After months of hiding, Tiger Woods decided to give a public statement about his “indiscretions.”
Tiger, dressed in a blue button-down shirt and dark blue blazer, held his press conference at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse in Ponte Vedra Beach at 11 a.m. ET this morning. With Tiger was his mother Kultida, but not his wife Elin.
The crowd of those at the event was reportedly small and handpicked for the carefully controlled environment. The few members of the media that were invited were told they could not ask questions. The majority of reporters were in another area, watching Tiger on a television.
Three members of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA) were initially invited. They negotiated to up that number to six, but ended up boycotting the event in the end. Vartan Kupelian, the GWAA president, told CNN, “As long as we’re not going to have the ability to ask questions, as long as we’re just going to be standing there like props, there’s no point of us being in the room.”
What exactly did Tiger say? Nothing that we didn’t really already know from news reports and tabloids. He said, “”I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you.” He also added that he was sorry “for all I have done.” Then he admitted the big revelation – “I had affairs, I cheated. What I did was not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame.”
Former sportcaster Pat O’Brien criticized the way the press conference was held, saying “it’s already a disaster.” He also pointed out that Tiger was “ripped to shreds” on sports talk shows this morning.
While fans and reporters might not appreciate Tiger’s effort, it seems the sponsors that he still has do. Nike released a statement through a spokeman that said, “Tiger has apologized and made his position clear. Nike fully supports him and his family. We look forward to him returning to golf.” Gatorade said, “We wish Tiger well as he works through these private matters.” Another sponsor, Gillette, issued a statement which read “Tiger spoke today and addressed the issues he felt were most important. His words stand on their own. We wish him and his family the best.” EA Sports also said they were “supportive of his [Tiger’s] focus toward family and rebuilding his life.”
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