Excerpts of the Tiger Woods press conference: “I have let you down, personally and professionally”
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“Good morning, and thank you for joining me. Many of you in this room are my friends. Many of you in this room know me. Many of you have cheered for me, have worked with me, always supported me. Now, every one of you has good reason to be critical of me. I want to say to each on of you simply and directly I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in. I know people want to find out how i could be so selfish and foolish.”
“I have let you down”
“Elin never hit me that night or any night
there has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage.
Elin deserves praise, not blame.”
“I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable. and I am the only person to blame.
Tiger Woods, in happier times
I knew my actions were wrong.
I never thought about who I was hurting.
Instead I thought only about myself.”
“I brought this shame on myself.I hurt my wife, my kids, my mother, my wife’s mother, my foundation, and kids all around the world who admired me.”
“It’s up to me to start living a life of integrity.
I once heard, and I believe it’s true, it’s not what you achieve in life that matters. It’s what you overcome.”
“It’s hard to admit that I need help. but I do.
For 45 days, I was in in-patient therapy, receiving guidance for the issues I’m facing.
but I’ve taken my first steps in the right direction.”
“For the sake of my family: please leave my wife and kids alone.”
“Above all, I am the one that needs to change.
I owe it to my family to become a better person.”
“I have a lot of work to do. And I intend to dedicate myself to doing it.”
“Starting tomorrow, I will leave for more treatment, and more therapy. ”
“I need to regain my balance, and be centered, so I can save the things more important to me: my children, and my marriage.”
“I do plan to return to golf one day.
When I do return, I need to make my behavior more respectful of the game.”
“There are many people in this room, and there are many people at home, who believed in me. Today, I want to ask for your help. I ask you to find room in your heart to one day, believe in me again. Thank you.”
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On November 25, 2009, supermarket tabloid The National Enquirer published a story claiming that Woods had an extramarital affair with nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel?, a claim she denied. The story began to attract media attention when Woods had a car accident a day and a half later. He was leaving his home around 2:30 a.m. in his SUV, a 2009 Cadillac Escalade, when he collided with a hedge, a fire hydrant, and finally a tree down the street. Woods was treated for minor facial lacerations, and cited for careless driving. He refused to speak to the police and the accident fanned intense speculation for the following two days until he released a statement on his website. He took blame for the crash, but said it was a private matter; he also praised his wife Elin for getting him out of the car. Woods later announced that he would not attend his own charity golf tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, or any other remaining tournaments in 2009.
Interest in the story grew, until San Diego cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs publicly claimed in the gossip magazine Us Weekly that she had a two-and-a-half-year affair with Woods, producing voice and text messages that she said Woods left her. The voice message stated: “Hey it’s Tiger, I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone…You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye.”Woods released an apology on the same day the story was published, expressing regret for “transgressions” and saying “I have let my family down.” Woods was not specific about the reason for the apology, and requested privacy.
After over a dozen women claimed in various media outlets that they had affairs with Woods, media pressure increased. On December 11, he released another statement, admitting to infidelity, offering another apology, and announcing an indefinite hiatus from professional golf. On the same day, lawyers acting on his behalf obtained an injunction in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, preventing the publication in the UK of any images of Woods naked or having sexual intercourse, while denying that Woods was aware of the existence of any such images. Reporting the subject of the injunction was also itself injuncted. The following week, one of the women who had undertaken media interviews regarding her relationship with Woods admitted having taken photographs of Woods naked, on the pre-meditated premise that she would sell them if they ever broke up.
The day after the statement, several companies indicated they were reconsidering endorsement deals. Gillette suspended advertising featuring Woods, and said they would not be hiring him for any public appearances for the company. On December 13, management consultancy firm Accenture completely cut its sponsorship of Woods, stating that the golfer was “no longer the right representative.”
On December 11, 2009, Woods announced he would take an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity.
In this press conference, Tiger Woods also mentioned how he would be seeking to return to his roots on the Buddhist faith, which he admitted abandoning in recent years.
____________________Written by Jean Valjean
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Feb 19 2010
