Everyone is talking about Tiger Woods these days — even the nice man who drove me to the airport the other afternoon. He and I had an in-depth conversation about how an icon like Woods, described in the past as an All-American family man and the greatest golfer the world has ever seen, could have fallen so far, so fast.
My opinion? That Woods had to be profoundly arrogant to think he could act so badly and expect silent loyalty from those involved. Woods, I concluded, must lack the character and the integrity that we were all led to believe he possessed.
My conversation partner seemed to think the story was really a private matter between a husband and wife and it was the media churning up controversy. Besides, he said, "isn't integrity and character the same thing — what's the difference?"
To me, a person's integrity is displayed in how he or she interacts with and treats other people. Character goes to the core of who they are.
I thought about his question and my answer a day later as I floated up in a rented boat to the back of the lakefront estate owned by Tiger Woods in Windermere, Fla. I'd traveled to the ultra-exclusive golf community of Isleworth to see firsthand where and how Woods lived. I wanted to try to understand why a man of such supposed respectability and mystical talent would put in jeopardy ... well, everything in his life. Since the front entrance to the gated community was off limits, the boat was the only way to catch a glimpse of Tiger's lifestyle.
No telling what I thought I'd learn bobbing offshore looking at Woods' primary residence. The eight bedroom, nine bathroom mansion gave me no clue to Tiger's integrity or character. What I saw were only the trappings of his life — a swimming pool, private boat dock, a vast expanse of manicured grounds and mammoth windows overlooking the serene lake.
My conclusion: The house, like the man, looks perfect on the outside, but inside there is turmoil and trouble.
To us regular folk, it seems odd that such mayhem could erupt in a situation where there is an abundance of wealth, health and adoration for a lifetime of practicing to be perfect. But striving for that perfection, demanded not only by Tiger himself but also by his father, Earl, obviously came at a price.
As I looked out on the bucolic backyard where Elin Woods likely took their children out to play, my mind flooded with questions.
I wondered if this awful episode might have been averted if the elder Woods hadn't died in 2006.
Could Earl have managed the P.R. effort in a more effective way? What did the pressure on young Tiger have to do with his later-in-life explosion of bad behavior? Was it simply a case of a guy finally going after what he hadn't been allowed as a younger man? Had Tiger really been with other women right after his wedding and during Elin's pregnancies?
Most important: Why had Tiger gotten married in the first place? If he were a single man, we likely wouldn't be talking much about this.
As I looked out at his seemingly ideal home, I recalled a video clip of Tiger talking about wanting more children. "After you've had them, you really want to have more of them," he once told a reporter from Entertainment Tonight as he smiled broadly.
Really? And did he ever get a flash of his children's faces, or even his wife's, as he carried on with all those other women? His serial cheating spree seems proof positive that Tiger Woods lacks both integrity and good character.
Think of all the lives changed by the selfishness of his acts. His mother, Kultida, must be mortified by his alley cat ways. His children's lives are certainly affected, and while Woods recently declared he was indefinitely giving up his beloved golf so he could "work on being a better husband, a father and person," it seems as though Elin's character prohibits her from continuing to live a lie.
The gentleman who drove me to the airport also asked me why "we seem to take such joy in the demise of others." I think it's more like fascination we feel, like the kind experienced when driving by a roadside accident. We crane our necks, riveted by what we might see but taking no joy in the destruction.
Eldrick "Tiger" Woods created his own accident at the side of the road, and there could be more sordid revelations. Fresh humiliation (and loss of endorsements) could be just around the bend.
I don't really care that he can play golf. In the game of life, where integrity and character is the measure of the person's true worth, Tiger Woods is a loser.
Visit Diane Dimond's official website at www.dianedimond.com for investigative reporting, polls and more. To find out more about Diane Dimond and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM
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Greetings, Ms. Dimond:
As you came to your own fame as an investigative reporter, I must say that I see no evidence that you did much of it in this case. While you are certainly free to state your own opinions without investigating (short of taking a boat ride to the private residence of a U.S. citizen), I find your comments in this article to very judgmental, as if we all know everything that caused whatever problems Mr. Woods is currently dealing with, and that we should all agree that Mr. Woods is nothing but bad, Bad ... BAD!
What Mr. Woods is alleged to have done is different in exactly what way, or ways, from what President John F. Kennedy did (using just one example here)? Adultery is adultery, no matter who does it - or did it. However, I DO see a difference in how the respective wives handled the situation, and this seems to me just as relevant as any judgment by a media star of Mr. Woods. Also relevant is how the media handled the situation with President Kennedy 'back in the day', compared with how they are handling Mr. Woods in the here-and-now. I do trust that - unlike John F. Kennedy - most of your readers know that Tiger Woods is NOT the President of the United States. If so, they may also understandably realize that this story is driven by an insatiable media, and not the 'discovery' of adultery, or fornication, as Mr. Woods is just one more person in the great bundle of complexity that may be referred to as "life on earth".
Let me also inform you that NO ONE I know is talking about Tiger Woods. (I agree with the fellow who told you this is a personal matter for Mr. Woods.) From my perspective, it is ONLY the media "big-shots" who need to write or talk about *anyone* else that take Mr. Woods personal business, and attempt to assassinate his character, and smear him on a daily basis, as if they were judge and jury, that are the ones talking about Mr. Woods. (And all of this without investigating Elin in the least, or anything she said or did that may be involved in the "misbehavior" of Mr. Woods.)
There have also been reports in the media that Elin knew before she married Tiger Woods about his "tendencies." How is this not brought up by an investigative reporter? Elin looks more and more like little or nothing more than a 'golddigger', and there are reports - again in the media - that she is now trying to renegotiate her PRE-nuptial agreement. How much money did Elin bring into the marriage? Why should she even be allowed to renegotiate a pre-nuptial agreement? She should not, and may in fact also be "to blame" in this matter - if ALL the truth ever comes out, which is very unlikely. What role, if any, did Elin play in the behavior of Mr. Woods? Who is looking into that, I wonder?
Why Mr. Woods decided to get married if he didn't intend to be faithful to his spouse is a great question, but so is why Elin married him in the first place, if she knew he wasn't the faithful type. However, it must be noted how very different is her reaction to 'problems at home' than that of Mrs. John F. Kennedy, who remained faithful to her husband, as most marital vows require (perhaps you have heard of the phrase ... "until death do us part?").
I'll confess right off that I have no idea what Elin did or did not do, or way, and that I have no plans to investigate it, either. With our budgetary problems, national gridlock over a non-existent 'health care crisis', and so many more, why should I even care in the least about either Mr. OR Mrs. Woods - who both have so much money now, that they can take care of themselves quite nicely.
In closing, I wish to disclose that golf is not any longer something I play, watch, or talk about. Professional sports in the United States have become little more than a money-and-fame machine, with just about everyone involved "whoring" themselves out to the highest bidder. Long-forgotten are a few things that some "regular folks" still remember, like being faithful to your team, or to your city, that may have given you the big break that millions of people may only be able to dream about. If maybe 1% of the time, money, and effort that goes into pro sports were put into solving the very real problems of this country, I propose that they could be solved - in very short order, as opposed dragging on and on and on and on ...
I enjoy your articles, Diane, because you write them in a way that is very user-friendly, whether or not I agree with them. It is in this spirit that I write this response, and I hope that you receive it in that way.
Comment: #1
Posted by: Pat
Sat Dec 19, 2009 5:40 AM
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Wow! What happened to all the paragraphs, CNS? I did not write the above as one long paragraph, and am disappointed to see it appear as one.
Comment: #2
Posted by: Pat
Sat Dec 19, 2009 5:43 AM
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In order to moralize, Diane, one must have morals. As a disciple and one of the founding members of the medialoid (mainstream media infected by tabloid journalism), you are guilty of proliferating sensationalism, triviality and gossip. And since you like to stalk Tiger's family by watching their house, you have little regard for one's privacy - which is another characteristic of medialoid. Let me ask you something. If you saw Tiger's wife and kids outside their house, would you have shown it on Entertainment Tonight? Something tells me you would. You were not there to try and understand Tiger, you wanted the "money shot", which is Tiger himself or his wife. Tiger may have humiliated his wife, but with disgusting shows like ET and NBC Dateline, you have successfully turned her private humiliation into a national spectacle. - congratulations!
So please spare me your talk about integrity and character. Tiger may lack these things in his life right now, but you, Diane, are a sanctimonious prig along with the rest of the medialoid
Comment: #3
Posted by: Daisy
Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:03 PM
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