On the 84th day, after the revelations of extramarital affair, Tiger Woods feels “sorry”. The globally televised apology, well prepared, lasted for approximately fourteen minutes. His mother went on saying at the end, hugging him, that she still loves him, is proud of him, he would never be alone and other consoling words.. but consoling for what? For having so many affairs after being a father of two children or for the infidelity acts or for deceiving his wife? He has brought his marriage as well as his illustrious career on a hold. Now, he feels he has done wrong to his family and fans. Perhaps, the No.1 golfer, has forgotten that things do not work out by saying “deeply sorry” that too for having sex with “few” other women.
Someone has aptly said about trust — “Trust is like a vase, once it’s broken, though you can fix it, the vase will never be the same”. Every marriage can’t be mended once it breaks, at least a “sorry” is not an easy way out. Moreover, actions in personal life speak louder than words on the national television.
Tiger Woods’ apology received mixed reactions from different people. Like American skier Julia Mancuso, a two-time silver medalist in the Vancouver Winter Olympics tweeted, “(Do) we think this is coming from the heart or the paper?” Even one of his mistresses termed it as “phoney”. But at the same time George Stephanopoulos, anchor for ABC’s “Good Morning America” called it “one of the most remarkable public apologies ever by a public figure … He left nothing on the table. This is a man who has thought a lot about what he did.”
Tiger Woods claims to have “sex-addiction”. This can most probably be a scapegoat. He is not the first celebrity who allegedly has sex addiction. The comedians Russel Brand and Michael Douglas are a few amongst them.
Woods, a 14-time championship winner has taken an indefinite break from golf due to bad publicity in the past months. Several big names and sponsors have ended their ties after the mystery car crash incident which led to all the revelations later.
Publicist Max Clifford said “Golf needs him far more than he needs golf.” This statement is expected to come as he had a tremendous fan following all over the world. He has brought a disgrace to himself.
His wife called off their divorce as he was having treatment for sex addiction in a rehab. As reports say, she has told a friend that Woods needs help at the moment and she is playing the role of a friend and nothing else. She was not at all appeased by his apology. So, may be Woods will have to try something else to get her back!
But really, does sorry always work?
The writer is a correspondent at Youth Ki Awaaz.