A Broken Man Has Spoken

I have been very angry at Tiger Woods for his arrogance and his duplicitous portrayal of an American hero. Like so many others, I believed his alleged stint in rehab for sex addiction was just another tactic in his public relations strategy for damage control.

This morning -- just about 30 minutes ago -- I watched as a man who looked very much like Tiger Woods bared his soul to a roomful of people he had let down and to a viewing audience who have speculated about his "transgressions" for the past three months. But this was not the Tiger Woods we saw before Thanksgiving. This was a humiliated, sorrowful, embarrassed and frightened Everyman who apologized repeatedly, asked for help and begged to be held solely responsible for his behavior. He convincingly defended his wife, who has been relentlessly pursued by a rabid press corps, by denying any domestic violence of any kind, and he asked that she and their children be left alone.

There were no crocodile tears, no histrionics and no attempt to excuse or explain away his actions. Just a slump-shouldered, empty-eyed, regular guy who has screwed up royally and knows it.

It took a lot of guts and humility to face the world the way Tiger Woods did today. It wasn't that he made the statement that is remarkable. It is what the statement said. Time will tell how sincere he really is, but for this moment in time, well done Mr. Woods.