The incident which took place at Tiger Wood’s home in the early hours of Friday morning could have happened to any married couple. Heated arguments followed by physical violence is so commonplace that most lower courts the world over hardly blink when these matters come before them.
As a specialised criminal attorney I’m speaking from experience here.
What is out of the ordinary in this case is the fact that a former model and golf superstar are involved.
As a result the world’s media has begun a feeding frenzy the likes of which we haven’t seen for a long while.
Why?
The fault lies primarily with Tiger Woods who has failed to come forward and clarify — to any material degree — what took place.
A recipe for disaster if ever there was one.
He issued the following statement :
- “As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I’m pretty sore.
This situation is my fault, and it’s obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I’m human and I’m not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn’t happen again.
This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way.
Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumours that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.
The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble.
She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.
This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be.”
That is by far the worst thing he could have done. Either you issue a statement getting rid of the issues of an affair, assault by your wife, the inconsistencies in the way the accident occurred and the speculation that your wife chased you from the home or you simply close it down and leave it all up in the air.
What you don’t do is hang between the two.
Here he has praised his wife but not cleared her while leaving a huge lacuna where the answers to all the above questions should have been.
It is not as if the media are being vague. They are asking whether an affair took place and as a result of that did Elin exact revenge with a golf club? By saying Elin’s too wonderful, quite marvellous but pass on the real issues you invite further speculation and those who consider your silence as proof that the allegations are true.
The only antidote to speculation is the truth and if that is considered a non-starter then no statement rather than a half-cocked one must be the order of the day.
Seriously Traps, who cares? Please, the media and others (who are there to inform) really need to stop trying to make news out of things that are NONE OF OUR BUSINESS.
The Joost of the states?
Too true Michael – he sounds like a politician skirting around the issue!
Question: do any “facts” exist that implies that Elin moerred Tiger with a golf-club or do we just WANT that to be the truth coz its so juicy?
Traps,
I am fascinated by this preoccupation of the media in speculating about events and propagating scenarios of what took place in events were there are no eyewitnesses other than Tiger Woods and wife.
There is no basis to doubt Tiger’s version of events and neither his wife’s because neither yourself and anybody else are eyewitnesses. You are merely engaging in tabloid journalism without evidence to support your speculation. Yet you see it fit to cast aspersions of versions offered by Tiger and accuse him of leaving a “cloud” and not clarifying your self-induced confusion. Neither Tiger and wife are confused about the “truth” that you perportedly seek. They know the facts and want to keep them private. Tiger has always been private about family matters. Besides, his extra-marital affair does not affect the media expect for the gossipy and nosy busy bodies.
” a half-cocked one must be the order of the day. ”
Considered De rigueur by our “Leaders” – so do not mock its success rate. Less chances of a court action.
Works better than “quoted out of context” – to “court cases” not so ?
he was slipping the salami to some other chick and elin found out.
he doesn’t want the mother of his children to go to jail, so he’s trying to make it go away. [does this sound familiar?]
do men who get battered by their wives get 8 days of recognition? it’s clear that elin has been taking lessons from tawny kitaen.
how does someone just “happen” to have a golf club in their hand at 2.30 in the morning if it’s not to beat someone’s ass? she was giving him a hiding. plain and simple.
Tiger owes not a soul, an explanation. Did he commit a crime?
There is a high probability that Elin did hit Tiger Woods with a golf club. Others are now speculating that since she is generally known to have quite a temper, this is not the forst time she is being physically abusive to him.
It’s sad really, she doesn’t deserve him. He’s such a charming old guy and a saint too.
The former nanny might have climbed up the ladder of affluence but you can’t buy class. She is still an abrasive, ill-bred, catty woman who needs to learn how to act decently. She gives all domestic workers (esp. nannies/au-pair’s etc) a bad name.
The seriousness of the situation will be clear if the journo’s can mention what club was used. I would think a Big Bertha would mean an open fly, lipstick on the dipstick, a putter on the other hand would mean giving a chick a lazy eye.
What useless info.
phillipa –
… might have climbed up the ladder of affluence but you can’t buy class. … is still an abrasive, ill-bred, catty … who needs to learn how to act decently.
i’m guessing you don’t know this, but you’ve just described eldrick as well. clearly, your husband’s bmw and living in rondebosch hasn’t granted you entree to the people that run around with tiger or actually have to compete with him.
a friend of mine who caddied to pay his way through his expensive university did a cost/benefit assessment and realized he could make more as a PGA caddy than using his MBA. so he does. and the talk among caddies is that eldrick is one of the nastiest, foul-mouthed, assaholic players on the tour whose personality is only tolerated because he wins so much.
the tiger from adverts? an act.
It’s none of our business and this is the reason so many people have stopped buying ‘news’papers; the media expect us to pay for this sort of drivel. If you want this sort of stuff, a different sort of paper should publish it and that’s what you’d buy.
@Philipa whaaaaaat? are you talking about? do you know these people personally? “Others are now speculating” and then you rant on…LOL you are a card..thanks for the laugh
Traps, Tigers statement invites a Booooring blog.
Thanks for supplying it.
Traps, now that you’re carving a niche for yourself as a Tabloid columnist(LOL), why don’t you blog about these two:
http://www.seal.com/category/featured/
And while you’re at it, I would like to know what Demi Moore has to saya bout Tallulah-Belle’s underage drinking and “child-pornography” claims.
@Phillipa
My, what airs, my sister. Did you also have to call Tiger ‘a charming old guy’?!?
@Traps
This thing is messed up. So do you REALLY need to rub the salt in the wound by ANALYSING IT the way you have? Man/woman stuff is complicated……I can just feel the sniggers and the silence around domestic violence because it was allegedly meted out on a man! As if it mustn’t be condemned….. I sigh in shame at all of us. I really thought that as South Africans we would be more sensitive about the situation….It is the 16 Day Activism time of reflection AGAINST domestic violence (amongst other things), people!!!
“As a specialised criminal attorney ” as you so humbly put it, don’t you have any better topic to analyse ? The dullest piece you’ve submitted yet, Traps.
Bongikosi – Tiger is the biggest story on the planet!
Everyone is fascinated about why the guy who has it all still needs a bit more.
Clowns like me maybe but Tiger with that wife, career and money?
Mundundu: Elin should have, perhaps, divorced him, if claims about his affairs were indeed true,not clubb him.
My husband doesn’t come from a well-off family, he worked his way. As a University student, he even worked as a barman so it’s not about class but breding. If you notice, many people from Europe, when they go to America, end up working in blue-collar jobs (esp men) even if some of them have University degrees!
Class is not about your job or income, it’s about breeding. Not that I am promoting classism-just a point of information.