Tiger Woods: My Thoughts
Tiger Woods held a news conference this week to apologize to the public for cheating on his wife. The apology wasn’t to his wife, it was to his fans and all the other people he let down publicly by his actions. In essence, his apology was to you and me. Do you believe Tiger was sincere? That’s the golden question.
Immediately after watching Tiger say “all the right things”, I speculated that the public would be deeply divided on their opinions. Tiger, when you watched him, no doubt, had a speech coach and in my opinion, that coach failed him miserably. He told Tiger to pause in places that were unnatural for him, and he tried to get Tiger to emphasize things in ways that he wouldn’t do himself. These behaviors, I believe, skewed a lot of people’s beliefs negatively. Many people saw him as phony, I suspect without understanding the reasoning as to why.
Read moreBody language is very complex and if we modify what is normal for someone and aren’t careful, those who are less discerning will confuse the message. Tiger’s apology would have been a greater success, if he followed his heart instead of his coach, if you want my opinion.
Many people balked at Tiger for reading his apology. I place no judgment on Tiger for this element of his speech. When you are nervous and humiliated for what you have done, facing people and owning up to it, rattles the best of us. And if you have a lot of things to say, as Woods did here, it is easy to forget things.
With all of that being said, I believed Tiger’s apology was sincere. His facial expressions, tone of voice and all the other elements that he can’t consciously control were supportive. There was no underlying or leaking arrogance or cockiness that he was trying to hid, which would be hot spots. How many other athletes can you say that about when they have apologized about indiscretions? I can’t think of any offhand.
It was clear that Tiger was not his usual rock-solid self, except at times that he felt justified, which was scolding the media for ridiculing his wife and family.
In the first second of Tiger’s interview, before he even speaks, Tiger shows a brief subtle expression of fear. He is obviously scared to face the public. This expression caught me by surprise. Tiger has always been as solid as a rock in front of the camera, but this time it is was different. And it wasn’t his last expression of fear either. Tiger continued to flash this expression during his interview. If Tiger’s apology was all rhetoric, I don’t think he would have felt fear. He would have felt indignant, but he did not. I don’t see any hints of indignation whatsoever, which is highly notable.
There were moments where he clearly showed humility, which is hard to fake. Other times, Tiger lowered his eyebrows as he spoke which some might confuse with anger, but this expression was actually indicative of sincerity. It’s like an added emphasis to what he was saying. Insincere people do not do this.
When Tiger says, “I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in,” he expresses anguish.
If you listen closely, at certain points, you can hear Tiger’s voice give out, ever-so-slightly, from time-to-time. This is a sign of his emotional state. He is truly feeling these emotions.
There is also a heaviness in Tiger’s eyes and a slowness in his blinking and facial expressions that you can’t coach. Compare it to other interviews of Tiger to see for yourself.
If we apply logic to Tiger’s indiscretions and ask why did this happen, I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to understand it, and I was really happy to hear Tiger say it. What he said was not easy to say. I’ve actually never heard another athlete be so honest before.
Tiger said:
I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in. I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn’t apply. I never thought about who I was hurting. Instead, I thought only about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries that a married couple should live by. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn’t have to go far to find them.
This statement is clearly taking full ownership for his actions. There is no other explanation that is as sincere as this. If Tiger was just going through the motions, and not completely accepting his downfall, I don’t think he would have said this. It would have been too close to home.
Compare Tiger’s behavior to Australian Matthew Johns as he talks about his indiscretions. The two interviews are distinctly different. Johns leaks a lot of telltale signs that he isn’t half as sorry as he says he is…
