Tiger burns bright on media pyre

OPINION: Finally the cruel beast that is professional sport has caught up with Tiger Woods, writes Logan Savory in this week's Sav's Say.

For so long he has gone from golf tournament to golf tournament hitting the little white ball with pinpoint precision.

While doing that Woods has conducted himself as Mr Perfect, from the way he trains to the way he deals with the media and sponsors.

Most marvel at what he has done as a golfer, and we all should considering he has won 14 majors in his career and is four short of equalling Jack Nicklaus' all-time record of 18.

But the bright lights of professional sport have a way of being cruel, very cruel in fact.

In modern times sports followers and the media have felt the need to ram their ethical values down the throat of others and call for justice using the way they choose to live their life as the guidelines.

It happened with rugby league star Matthew Johns this year when he was taken down over his affair with a Christchurch women during a trip to New Zealand with the Cronulla Sharks.

Earlier this week Tiger Woods crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant while trying to leave his house at 2.25am in the morning.

A pretty minor accident really and one that would generally be brushed to one side.

But the fact he supposedly had a tiff with his wife Elin in the lead-up to the crash makes this situation more juicy for everyone.

Woods is fast becoming the latest athlete to get the sledgehammer swung his way.

Allegations are being hurled all over the place that Woods has been having numerous affairs and the American public have gone into a frenzy over it.

Until Woods himself admits such an affair I would be very reluctant to believe any of these women who have approached the media.

And if it comes out that he in fact has decided to swing his club on another golf course, then what changes?

Yes, his brand would take a massive hit because people do make decisions on what to buy based around their ethical values, but one piece of the pie remains firmly intact.

He is the world's greatest golfer and even the professional sporting monster can't deny that.

» Logan Savory is a former Southland cricket representative who was named New Zealand junior sportswriter of the year at the 2007 TP McLean journalism awards. His main rounds are cricket and rugby.

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JGM   #1   08:25 am Dec 06 2009

Blah, blah, blah. I bet you top dollar that the people interested in this story, or think that they have a right to know, or feel that their moral compass allows them to comment, are the same ones who say that the paparazzi are scum, drove Princess Di to the grave, etc.

Stories such as this are all about selling newspapers and spindoctoring the story for maximum effect. Womans magazines, gossip magazines, love this stuff, yet by buying and reading magazines filled with these character assasinations and other newsless stories/junk everyone justifies the paparazzi and their business.

This is not news. This is not entertainment. This is not even interesting. To think that reading about a couples marital problems and a husbands infidelity is just sad. People need to get a life.

Good grief.

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