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The Spectacle Blog
Forgive my golf kick (which continues with my column tomorrow), but…. if you want to know who really is to blame for all those kids being let down by Tiger Woods’ scandalous behavior, the answer is: All of the hypocrites in the media who spent 13 years fawning over Tiger and not ever sharply criticizing even his obvious deficiencies in comportment and graciousness, thus helping burnish the image of super-hero that kids took to heart, only to be crushingly let down in the past five months. Sure, Tiger is at fault for his transgressions, but the fault for setting up the kids for such a let-down belongs with Woods’ hagiographers in the media. Now, though, the hagiographers continue to fall all over themselves to see who can say the harshest things about Woods — not just for his sexcapades, but for his demeanor, deportment, phoniness, and lack of graciousness. Witness this mostly on-target, but eminently nasty column in this week’s Sports Illustrated by Selena Roberts. (Aside from her Tiger commentary, the column is badly marred by a cheap shot at the hosts at Augusta National, calling them guilty of “hypocrisy” for unstated transgressions. Okay, they took far too long to let blacks play there, a sin more then remedied in the past 35 years. Other than that, what hypocrisy? Refusing to let women become members? That’s not hypocrisy, it’s a choice.) Read the column. Read her digs at Tiger for an “expletive-laced third round,” and for his “surly dissection of his play, without thanking fans or congratulating the champ.” And so on. To which I ask again: Where in the bleep was Roberts, and where were her media compatriots, for the previous 13 years, when Tiger’s public behavior was just as bad or worse? I’m not a full-time sports writer anymore, but I found time to criticize him for it way back when. Where were these oh-so-brave commentators before it became a popular thing to do to bash Woods? Why did they only find their voice when their voice was part of an echo chamber?
And they have the gall to complain about hypocrisy….
Now, as for Woods. Yes, he still hasn’t learned. He still isn’t giving back to the game that has given him so much. He just announced today that his next tourney will be at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, where he has won before and where the prestige is high. But, again, he will skip the tourney in New Orleans, where he has NEVER played in 13 years, not even in the first two years after Katrina when the tourney and the city desperately needed a boost and where Phil Mickelson was not only playing but donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to relief efforts. Indeed, there are a number of places where Tiger has never played even once. He fails to realize that with his stature, he can turn an ordinary tournament into a big and successful event, and that all tour stops, not just the bigger ones, make up the organization that provides his living, and all are manned by many volunteers, and all donate great amounts of money to local charities. He owes to the tour, and to those tournaments, an occasional visit to each one, in order to “give back” to the game. Jack Nickluas made a point of trying to play in each place at least once, for just that reason. But not Tiger. Not even after his scandal.
He still doesn’t get it. And if the media sheep who all bleat in the same notes want instead to actually say something substantial and new, they will criticize Woods for this sort of thing — not for the sorts of behavior for which they blast him now while havng remained silent about the same things for so long.
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More Blog Posts by Quin Hillyer
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/04/15/bashing-the-tiger-bashers
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Alan Brooks| 4.15.10 @ 10:29PM
Sex USED to be sinful and threatening-- now it's just boring.
"not ANOTHER sex scandal",
I think. Soon guys will be sneaking out to bible studies:
WIFE: "where are you going, dear?"
HUSBAND: "to a Hollywood Porn Fest"
WIFE: "that's okay, just stay away from anything exciting this weekend"
Missy| 4.15.10 @ 10:31PM
Brit Hume was right; Tiger should become a Christian. Perhaps then he could learn something about humility and repentance.
Alan Brooks| 4.17.10 @ 1:22AM
Repent from what? sex has become merely another sport-- no fizz in the pop. Missy, reverse psychology might work for some. Tell an athlete "you can do whatever you want, except read the Bible."
A few years later he's with Reverend Billy's Crusade.
Yosemeti Sam| 4.16.10 @ 3:45AM
Interesting 2010 Masters.
The bad boy Asian-Afro-American placed 4th.
Tying with an Asian/Asian-American.
Equality - where an AAA met his match of an up-and-coming A/AA.
The AAA golfer was sapped out while the A/AA golfer had a noteworthy rise of another mental focus.
Some poetic justice therein :)
Cris Worth| 4.16.10 @ 8:00AM
Back in '08 Romney had the support of Limbaugh/Hannity/Coulter/Beck...you can't get more right wing then that in the media anyway. Now that all four bash Obama specifically his health care plan until the cows come home I just wonder if they will back Romney again in '12. If so then they are greater hypocrites then any liberal in the modern age. Interesting to see.
Dai Alanye | 4.16.10 @ 11:30AM
You're off-subject, Cris. But to answer your question, many of us supported Romney when it came down to a choice between him and McCain. That's how badly we wanted to beat Angry John.
But as to freely supporting Greasy George against all others… No thanks.
Alan Brooks| 4.17.10 @ 1:31AM
How I wish sex were wicked still. Can you imagine how much fun the Victorian era was?
Sexual Revolution gives you the bathwater but takes away the baby.
No pun intended.
Bob Putter| 4.16.10 @ 8:51AM
In the wake of his Masters defeat, Tiger Woods was last seen at Augusta National 2:30 in the morning driving a golf cart erratically in his bare feet. Eye witnesses said Woods smashed into several azalea bushes at Amen corner, coming over Nelson bridge ran off the cart path knocking over a ball washer, skidded on pine needles and slammed into the Eisenhower tree. Late report stated Tiger’s brassy wife Elin caught him skinny dipping with mistress pageant winner Jaime Junger in Rae’s creek and was in hot pursuit across Sarazen bridge armed with a 2-wood. Augusta National officials waived property damage charges but local police fined Woods $164 for picking Junger’s toes on Hogan bridge with a pussy golf tee.
Tim| 4.16.10 @ 10:05AM
Back in the day people had hopes that Tiger was the next great golf legend and his legacy would be several decades of incredible achievement. Instead this is what we get. Sigh.
craig henry | 4.16.10 @ 11:41AM
Selena Roberts is an all round nasty piece of work. She was one of the worst defamers of the Duke lacrosse team and has never apologized nor has she admitted that she got it all wrong.
Florida Lyrical Man| 4.16.10 @ 11:50AM
There he goes
There he goes that Isleworth flirt
There he goes
Failed to catch Jack
Due to Phil’s successful smack
Master of his game
But he came up lame
Total bogeys fourteen
Failed to get fifteen
Sponsorships gone
Because he did wrong
There he goes
With a white girl gleam in his eye
Reminded by a tow plane passing by
Teed off his wife
Who needs to club out a new life
With a final spurt
That Isleworth flirt
John Galt | 4.16.10 @ 12:18PM
Kids? What "kids"? I would venture to guess that there isn't a single "kid" anywhere in the world who gives a rat's ass about Tiger's sex life or marriage (other than his own, of course). Use common sense, people. Kids don't care what Tiger does with his sex life, and neither should we.
Gorgeous George| 4.16.10 @ 12:56PM
Tiger is weeping all the way to his billion dollar net worth. You who are without sin, cast the first golf ball. American media sells sex like its meat. Then, American media blasts a superstar for indulging in the feast they prepare. What kids give a rip about Tiger's infidelity, other than to try to emulate the bounty he has cultivated? American media, t.v., Playboy, Hustler, etc. calling Tiger a hypocrite should refuse advertising dollars which promote the flesh industry. Hugh should get a life before he burns in hell. Flynt's half-way there and still doesn't get it. Maury and Jerry add much to the public discourse on important, time honored values. They do their deeds for free, obviously. No money in peddling trash. Our prime time television programs are wholesome, family building models of virtue. No ad money in violence, rape, sex crimes, perversion, you know, good family-type entertainment. Day time soaps are the envy of the world. Zbigniew Brzezinski never warned Americans about the symbolic retreat into utter depravity these popular "programs" predicted and nothing about world instability to follow, on Firing Line.
We've been warned. We have laughed.
Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, wars, rumors of war, pestilence, nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists.
Say "Good-night Gracie."
Curly Smith| 4.16.10 @ 1:19PM
Yeah, it's the same with the baseball writers who (now) absolutely hate the steroid using players. They sat in the same locker room and watched a player gain 40-50 pounds of muscle in the off-season and never asked... could that be steroids? No, they knew all along; as did the teams, MLB and the Players Association. But now the various players should not be admitted to the Hall-of-Fame, they should asterisked out of existence.
The players were wrong but they were aided by a very compliant media as long as it was expedient to "look the other way".
zxfaoi | 4.17.10 @ 2:44AM
It would help if you were at least marginally informed on the topic and not, in fact, full of shit.
eric damon| 4.20.10 @ 9:05AM
So what if Tiger curses on the course, or if he isn't all sunshine and snickerdoodles after finishing fourth at the Masters? Did anyone expect him to become a different person in a few short months? He has things that he still needs to work on and is admittedly a work in progress; so if he understands that it takes time to change, why can't the public...and the conservative scolds who suddenly are so damned concerned with proper golf ettiquette?
Further, Tiger Woods has no obligation to play at smaller tournaments, even if they would help give a boost to NOLA, because Lord knows no one has ever done ANYTHING to get that place back on its feet! Tiger Woods is professional golfer, not a one man FEMA...and he has no obligation to play in every PGA sanctioned tournament. If his next event is Quail Hollow, then bully for them for getting him; and bully for him for making his own decisions on when and where he wants to play.
And when in the hell did anyone believe that his image was who he truly was? If there is any blame to be assesed for the tragic, tragic disappointment of "the children", it lies not with Woods, nor with the media. It lies with the parents of those children who pointed to the guy on the Gillette commercials and told little Johnny to be like him. To paraphrase Charles Barkley, just because he can hit driver 320 yards doesn't mean he should raise your kids!