What does Woods owe us now? Nothing at all

Posted February 19, 2010 10:00 pm

By Barry Rozner

Tiger Woods took a step Friday morning.

A small one.

He took a step toward regaining the trust of those who matter most to him, but as he said, his actions will matter much more than any words.

If you have seen anyone struggle with addiction, then you know that rarely does anyone kick a bad habit on the first try, and you know that making amends and apologizing to those he has injured is part of a long and painful process.

Woods admitted Friday that - like many pro athletes - he made the mistake of believing the rules of marriage, the rules of life, didn't apply to him because of a perverse sense of entitlement that money and fame grant those who choose to take advantage.

He is taking a moral inventory, and whether he uses this opportunity to fix what's broken is entirely up to him, and we will likely never know whether this is genuine.

But it is also an opportunity to give back to those he has injured, including the parents who have held him up as a role model to their children.

In that, there is very much a teachable moment for all of us.

As my kids know too well, I can barely get out of bed in the morning without getting it wrong before I reach the washroom.

We are all human. We all make mistakes.

But for all of his apologies for marital infidelity, I do not believe he owes anyone anything beyond his wife, his children and his immediate family.

It is only those few people who can forgive him, who have to decide whether he is sincere.

The rest of us have no right to decide how he should live his life or to want more from him, despite screams that he owes the world - specifically the golf world - more than what he served up in a statement Friday.

That, of course, will not stop the media from making demands and being angry, and when he told the media Friday that his personal life is none of their business, you can be sure their anger was not diminished.

They will continue to call him gutless, aloof and controlling, and blast the choreography of Friday's event, which was not intended to be a news conference, as so many have suggested.

It was merely a step in the rehab process, something so many fail to understand.

But that has been the most shocking part of the story that began on Thanksgiving, that there is so much jealousy and resentment - perhaps even hatred - among PGA Tour players and media, something they never felt comfortable displaying until Woods was down and in a position to be kicked.

We need not remind you that because of Woods there is a national golf media that exists in the worst economic crisis in our lifetime, and an entire network survives because of Woods.

And we need not remind you that the 100th golfer on the money list last year - Ted Purdy - earned $838,707.

In 1996 when Woods turned pro, the 100th ranked golfer - Olin Browne - collected $223,703.

That's not an adjustment for inflation. That's an entire economy based on one man and his phenomenal athletic achievements.

If there is ever evidence that what he's done on the golf course has been advanced by performance-enhancing drugs - a rumor he flatly denied Friday - that would change my opinion of Tiger Woods, as well as my approach to him.

Until then, I hope he returns to golf and gives us the same thrills he has delivered in the past, and more than anything I hope his wife can someday put behind her the horrible humiliation and pain Woods has heaped upon her.

Of that, I am quite skeptical, but again, that is none of my business.

As for what he's done to the game of golf, at this point the harm is precisely zero.

Unless he doesn't return to the game and win at the same pace he always has, he will have injured the game in no way.

Tiger Woods is the PGA Tour. He is the reason most people watch, and most people watch because they want him to win.

If anything, ratings will go through the roof when he returns, as those not accustomed to watching will tune in to see if Woods has become a 10-car pileup.

So if you once liked Woods but don't anymore because of how he's lived his life, well, that's entirely your choice and it's a free country.

If you don't want to watch anymore, don't. You owe him nothing.

Thing is, like Michael Jordan and all the other womanizers before him, Woods is just an athlete paid to entertain.

And beyond that, he doesn't owe you anything, either.

brozner@dailyherald.com

Tiger Woods, hugs and kisses his mother, Kultida Woods, during a news conference in, Friday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Associated Press

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<h1>More Coverage</h1>

<h2>Stories</h2>

<li><a href="/story/?id=360453">Woods: 'Sorry' for irresponsible behavior, unsure when he'll return <span class="date">[02/19/10]</span></a></li>

<li><a href="/story/?id=360460">Woods makes his case as millions pause to watch <span class="date">[02/19/10]</span></a></li>

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