a signpost that he must embark on a serious period of introspection and actively seek to heal old, untreated psychic wounds and deal with the sickness they have cause. His acts are the manifestations of the trap of power as it is perceived and acted upon in Western society; power is a sickness of the highest order.
Still, he owes no one outside of his family an explanation. But he does need to take stock of himself and take a look at the world around him. He knows well -as do many, sports writers and columnists – that the number two golfer in the world Phil Mickelson is renowned for his Las Vegas gambling trips and his alleged sexual transgressions there and elsewhere. And this news has been widely whispered for years.
But you’ve never seen the tick press bore into Mickelson, though he known to be the most reviled player within the ropes on the PGA Tour. Nor has Tiger Woods.
That should tell Tiger that “Cabalasian,” while personally factual, is not how he is perceived – anywhere.
Tiger Woods is a Black man – period. And as such, he and his monumental endorsement-financial and on-course success is the object of scorn in every level of American society; hated from sports desks nationwide, to gossip rag editors, Joe the Plumbers everywhere, to the Rayburn Building, to the halls of the FBI.
Tiger Woods is black enemy Number One.
And Eldrick Tont is the person who needs to know not “Tiger.” Eldrick was tied to the tree. Eldrick is the person his father said would change the world, not “Tiger.” Tiger is nothing more than an ode to his father’s friend, a gold club head cover striped, furry object, an easy name to go by, an image to uphold, a simulacrum of the man.
It is time for Eldrick to step from the shadows and smack Tiger into place. Then all the ticks, hos and bimbos will disappear. The haters will fade to black.
And a man can stand tall.
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Here is Woods’ voice mail to “the latest woman.”
I don’t know Dwil. Tiger and Jordan seem to be cut from the same cloth to me.
I still think the real reason for this blowup is that Tiger seems to have been artificially created in a lab where the objective was to create the most perfect corporate pitchman in history. Make him just young and hip enough to market to the MTV set but not so hip that he will scare the over-50 set. Make him play the sport of rich but have a humble background. Make him flawless in his chosen sport and even more flawless in press conferences. Make sure he appeals to middle America and the ever growing Asian market equally well. And, what the hell, give him a gorgeous Swedish wife who never says anything for good measure.
Up to this point, the only mis-step he ever made was telling a few mildly off-color jokes to a reporter. To find out that he may have mistresses all over the country is like discovering that Obama shoots heroin to unwind.
And we laugh when people like the governor in NY got hit up for the issue with the prostitute. At least they are honest about what they’re doing, and little is heard from the high class whores of the world.
Why are people so concerned with who is banging who? I’m more worried about where I’m sticking my dick than where others are… Maybe I’m just weird like that.
Jeez. These cat’s need to keep their game tight. These crumbsnatcher’s will get you everytime.
GMP
I don’t share your attitude completely, but I get your point. But, sex sells, people care, and it’s almost pointless to try to figure out why.
Meanwhile … how much exposure are the Internet advertisers on these sites getting (the mobile phone commercial on that US ad, for example) via Mr. Woods? What’s incredible to me is not just that sex and celebrity sells, but that there’s a world of companies that are riding the coattails of this and thinking nothing of it.
“By realizing – what is ancient hermetic knowledge – that people react to certain descriptive words, phrases, and images on a deeper emotional level than we are often aware, Bernays went about forming an advertising campaign for Hearst.”
This knowledge was used by the Nazis for their propaganda campaign. Goebbels used the same techniques as American advertising men to sell Nazism like so much toothpaste. The same techniques are employed today to sell us presidents and wars. And while I agree with your description of TMZ, Perez Hilton, People magazine and the like, Eldrick “Tiger” Woods played along with the image makers to help him amass his fortune in the same way as Michael Jordan. Just look at the corporation that sponsors his tournament that he just pulled out of (bad grammar aside). Chevron has been implicated in numerous human rights violations, most notably in Nigeria, and has a record of helping straight up facists (that help their profitability) from back in the day when it was Texaco. To me that’s far more damning than any dalliance he may have had with some reality show slut. But of course this is America where a President can be impeached for a come stain on a dress, but blowing up a major pharmaceutical factory in the Sudan – leading to perhaps tens of thousands of deaths – is not even worthy of mention.
Here we are now. Entertain us. Are you not entertained, America?
I know people who have said either in real life on on social networking sites that they’re disappointed in Tiger, and I wonder what gives them that right.
S2N: Do you think that Tiger has willingly made himself a commodity? I would argue that he has and that is the reason he is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He has perfected his image to a degree that cannot be simple chance.
So, when you sell yourself to the public as “Tiger;” you create the right in the public to be disappointed in “Tiger.”
The problem is that there is a Tiger that lives in the same body as “Tiger.”
I think this the only the second or third time we have ever seen Tiger as opposed to “Tiger.”
The best example I can give you of the difference is when he broke down in tears after winning whatever major it was he won following his father’s death. That was Tiger. The person who was completely composed at the press conference fifteen minutes later was “Tiger.”
This mess is just unreal.
I guess Tiger should have been a Cheetah.
Anyway the white media always reminds these fools that they are black.
And great points newbie.
But on the real guys this is about treating tiger like any other black male, creating a new black villian and hating that Tiger not only has one white woman (that they view as good looking) . But possibly having white women all over the country as side chicks.
Plus these fuckers are mad that Tiger only got a $150 fine. They wanted Tiger to get Mike Vicked………..or OJ…ed.
The nerve of that Tiger getting all that white ass on the side……….can’t that N-word be happy with us letting him have one white woman.
Then bustas in the media just jealous that tiger gets more blond ass in a week then those bustas have gotten in 10 years. Plus have you seen some of those hating simps in the media? They look like they haven’t had any pooh since they slide out their momma womb.
“And we laugh when people like the governor in NY got hit up for the issue with the prostitute”
Spitzer was the victim of a hit job. He was about to call out the Federal Reserve, Countrywide, Bank of America and their brethren (Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, etc.) on their loan sharking – aka subprime mortgages.
“Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye.” – Eliot Spitzer 2/13/09
“When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis and recounts its devastating effects on the lives of so many innocent homeowners the Bush administration will not be judged favorably.” – Eliot Spitzer 2/13/09
These quotes come from less than a month before he got busted.
My mistake. The Spitzer quotes came from 2/13/08.
myron – valid point, but when I think of those lines, I wonder how stupid we are collectively for believing so much in said commodity. I’m not surprised that Woods was unfaithful to his wife, much like I’m not surprised at any wealthy person being unfaithful to their spouse, S.O., etc.
I don’t think we get the right to be publicly disappointed because we’re stupid enough, as a culture, to automatically buy the image being sold to us by athletes, politicians, etc.
Man, if you start getting more a** when you become a manager at some random company, imagine if you are someone like Tiger, Kobe or the President of the U.S. I’m not condoning but if you are constantly being bombarded by people who want to f*ck the taste out of your mouth based on the money/power you yield-all I’m saying is that it’s hard to resist even if you never even considered doing something like that before.
Based on that truism, I agree with what S2N says, we really shouldn’t be buying into these well-crafted images anyway if we know the how these things usually work.
What nonsense. Tiger’s one and only problem is that he thought he was the exception to the age old rule that you can have any two of the following three:
* Fame
* Marriage
* Sex with people you’re not married to
I don’t care whether you’re Bill Clinton, Prince Charles, Kobe Bryant, David Letterman, John Edwards, Larry Craig…you can not have all three. Doesn’t matter what color you are, doesn’t matter where you come from.
The one athlete who has never, ever sought the limelight
Oh please. If he doesn’t want the limelight, he shouldn’t do commercials! John Stockton never did commercials; if the media loves white superstars as much as you say, why wasn’t Stockton’s image plastered everywhere? Because he didn’t want to be a “brand” — he wanted to be a person. And I’m not a Stockton fan (or, God forbid, a Utah fan); I’m just saying that once Tiger decided to become a brand, he relinquished his privacy. That’s the deal.
Is there a way that someone (i.e. us) can expose/reveal the “transgressions” of those in the media, especially sports media?
Correction: Edward Bernays was Sigmund Freud’s nephew, not cousin..
Big Man-
Superficially, definitely, i.e., MJ as a business model. But background? Waaaay different. Why Tiger runs from color is far deeper than the business model Tiger-MJ. His father did not raise him to run form his color and call himself “Cabalasian.” His father did not project him as being as important as Gandhi (I think that’s who) only because he could strike a golf ball well.
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gmp-
IMHO, it’s because we – we, as in White, male Western society “we” – in america still like to project Puritanical morals, where, being outed by TMZ or The Natty Enq and having “fans” pooh-pooh the offender, is the modern equivalent of being flogged, or stoned, or imprisoned, or banished from the town of philandering, or any number of punishments Puritans and those who loves them would hand down to men who stuck their wee-wees in inappropriate people, animals, or places.
Yes you can have all three. Next time you’re in the ATL see if you can find out what a certain QB who “just likes to have fun out there” does on the weekends. Truth of the matter is you only notice the ones who get caught. To think they are the exception is naive in my opinion.
I disagree with you about Tiger also. To flip it around, why would you be interested in what goes on in his household if it doesn’t affect you? It’s nobodies business and nobody knows what kind of arrangement anyone has in their marriage or personal life. I don’t judge. Marriage, relationships are complicated even the law of this country recognizes that.
Marc A.
Deadspin did just that with ESPN. It caused some serious issues.
awb – Fair enough. Instead of “you can’t have all three”, what I should have said was “if you attempt to have all three, you’re at the mercy of the media and/or your girlfriend(s).” Because as soon as there’s money to be made, the media and/or your girlfriend(s) will grab for the cash.
Where are you coming up with this stuff about Phil Mickelson? I’m not going to lie that I’ve only read the article once and I had a little trouble following, but you do make some interesting points. Then you just threw out some nonsensical bullshit about Mickelson. I went to google and searched “mickelson affair” or “mickelson las vegas gambling” and a plethora of other combinations and I didn’t get one result for such a story or even a picture. There were whispers around the NBA at one point that Magic Johnson was gay should we just accept that as fact.
Anyways it was an extremely good read and I will be going back through it more carefully this time to try and fully grasp everything you pointed out.
” I’m just saying that once Tiger decided to become a brand, he relinquished his privacy. That’s the deal.”
BULLSHIT !!!
Tiger Woods doesn’t owe you, or anyone who believes that, anything. The only person who was hurt in all of this was Tiger Woods. I’m guessing if that was the trade-off to become, as you said, a ” brand “, he may have just been content to play golf. This was the MSM saying: ” You don’t want to give us the 411, fine. We’ll put one together for you. ” Money is currency, not a definition of character. There are broke assholes in this world too. We live in a TMZ world, where the major becomes minor and the minor becomes major. Which category should Tiger Woods fall under? Which one does he actually fall under?
Eric-
I just Googled “Phil Mickelson – gambling” and came up with a thread about an ESPN gambling story, the rumor that his Calloway bonus went to Vegas to cover for gambling losses, a Golf Today article about Mickelson breaking PGA rules for wagering $500 that Jim Furyk would hole a bunker shot during a playoff with Tiger Woods, a Golf Week Insider story about Mickelson gambing with Augusta National patrons during his practice round, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and attempting to back out on the debts.
Perhaps you need a better Google.
Ann,
Yep. Always the risk you could get caught. Although I still believe it’s none of my or anyone elses business, the fact that he is a black athlete (yeah I said it) married to a white woman coupled with the nature of media in this country means that he is probably going to be rode hard on this issue. It’s sad, but as so many black athletes before him learned that it really doesn’t pay to tow the colorblind line in the end.
I always look at someone like Allen Iverson who reaped plenty of endorsements and goodwill despite not really changing his image a whole lot if any. It can be done. I’m interested to see if Chris Johnson can get some shine like Adrian Peterson does as far as endorsements go.
No wonder why some athletes like Barry Bonds and Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather are so reviled by the media because they refuse to play the “Friendly game” with them.
TeeDee,
Man, you hit the nail right on the head. And athletes like that (Randy Moss, TO) almost never get in trouble with the law but are almost universally reviled by the MSM.
“the fact that he is a black athlete (yeah I said it) married to a white woman coupled with the nature of media in this country means that he is probably going to be rode hard on this issue. It’s sad, but as so many black athletes before him learned that it really doesn’t pay to tow the colorblind line in the end.”
Great points Phil.
Check this out we have a story that Shaq was sleeping with Gilbert’s fiance. Yet this story was never told. Shaq wasn’t cheating on his white wife, he wasn’t cheating with a white woman. Replace Tigers wife with Shaniqua and his side chick name with Latoya and this isn’t even talked about in the media pass last Saturday.
Well said TeeDee.
I’ve always admired Tiger Woods: no one is more talented at his sport, and yet no one works harder. Along with Jordan and Ali, he represents the pinnacle of competitor to me. As a person, his contributions and attitude to others made his character beyond reproach.
If I add something to this discourse, it is: cheating on your wife is wrong. Now, no one has said it isn’t, and that wasn’t the point of the article. I feel it needs to be mentioned, though. The outrage here has been for the media, and no one denies that the tabloids are a drain on society’s moral capital — dwil’s image of a tick is exceedingly apt. This is a justified criticism, but it’s like criticizing those ticks for being parasites. Nature of the beast.
Tiger will walk away from this story with his sterling reputation tarnished and his marriage will undergo some bumps over the next few months. I know a man who had it all, and then he decided to sleep with his secretary. Immediately, he was crashing at a hotel and forbidden to see his kids. I know another man who lost his job over an affair. Neither was black or an athlete.
Yes the tabloids are an unscrupulous industry aiming to please the lowest denominator of our culture. As long as people buy sex stories, tabloids will sell them. Tiger’s story will be no different, but he cannot hope to move as many magazines as David Beckham’s affair. Tiger allegedly has had at least one affair, did he think he could keep that a secret? He’s surprised that celebrities aren’t afforded sufficient privacy for him to hide his misdeeds forever? This story for me is as much about personal responsibility as it is about privacy.
des – Tiger Woods doesn’t owe you, or anyone who believes that, anything.”
I never said he did. I just said those are the rules, and there’s nothing anybody can do about it. If you’re famous, people are interested in you. So they’re going to pay attention when you’ve done something wrong. Don’t like it? Don’t be famous.
Tiger doesn’t owe me anything…but I don’t owe him anything either.
Its raining hoochies now. Earl’s boy is learning a painful lesson.
Anonymous-
Wait, but you are using this public space to air your opinions, yet cannot even play by “the rules” and use your given name in your fake-ass e-mail address???!
Really??!
And you want to to talk about “rules?!”
If you’re famous, people transpose all their inadequacies onto you. That is the reality of your alleged “rules.”
Hell, they do that if you aren’t famous.
Miranda – ain’t that the truth. good Lord, they are just coming all out of the woodwork.
Dwil – I feel you and this article. The chick who saved all the text messages and stuff pretty much marked Tiger from Day One.
But shit, it really should not be this easy to ruin a guy. Just slap the right chick in front of him and he will completely throw everything he has worked for and all the people he cares about into jeopardy. It’s a shame. I don’t think Tiger is done, but damn. He really did just hand everyone who has wanted to take a shot at him about a box with about 1000 grenades.
Wait, but you are using this public space to air your opinions, yet cannot even play by “the rules” and use your given name in your fake-ass e-mail address???!
Back in 1994 when I was a grad student at Chapel Hill, I made the mistake of using my given name in a usenet discussion about the Mexican peso devaluation. My name wound up on the Stormfront mailing list. In the 15 years since, I have never once used my given name on the internet, and I’m certainly not going to start now.
This is your space and your rules. If you want to delete my comments, go ahead. If you don’t like anonymous commenters, ban them. If all you want to hear is your friends telling you how smart you are, just say so; I’ll apologize for stumbling into the wrong blog and be on my merry cyber-way.
Ann-whatever-your-name-is,
There are no rules. That’s just some crap people like you make up to feel superior to those who fail to live up to your standards. This was never about Tiger’s ” transgressions “, because no one knew about them until after the fact and there’s still no proof that they had anything to do with the accident. This was an MSM cut-and-paste job, period.
” If you’re famous, people are interested in you. So they’re going to pay attention when you’ve done something wrong. Don’t like it? Don’t be famous.”
There it is, the motto of the hater, who gets more joy out of another’s failures than their own achievements (if they have any) .
This isn’t a story anymore, it’s become Ground Zero for losers with axes to grind. I’m surprised you didn’t use ” role model ” . Move along, you’ve got nothing left.
Oh for the love of God. Do none of thjease guys pay attention. It’s called Jeter — Derek Jeter. Stay single! Get all the ass you want and still maintain a squeaky clean image jeez. I mean it couldn’t have been that mind blowing if after you marry “it” you still need more. Stay single ’til it’s over. We’ll all meet Jeter’s wife the day he gets inducted into the HOF — he won’t marry much before then. Things will never change — superstars will always have endless ass. That is all. Oh. And, Tiger? You’re black.
“If you’re famous, people transpose all their inadequacies onto you. That is the reality of your alleged “rules.””
That is one of the truest statements regarding fame I have read. Some of the most egregious offenders of this are the journalists who cover them, particularly sports media. Some of these cats can barely hide their hostility and resentment when an athlete hasn’t messed up, so you know they get up on their hind legs when an athlete stumbles.
“Oh. And, Tiger? You’re black.”
LOL!! If he didn’t know it before he certainly does now.
Oh, excellent point about Jeter. Cat has been plowing dime pieces since he came on the scene and there is no indication that he is going to stop. He keeps this up he will be the Wilt Chamberlain of his generation
I was going to put some really thought-provoking comment up here but since I never gave two craps about a Tiger Woods before this I’ll just keep it way.
Good read, tho’
Grace
People like the idea of marriage, but the reality is often too much to handle. These cats like the perks of having a steady peace of trustworthy tail waiting at home for them at the end of a long road trip, but they really don’t want to deal with the hassles of married life. And that’s where the problems set in. You CANNOT have it all. Sacrifice is a part of any life, and the sooner you realize what sacrifices you’re willing to make, the better.
Grace beat me to it! It’s amazing how none of those guys seemed to have learned from Jeter. I’ve long maintained that none of these cats should get married until their playing days are almost or fully over.
On top of that, if they want someone to handle their personal affairs, they should hire a top notch personal assistant. NOT a mini-skirted hooch. Preferably a gay male one like those guys on old “queer eye…” show. Stop laughing. I’m serious! That way they get someone who understands about being a dude and who can also handle that personal/household stuff better than most athlete’s wives! : )
I love watching Tiger play golf, but I’ve never had any use for him since he decided to use his “Opt Out” clause and try to pretend that he ain’t black. If nothing else, maybe this’ll set him straight on THAT matter.
Great points Grace, Ks and Bigman.
But we have to be honest………..these athletes marriages are tied into their image. One of the reasons MJ, Tiger and many others are or were able to become a brand was because they were viewed as up standing athletes AKA good negros who were family men.
IMO just like politicians get wives to help their career. Athletes like Tiger and MJ got wives to help their endorsement careers.
Think about it as a black athlete you have less options as a white athlete when it comes to crossing over to mainstream (I.E. White America) and selling yourself. A black athlete can’t sell off the image of being a all american golden boy like Farve or a play boy like Joe Nameth or Tom Brady.
As a black athlete your only options is to sell yourself as a villian or as one of the nice black guys who isn’t going to ruffle any feathers (and being a family man helps with that).
I mean think about it could Serena and Venus sell off of their looks and shapes to white america like anna kornikova (sp?). No they can’t because black womens beauty isn’t accepted in mainstream america unless its a certain shape and color.
I remember awhile back brotha Modi mentioned how only 2 black athletes have ever been able to play the role of all-american good guy. That was Joe Lewis and Sugar Ray.
Another thing I haven’t seen the MSM so happy about a athlete getting in trouble since was it…………….ummmm Vick dog fighting case or TO overdosing.
Now the Euro ex-boss of his wife is dogging Tiger out.
Another thing that always trips me out about black folks who are entertainers and are elite…….MJ, Tiger, Oprah etc.
Out of all that money they make for others and how they put people on (when it comes to gigs and jobs). That those same people who make money off of them are so quick to throw them under the bus when the time is right. Not only that but to throw them under the bus with no fear of reprecussion.
Where as if the racial roles were reversed the punishment would be swift and severe. So with all that money these entertainers have Oprah, MJ, Tiger and etc………they really have no power.
Orgin
I agree with you in general. But Tiger didn’t need Elin. He has always been a singularity in that way.
des – There it is, the motto of the hater, who gets more joy out of another’s failures than their own achievements (if they have any) .
Where did I say I hated Tiger? Where did I say I got any joy from this? Other than being happy when he won his first Masters, I can’t remember having any opinion either way about the guy. I DO think people who cheat on their spouses are scumbags…but that’s just as true of Tiger as it is of Mark Sanford. All I’m saying is that if people are interested in you when you’re good, they’re going to be interested in you when you’re bad. Why that offends you so deeply is a mystery to me.
Maybe I should’ve just let Big Man and Grace speak for me:
You CANNOT have it all. Sacrifice is a part of any life, and the sooner you realize what sacrifices you’re willing to make, the better.
Stay single! Get all the ass you want and still maintain a squeaky clean image.
des-
Thank you for you comment to the anonymous commenter, who, apparently, could not understand that I was pointing out exactly what you said.
The point of power is that those in power make up “the rules” as they go. They are malleable and ever-changing, depending on the wants of those in power – and those in power are White people from old money White families with Whiteness and control as their common bond.
I watched Erik Kuselius this morning on First Take say the same bullshit as the anonymous commenter. Then former ESPN news Kevin Frazier comes on and says the media is continuing to report the Woods story because the women involved are talking. So, when the women stop talking, the press will stop talking.
Ahhhh, the rules.
It is so interesting that we just had Ben Roethlisberger ask for privacy and get it, no questions asked, no media sqawking, nada. Unconditional privacy to the point where the media intensified its efforts to discredit the woman he allegedly sexually assaulted.
“Ahhhh, the rules.
It is so interesting that we just had Ben Roethlisberger ask for privacy and get it, no questions asked, no media sqawking, nada. Unconditional privacy to the point where the media intensified its efforts to discredit the woman he allegedly sexually assaulted.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
The anonymous commenter wrote:
Oh please. If he doesn’t want the limelight, he shouldn’t do commercials! John Stockton never did commercials; if the media loves white superstars as much as you say, why wasn’t Stockton’s image plastered everywhere? Because he didn’t want to be a “brand” — he wanted to be a person. And I’m not a Stockton fan (or, God forbid, a Utah fan); I’m just saying that once Tiger decided to become a brand, he relinquished his privacy. That’s the deal.
——————————–
That has NOTHING AT ALL to do with how he is treated in the press and people feeling somehow hurt or betrayed by him. They are completely separate issues. Do not attempt to intertwine them.
The manner in which people ascribe meaning to athletes and actors is what is sick. How the fuck does what Tiger Woods do on a golf course impact your life or mine, or anyone else’s who is not involved with that event? And I’m talking about adults – DO NOT start with the “but the kids” bullshit.
Anyone who thinks that, when Tiger Woods does commercials, he is saying anything more than I am Tiger Woods I am a great golfer I drink XYZ drink and because of that think you should, too, is unduly ascribing meaning to Tiger Woods or ANY other endorser.
The ONLY endorsement mistake Tiger Woods has made is when he did his first commercial for Nike, linking himself to the Black golfers who paved the way for him to be accepted AT ALL in and around the sport. when he made that commercial he told the world he is B-L-A-C-K. He has since run hard and fast from that statement of Blackness. FOR THAT he deserves to be criticized until he apologizes in some form or fashion. Other than that, he has been very careful to NEVER equate anything personal with his corporate whoring.
Now, understand that LIMELIGHT and DOING COMMERCIALS are not at all equivocal. How the fuck can Ben Roethlisberger – who does commercials – ask for privacy not only get that privacy, but also have the press turn and shit on the alleged victim in a sexual assault case, but when Woods asks for the same, it’s, you do commercials, you’re in the limelight – sorry.
How the fuck can Antoine Walker and Charles Barkley have to be pilloried in the press for having markers in Vegas when Phil Mickelson had an over $1 mil marker, allegedly used his Calloway endorsement money to pay off the wayward marker, and it’s not reported AT ALL in the press. How the fuck can there be reports of Mickelson welching on hundreds of thousands of dollars of bets made during a practice round at Augusta the week of the Masters, have people from national TV watching him, have at least some of the proceedings filmed, and no one says shit about it.
To think for one millisecond that race does not come into play here is absolutely myopic – and that’s being kind.
You want sick? The fame-seeking woman Tiger had sex with who was on Tool Academy and who kept texts and voice mails from Woods – at least – is SICK. Yes sick, writ large. She did this purposely to achieve the hope of some notoriety, thought of fame public recognition.
THAT is unequivocally sick.
Dwil,
agreed on the vapidity of the old “If you want privacy, don’t do endorsements” argument.
Tiger’s endorsements are related to and driven by his golf course heroics, his work ethic and his charitable works. He has been very staunch about keeping his private life out of the media.
I don’t like him, but fair is fair. Dude gets drunk and then tees off at The Masters-come down hard on his ass, but what goes on in his private life, as long as he isn’t breaking any laws, is his and his families business. I am amazed at the arrogance of people who think the privacy they enjoy shouldn’t be extended to someone because they are famous. Jealousy is a muthafucka.
Dwil
You made some great points tying in Big Ben and Phil Mickelson.
Your larger point is about equality in standards, and I think that’s where many of our white brethren miss the boat. Well, white and black brethren.
However, I will say that Tiger has capitalized on an image built by advertisers about who he is and what he represents. The Anonymous commentator made a good point when she noted that Tiger could have foregone millions in endorsement money and refused to be the face of national advertising campaigns and he wouldn’t be as big a public figure.
But, it’s debatable whether Tiger making the same choices as John Stockton would have created the same result. As has been documented on this site constantly, the rules change when your skin is brown, so Tiger could have very well avoided endorsement deals, missed out on money, and still seen this incident become national news because of dominance as a golfer and the hatred that creates.
We really don’t know.
I don’t know what’s going on, but I actually agree with you-know-who. And he jacked-up Rick Reilly on top of it:
http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/10464562/Tiger‘s-real-crime?-Not-playing-the-media’s-game
Des, you gotta warn a brotha before having him click onto Scrapplin’ Lips.
Damn. Still hate his guts, but he rode hard on those cats. Reilly, most of all should get the pimp hand. One of his recent columns about why he writes about sports was almost completely recycled from a piece he did about 5 years ago for SI. Talk about a hack.
I tried not to follow this story in the beginning, but as that bogeyman came knocking at my door, I had to pull them ear plugs out. I have observed many a things in my short life on this plain. The most interesting is that the transgression of the Caucasian man is viewed as more benign and dismissed more readily and easily than other ethnic groups. It wouldn’t be as bad if some of the usual culprits weren’t people other than Caucasians.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I heard that Elrick’s prenuptial starts out at $300 mil. I can see it now…
Tiger: Elin I’m going to give you $100 mil on that prenuptial and that’s final.
Elin (head between his legs): No honey (suck, suck) I think I deserve more…(lick, lick)
Tiger (all bug eyed and such) YES! YES! Whatever you want! Aaaargh!!
Elin: How about 300 baby(slurp, slurp).
Now if his wife decides that it’s time to pack that pony, I foresee adding on child support and additional alimony greasing on to that. Not bad for a “model” and “baby sitter”. I once read a book that stated that the 10 wealthiest families on the planet, those with generations of wealth, create barriers to ensure that no outsider crashes that party. The first outsider and self made man to do so was Howard Hughes and his descent in to madness appeared too rapid and spectacular.
Recently Elrick was classified as the first billionaire athlete…. You may fill in the blanks if you wish, but do you think White Supremacy wants a “nick nack” to set any examples like that? People can point fingers at Woods and talk about infidelity till the cow comes home, but dude was played. 300 text messages? Can you really keep that much on a phone? For what reasons? And it’s not because them floozies are Caucasians. It’s just that they are better at turning tricks that say… Howard’s and Bosh’s baby momma’s, never thought about.
Got to fix that thing right before you act the fool.
Any way I’m like two face, don’t care.
Man, we need to have another discussion about Vince Young, cause even though i’m off the NFL heroin, I still can’t believe how these hacks are re-writing Vince’s story.
I wish that young brother would refuse to play this game, but he won’t because these black athletes just want to be loved.
I actually like Tiger MORE now than I did previously. He has always seemed to be a bit of a goody-two-shoes and is usually cast as an example by the media to the “bad” athletes out here makin’ it rain and such.
He’s got a fembot blonde wife and wants to go out, like a LOT of married men, and split some new wood. Good for him. He’s a human being.
You know what’s funny, though? I wonder what part of the “Cablinasian” is the media going to think is the horniest. It’s like when Barack Obama does something bad, the racist media only “blames” one of his two sides. And guess which one that is? Hello?
Damn, I’ve said it before but I’ll say again that I love the food for thought that everyone here provides no matter what side of an argument they fall on. This is verbal jousting at its best and while it can get heated at times the respect is always there.
Like I posted earlier, I have no opinion about this either way but I’m enjoying the debates and even Unicron’s column.
Oh yeah, double damn a Rick Reilly
Kev,
My bad
Heh. “Scrapplin Lips”
Gotta give Whitlock some credit for that one. He spanked them hard.
In terms of Tiger’s marital decision from a financial perspective (kids aside). If he wants to split, now would be the best time. Otherwise, he’s handing over the keys to his financial future to his wife. He needs a very cold shark lawyer at his side right now because you can be damn sure his wife has one.
A lot of guys in similar situations operate under the “it’s cheaper to keep her” motto when the reality is often more like “pay me now or pay me later”. I’ve known dudes who’ve faced that fork in the road and, instead of swallowing hard and taking the hit when they still had a chance to recover, they went the “cheaper” route and wound up paying more later and have no chance to recover financially. Bitter and depressed doesn’t even begin to describe their current attitudes.
The only way I could see Tiger’s marital situation working from a financial perspective if he stays would be to copy Jordan but, that was such a unique situation because essentially, Juanita? Jordan was part of the “Team Jordan” brand. She knew if she just chilled until the kids were off to college, she would get paid. Hell, the house was so big she hardly even had to see him if she didn’t want to and each year that went by, she probably just counted the addittional year zeros$$$$$ that are usually part of such agreements.
Elin, otoh, doesn’t seem like the team player type. It could be just me but, I get the odd feeling that she’s working off some “blond privlege” and thinks that Tiger is lucky to be married to her and not vice versa. I knida get that feeling from Jesper Partevik’s (sp?) bitchassness as well.
There is one thing I do know though. If Elin was a sistah going after a famous white husband in a smilar situation, she would have been charged with assualt with a deadly weapon and folks would be calling her a thugess!
Dwil – damn, you must have me mixed up with about 10 voices in your head, because I didn’t say half the things you seem to be refuting. Where to begin?
First, I don’t know anything about Phil Mickelson.
Second, I’ve never even heard of Ben Roethlisberger (until I googled him a minute ago). I have no interest in “sports” that show 30 minutes of action and 3 hours of commercials. So I have nothing to say about that situation.
I probably should not have used the phrase “the rules”, because that seems to have pushed a button that I didn’t mean to push. What I meant to say was, as I said in an earlier post, if people are interested in you when you’re doing well, they’re still interested when you’re doing poorly, and I don’t that will change for anybody.
Also, when you said this:
Now, understand that LIMELIGHT and DOING COMMERCIALS are not at all equivocal.
I don’t think “equivocal” was the word you wanted; I’ll assume you meant “equal”. And I still disagree with you. Nobody is going to buy Nikes because of John Stockton. Nobody is going to buy Nikes because of Lindsay Davenport. Why? Because those athletes, though great, avoided the limelight. They didn’t go on Regis & Kathie Lee, didn’t do Conan or Letterman or Leno or Ellen or Oprah, didn’t write books or have video games named after them, and, yes, didn’t do commercials. Tiger did all of these things — his IMDB page lists 47 credits. And THAT’S the guy you say is “the one athlete who has never, ever sought the limelight”?
Sorry; I just can’t buy that.
Anon-
You seem to be confused on the source of Tiger’s advertising power. It comes purely from the golf course and his outrageous accomplishments and incredible dynamism there.
His legend started when he was 2 and by the time he had turned Professional as a 19 year old, he already had a $30 million contract with Nike-FOR WINNING 6 STRAIGHT USGA OPEN’S- With or without a family, with or without a wife, Tiger has been one of the two or three most spectacular figures in athletics over the past 2 decades and THAT’S why he makes the dollars. Nobody gives a damn about John Stockton because he was solid, not spectacular so using him in this conversation is simply absurd.
And proof that Tigers endorsements derive from his golf exploits and not from some ridiculous notion of if he is a good guy or not will be when he wins his next Major and his legend will grow even further as every media hack and his brother, as well as every weekend warrior, casual fan and virtually every male in the Country will talk about “Tiger is a God because he has come back fro such adversoty.”
Seriously, Anon, quit while you’re WAY behind.
First, I don’t know anything about Phil Mickelson.
Second, I’ve never even heard of Ben Roethlisberger (until I googled him a minute ago). I have no interest in “sports” that show 30 minutes of action and 3 hours of commercials. So I have nothing to say about that situation.
I bet Buick is really pissed. The one time his car makes its headlines, its for a crash, and it wasn’t even a Buick.
To summarize, the victims are:
Tiger Woods
His family
Buick
Look for Buick to come out with a model with bulletproof windows.
Disregard the previous post. PC issues…now I’m ready.
Ann,
I have a theory. You came to a site named SPORTS ON MY MIND thinking that you were dealing with a bunch of mooks who just made snarky remarks about athletes. You thought that if you threw out the standard remarks that some in the MSM have trotting all week, some would give you some respect, which would hide the fact, made all too obvious in your first paragraph, you don’t know JACK ABOUT SPORTS!!!
You bring up John Stockton but no nothing about Phil Mickleson or Ben Roethlisberger? YOU EFFING TROLL!!!
You’re dealing with people who love sports, but can spot heat, and bullshit, from a mile away, and you thought that you had enough game to not only hang, but enlighten the unwashed masses? You don’t bring juice to a gin party. Real people operate up in here, okay? There are a number of frat-boy sports blogs to satisfy your jones, you should turn around and go in the oppostite direction because you’ve obviously gotten lost.
Scurry along, troll. Scurry along.
“People like the idea of marriage, but the reality is often too much to handle. These cats like the perks of having a steady peace of trustworthy tail waiting at home for them at the end of a long road trip, but they really don’t want to deal with the hassles of married life. And that’s where the problems set in. You CANNOT have it all. Sacrifice is a part of any life, and the sooner you realize what sacrifices you’re willing to make, the better.”
Amen Big Man.
KevDog – You seem to be confused on the source of Tiger’s advertising power. It comes purely from the golf course and his outrageous accomplishments and incredible dynamism there.
I disagree. Sure, his abilities and accomplishments made him the best golfer in history, but that didn’t automatically mean he’d become the richest athlete in history. If he was ONLY the greatest in history, he’d have 200-300 mil. The reason he’s a billionaire is that he’s handsome, charismatic, has a great smile, went to Stanford, is a great interviewee, etc. That’s what pushed him from merely a brilliant golfer to a cultural icon
If you ask a woman to name one golfer, she’ll say Tiger. If you ask her to name two golfers, she’ll say Tiger…and no one else. That’s not because he won the Masters; that’s because he went on Oprah and Ellen (and Leno, etc.) and because he plasters his image on everything. You think it’s male sports fans who are buying the Tiger Woods issues of People and Us Magazine this week?
My point is, YOU have heard of him because he’s a great golfer…but there are a lot of others who heard of him because he chose to put himself in the limelight as much as possible..
Nobody gives a damn about John Stockton because he was solid, not spectacular so using him in this conversation is simply absurd.
“Solid, not spectacular”? What are you, a Lakers fan? The guy was on the original Dream Team! He’s got FIVE THOUSAND more assists than anyone else who ever played the game!
But OK, we can agree to disagree on Stockton — that’s off the topic. I agree that he wasn’t as good at basketball as Tiger is at golf, which is probably your point. Maybe Madonna, the singer, is a better example. One of the wealthiest and most famous musicians in history, she goes on a $100 million worldwide tour, plays every major city in the world…but when she gets divorced? “Please have some respect for my privacy.” Uh uh, sorry. If people are interested in you, they’re interested in you. If she doesn’t like it, she can stop touring and change her name to an unpronounceable symbol — that worked pretty well for another 80s star who is now out of the limelight.
[And for anyone else who wants to play "beat up the newbie": yes, I know this is a sports blog and Madonna isn't an athlete. Big deal, neither was Edward Bernays. It's just a supporting example.]
Seriously, Anon, quit while you’re WAY behind.
As I said last night: Dwil’s house, Dwil’s rules. If he asks me to leave, I’m gone. If you don’t think I should be permitted to express my opinion here, take it up with him.
Not much to add from me because there have been a lot of great comments and discussion above. I’ll just add my two cents…
I agree with Dwil right from the first paragraph. I don’t think society in general realizes how much of a stain things like TMZ are. Are people that out of touch with reality and the major issues of the day, that they have the time and attention to give to those gossip rags? No wonder society is going down the toilet. When things like this happen now i don’t even feel like turning the tv on for a few days because i can guess what they will be talking about.
As for the constant hits on TIger – nothing more than revenge that they have been plotting for over ten years. These guys go to the course every weekend with their +10 handicap and then come home on sunday to watch a black man make them feel vastly inferior. Then they have to see his attractive blond wife and wonder why they got stuck with the nag they have.
It’s a shame that the hypocrites talk cheerfully when their favourite hollywood actors and actresses commit adultery but now they are acting like Tiger killed a bunch of people. A couple of air head bitches at work were talking about the whole thing, and how angry they are about what Woods did. I just added “but didn’t Brad Pitt admit to cheating too?” Which was followed by “yeah… well… oh i just remembered i had to finish something”.
“It’s a shame that the hypocrites talk cheerfully when their favourite hollywood actors and actresses commit adultery but now they are acting like Tiger killed a bunch of people. A couple of air head bitches at work were talking about the whole thing, and how angry they are about what Woods did. I just added “but didn’t Brad Pitt admit to cheating too?” Which was followed by “yeah… well… oh i just remembered i had to finish something”.”
Monsoon I said the same thing to some heffas at my job. Funny how they always change the parameters of the discussion when it comes to black folks.
Honestly Ann-Your argument is ridiculous and ignores my words. I guess it’s easier to not sound so defeated when you create straw man arguments to tear down.
In any case, since Tiger never sold anything other than the very things you mentioned, then why is is that any of us have any right with knowing anything about his private life as long as he isn’t breaking any laws.
Again, it boils down to simple hatred mixed with more than a little Middle School pettiness and a whopping dose of inferiority complex run rampant.
Guys/gals,
I think some of the media tittilation with all of this is about just that: “tit.” This bluster is really a smokescreen for the media outlets to sell sex. Pictures of Tiger’s mistresses naked. Maybe Elin wants to show the pooter for money. Maybe there’s a sex tape out there with Tiger banging one of his fembots.
Tiger wanted to marry a fembot. So he got one. And now even that punk Jesper Parnevik is taking shots at him. And what kills me is that Parnevik gets a pass from the media for suggesting that Elin should’ve used a heavier club to beat Tiger with. We know if Tiger had protected himself from her and physically restrained her and she said as much? Tiger Woods would be in jail right now and facing serious charges. Elin’s getting a pass for assault and possibly assault with a deadly weapon. And why? Because she has nice tits that everyone wants to see or it’s OK for a white woman to hit a black man with a golf club?
He cheated on her and that justifies her using a golf club to hit him with AND she has no charges filed against her? Come on, now.
Phil
Real talk homie. Adultery is wrong, but chasing people down with golf clubs is absurd.
It reminds me of the flap recently where that 68-year old edito at the Wash Post started punching a colleague because the younger cat called him a name and had an attitude. All these reporters were saying it was no big deal, and waxing nostalgic about the good old days when fights in the newsroom were no big deal.
That’s revisionist bullshit. Fights in the newsroom have never been “no big deal” for black folks and we’ve taken way more crap off media racists to get our jobs. You telling me that when a cracker got fly with me in the newsroom it would have been perfectly okay for me to beat his ass because he needed to learn a lesson? Hell naw. HELL NAW.
This rule change stuff is an epidemic. They are always trying to justify what they do. Always. If Tiger would given his wife a two piece to the eye cause he caught here creeping, Tiger would be under the jail right now. Real talk.
Yep. Tiger keeping his mouth shut is keeping Elin from getting her ass deported because if the investigation turned up evidence that he got knocked in the head with a golf club, they would have arrested her and there would have been nothing he could have done about it.
That’s his wife and family so I know why he is keeping quiet, but still and yet punks like Parnevik need to stay out of people business too, because she could alway go back to whatever cold ass Scandanavian country she came from.
@ Big Man and awb,
The media is moving the goalpost again. And Tiger’s magic Negro status, he’s finding, isn’t going to buy what it used to. He’s closer to being Pac-Man Jones than he thinks.
As for Elin getting deported? So be it. If there were justice in the world, she would get deported. Family? Family my butt. Tiger wanted to marry a blonde and she was delivered. When he met her, she was a frickin’ nanny. Now she wants half.
As far as I’m concerned, Tiger could’ve banged the Fly Girls, the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, the video vixens from “Vivrant Thing,” “Rumpshaker,” “Don’t Sweat the Technique,” and “Shake It Like a Salt Shaker” and being able to have the police put an arrest file in a drawer while Tiger gets the heat for declining a police interview? That’s some bullshit. And I don’t care how many idiot-ass white people claim I’m racist. I’m going to say it. If Elin Woods is sitting on the curb when the police arrive, and she’s got a broken fingernail, Tiger’s going to jail. Tiger’s laying there with a bloodied face, but hey, he cheated on his wife and the cops go the hell home? What. The. Fuck. And Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post is saying Tiger “disrespected” the police? Bitch, please.
When Tiger didn’t bodyslam that idiot Kelly Tilghmann for saying that his opponents should “lynch him in an alley,” that’s when I lost a lot of respect for the guy. Look, I can kick it with white folks, maybe even be invited for dinner, and on a million-to-one chance? Maybe even marry their sister. That’s all fine and well. I’m not going to hold my breath, but I damn sure won’t beg for acceptance from people. However, one of my closest friends that’s white says “Yeah, the only way we’ll get the Salesman of the Year award away from Phil is if we take him down a dark road and lynch him,” that guy is catching a beat-down. There’s certain things I don’t fool around with, and Tiger, as a man with black blood corsing through his vains needs to understand that. It’s a damn shame Earl’s no longer here, God rest his soul. For all the preparation he instilled in his son, and his boy doesn’t seem to have learned a thing.
I lost a lot of respect for Tiger on the lynching comments, and allowing a blonde woman to say it? It just shows where his head is at. At least Jim Brown was smart enough to know that even being able to sex up white women didn’t make him any more human, acceptable or palatable to them as a man. Hello? One of the gals that Tiger’s rumored to have slept with has been flown hither and yon by Ryan Seacrest. Tiger. Bro. You’re banging a girl that served as Seacrest’s beard? Would it kill you to date a black woman? Damn.
At the very least an asian woman.
Yeah imagine if his dad was still alive. Or his dad was Richard Williams
Also, let’s hear it for a ho’!
Ashley Dupree (Eliot Spitzer’s gal) laid the truth on the NY Post. Bascically she said “who’s the hooker, now!?” and mentioned that Tiger’s gals accepted trips money, etc. in exchange for having sex and they are running their mouths now (while she get quiet) in an effort to continue to get paid and people called her a hooker? She has a point.
KevDog – Honestly Ann-Your argument is ridiculous and ignores my words. I guess it’s easier to not sound so defeated when you create straw man arguments to tear down.
Could you be more specific? I thought my argument was pretty reasonable. You said Tiger got popular because he’s the greatest golfer; I said it was partially him being the greatest golfer and partially his choices to court as much media exposure as possible. Why is that a straw man?
Tiger never sold anything other than the very things you mentioned, then why is is that any of us have any right with knowing anything about his private life as long as he isn’t breaking any laws.
I’m having trouble understanding what you meant here. All I can say is what I’ve said before: if people are interested in your personal life when things are good, they’re interested when things are bad. People are always interested in the lifestyles of the rich and famous, “rights” or not.
Again, it boils down to simple hatred mixed with more than a little Middle School pettiness and a whopping dose of inferiority complex run rampant.
It’s been you doing the taunting and name-calling, KevDog. Not me.
Ann and I can’t find any common grounds for discussion or even any common grounds for logic systems so I disengage from that particular discussion.
As to Elin Woods. I don’t know her and neither do any of us. I am dismayed at anyone attacking her since none of us has any idea how their particular relationship shakes out.
Anonymous
The problem is that Tiger NEVER invited people into his life, period. True, I think he allowed an image of himself to be used to sell products in order to enrich himself, but I can’t say the man actually tried to sell his private life to consumers. He never invited anybody in to his life. As another posted noted, Jason Whitlock did manage to explain what is happening in his column in my opinion. Tiger has consistently refused to give the media anything other than the perfectly crafted image created by advertisers to hawk goods to gullible Americans. They have always, ALWAYS resented that. Mainly because the easiest way for media professionals to make extra money is to set themselves up as experts about public figures and then reap the rewards of pontificating on said public figures.
Tiger allowed an image to be sold. Since he betrayed that image, he shouldn’t be surprised that he’s being attacked. However, I can’t say Tiger tried to use his personal life as a means to sell himself to the public. He’s not Sarah Palin.
That’s an excellent point about Palin in contrasting between celebrity endorsers and politicians. Politicians ARE trying to sell their personal lives, usually as honest, trustworthy ect.
By contrast the athlete is selling an image of excellence as an athletic performer which has nothing to do with his private life. i would imagine that it usually is a detriment to one’s family life.
Tiger is famous because he plays golf better than anyone else. Companies want to equate their products with positive aspects like excellence so they pay him to hawk their wares. Being a spokesperson is a traditional way for athletes to make money beyond their regular jobs-and in this case lots of money-and it is a ridiculously easy method of doing so. It’s easier than playing the markets, real estate and probably golf even for him At no point in his celebrity hawking did his family appear in any of the ads. Before this you could almost forget he was married. I guess my point is, I don’t see why we as the public should have to know more about the cat, given the way he has actively tried to stay private, than what he has already given us. As someone said, he’s already opted out of being black to increase his earning potential. What more do you want?
Big Man and awb.
You guys pretty much said it all.
Cosign brotha Kev.
Bigman and AWB laid it down with real talk.
And Phil I agree with everything you said…………..if Tiger went up his blond wife’s head he would have been beat down by the cops like Rodney King and thrown under the jail.
Oh and its a trip that Tiger is getting more heat for some alledged affair. But Phelps got caught hitting tweed on camera and still didn’t have to deal with heat. Hell actually folks made excuses for him.
Anyone see my girl whoopi go off on this bull shit about Tiger…………..damn I love me some Whoopi that sista tells the truth.
Origin,
Mike Phelps was apologized for with the “every college kid does it” shit, and when a black college football or basketball player does it, the Palin-ites come out as usual.
I’m all for coming down on a guy for hitting a woman, but you could kill a man with a golf club, and here’s Jesper Parnevick’s punk ass. I guess Kelly Tilghmann finally DID get her wish, didn’t she? See how dangerous this stuff is. If you say it’s OK to lynch a guy in an alley and he eventually gets brained with a golf club? Is there a police officer to arrest the assailant? Guess not. If you’re black but think being Cablinasian means a good damn.
Hey Ann Onimous,
It is obvious that you have sought to evade any engagement whatsoever with the dominant themes of this thread, refusing to make any statement about the colonial media, blackness, Cablinasian-ness, and so on. You stick to the color-blind critique of Tiger as a way to offer an explanation that posits some universal standard as the reason for his downfall rather than the rich dynamics dwil has been teasing out of sports media for years. Ignoring extremely prominent counter-examples – even going so far as to imply that dwil is listening to the voices in his head in order to bring them up – you cling to a supposedly universal standard that itself depends on the historically-contingent (and hence, in this context, colonial and imperial) dynamics of mass media that have developed over the past century.
That Madonna is cited as an example, supposedly, of a white celebrity hounded over a divorce because of the limelight shows your lack of willingness to engage the specifics in evaluating the role of the media in policing the relationships of celebrities. Madonna’s notorious transgression of sexual politics is written out of your example, as if it was not part and parcel of her status in the limelight. It is exceedingly well-established that the sexual purity of white women has been an overriding concern of the global mass media. The transgression of the always already racist sexual politics of this country, rather than wealth or fame, is the much clearer link between this particular case and Madonna. These themes are confounded by your confusing reference to Prince, whose privacy is said to rest on your misinterpretation of his name change. But Prince changed his name avowedly as an act of emancipation from the corporate media itself; to argue that he is out of the limelight because he has chosen privacy over fame is bs that entirely misses the colonial racial politics of the media diminishing Prince’s standing in response to his act of emancipation. (This is before we even consider that his faith and, likely, spousal fidelity are markedly different than Woods or Madonna).
The true coup de grace, however, is your frequent reference to John Stockton’s supposed choice to avoid the limelight. If Stockton sought to stay out of the limelight, then why exactly did he do a Diet Pepsi commercial?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYvVj12EK4w
This commercial from your poster child for avoiding the limelight references most of the themes you have evaded in this discussion. Stockton, the small white boy, gets the needed “assist” from Diet Pepsi to belt out the Ray Charles line. Stockton relies on the colonial, commercial product to replicate that magick of the Negro – just as his (assimilated) Negro colleague, Karl Malone, supposedly relies on Stockton’s assists to truly become a great player. Meanwhile, the jingle is one that Charles himself despised deeply. It was written to capitalize on his fame, fame that came from a revolutionary bucking of the sexual politics of music in mass media.
Your comments are of the typical sort, the white liberal who will not say what motivates their thoughts: the belief that non-white people will see race anywhere they look when in fact race is confined to only certain avenues of social reality. This viewpoint is just a shadow projection, for the reality is that the white liberal refuses to see racism functioning around them because to do so would disrupt the avenues of social reality that the white liberal has chosen as spaces for apolitical privacy. The commenters are not trying to get you to shut up because you are presenting reasonable challenges to what they are saying; they are trying to get you to engage the topic.