First, the "accident." I am by no means as expert in the field, but I have a lot of experience with domestic violence. Before anyone wonders about my home life, let me clarify. At work, I have responded to probably hundreds of domestic violence calls. I have seen everything from homeless couples, homosexual couples, "normal" couples, and extremely wealthy couples experience domestic violence. In my experience, there have been two main causes of domestic violence in these situations, infidelity and alcohol. In Tiger's case, infidelity seems to have been rampant. With all of the women coming forward and all of the stories of people seeing him with other women, his wife had to know what was going on behind her back. I do not know if the National Enquirer story was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back, but it sounds like she snapped. It happens. We really have no idea what we will personally do in a situation until we are in the middle of that situation. It is very easy to say I would do this or I would remain rational and in control, but often that is not what really happens. I have no idea if Elin slapped him or hit him or pushed him, but it appears that she beat the crap out of his truck with a golf club. You just can't make this stuff up. Incidentally, that is not illegal. You are within your rights to destroy your own property. Since they are married, what belongs to him, belongs to her. Tiger actually tried to do the smart thing by leaving. When things seem to be turning violent, the best course of action is to leave until things calm down and Elin puts down the 3 iron.
Second, skipping his tournament. Tiger was scheduled to host and to play in a tournament benefitting his charities in Southern California this week. At first he said that the injuries were minor and that he was fine, and then he pulled out of the event due to those same injuries. Convenient. He could have played golf with his "injuries". He won a US Open on one leg in 2008. Bumps and bruises would not have fazed his golfing ability. But the media circus that would have taken place, especially in light of the other allegations coming out this week, would have really tested him. Tiger does not normally back down from a test, but this week has been anything but normal for Tiger. Under the same situation, I would have skipped the event as well. I understand that he has an obligation to the sponsors, but I would argue that staying home this week actually is better for the sponsors in the long run. It is all about damage control at this point. I do not see the up side to sitting in front of hundreds of cameras with scratches on your face answering questions about your private life.
Third, Tiger and technology. There was an entertaining article on Gizmodo.com that discussed how technology brought down Tiger and what he could have done differently. The article discussed using a prepaid phone and whatever you do, DO NOT leave your name on a voicemail. Chances are, if you are having an affair with this person, she is going to recognize your voice.
Finally, all of the money. From the sound of the reports, Tiger is paying Elin to stay married to him. Their prenuptial agreement (20 million after 10 years of marriage) is being re-negotiated. The numbers being reported are 5 million up front and an additional 55 million after two years. I am guessing Elin will stay Mrs. Tiger for at least the next two years. It is not a good sign that a marriage is stable when (swinging golf clubs aside) monetary negotiations are necessary to extend the marriage. Then there was the "unforeseen circumstances" that stopped the "tell all" press conference that was scheduled by Rachel, one of the women with whom he allegedly had an affair. One million dollars worth of "unforeseen circumstances" seem to have changed her mind. From the sound of things, Tiger is trying to use vast amounts of money to keep things quiet. I hope that he has saved some of the 1 billion that he has earned, because women will be coming out of the woodwork for this payday.
Sadly, it is not a surprising story, but it is like a train wreck, you just can't turn away from it.
No comments:
Post a Comment