Did Tiger miss an opportunity?

[mvmac]

Yesterday Tiger was asked about it in a press conference in Australia and he dodged the heart of the issue as always. I like Jason Sobels articles and think he's got a good point here. http://www.golfchannel.com/news/jason-sobel/missed-opportunity/ But Tiger will never be that open to the media. He always try to say the least amount he can get away with. Doesn't help with his image. Makes Tiger more of a cardboard cut out than a person. Like when his scandal broke out a couple years ago, it was weird to think of him having real human desires other preparing for the next major. There's obviously a person under those layers of PR armor. Would have been interesting to see more of the "real" Tiger yesterday.

[boogielicious]

I liked that he took the high road at this point in time.  It is better, in my opinion, to let it cool down so a rational discussion can be made.  If he responded with anything, it may have blown up worse.  A lot of writers have already taken the opportunity to bring the subject up.

Besides, no matter what he says, the media will not like it, so why fuel their frenzy.  I think it makes Stevie look that much more the Dolt too.

[Zwick]

I think Tiger did the right thing, everything else would have made the story even bigger and I guess that's not what he wanted. He needs to focus on the golf, not on all the drama.

[uttexas]

(edited--I see now that Tiger said he was "surprised and hurt"--I feel that his words are a good response to the Stevie issue). Tiger has been overly cautious and robotic with what he says long before Thanksgiving 2009, and the lack of emotional content to what he verbally says is detrimental to how the public views him. Tiger has had difficulty in the past in regards to similar scenarios 1. 1997 Buckwheat "dictate joke" 2. 1997 Fuzzy Zoeller He was scolded by some in the media how he handled things early on, which may have made him a bit reluctant to engage reporters/the public.

[Grumpter]

Not a huge Tiger fan but can't blame him at all for 'saying the least he can get away with'. Enough of the media and public will latch on to anything and blow it way out of proportion or worse completely twist it into something it's not (especially these days when anyone can become a 'writer'). Like when someone uses the word black when talking about a person who is ummmmm a black man.... just for an example. The media are more about 'let's see what controversy we can create' rather than 'here is an interesting story'. (which it was if they hadn't tried to turn it into a racial thing).

I wouldn't blame any sports star/celebrity if they decided to limit all answers to 3 words or less. The media/public have shown they don't deserve much more. YMMV.

[Hairy Feet]

Tiger answered it how he decided to answer it. He could have answered it in whatever way he chose, and no doubt would have had the moral high ground and sympathy that an injured party receives. I see little point in speculating in what he could or should have said.

[TourSpoon]

I think he handled it fine. Personally, I don't think he had much choice. It really is an issue between him and Stevie so it's a guy thing not to cry about it in public. That's not his style at all. The other way to look at it was that he shouldn't kick a guy when he is down. If Tiger, who recently asked for forgiveness for a worse transgression, showed anything less than what he did he would have been viewed as hypocritical. Overall, I thought his response was appropriate.

[B-Con]

He's not the type to show personal emotion or feeling, he probably doesn't like to. And I don't see what advantage he would have if he had in this situation. So, nothing lost.

[The_Pharaoh]

I don't think he lost an opportunity here. He did the right thing by making it clear he was unhappy with the comment and then simply letting Williams stew in his own juice. If he had made a huge song and dance about it, it would have fueled the media circus already surrounding him. He's doing his best to try and get his life (and career) back on track and the last thing he needs is this issue to escalate.

[Bo the Golfer]

Agree with the below. Tiger has never/will never be open with the public so to expect that now is just a case of not paying attention.

Originally Posted by The_Pharaoh

I don't think he lost an opportunity here. He did the right thing by making it clear he was unhappy with the comment and then simply letting Williams stew in his own juice. If he had made a huge song and dance about it, it would have fueled the media circus already surrounding him. He's doing his best to try and get his life (and career) back on track and the last thing he needs is this issue to escalate.

[TourSpoon]

I agree...and I still believe that from a marketing standpoint, people in glass houses should not throw stones.  He asked for forgiveness, so anything less from him is hypocritical. His response was about what I had expected from him on both counts, the personal and the business side.

[FLOG4]

I agree Tiger was spot on in his remarks.  Any public figure that has a story in their past is best advised to be very brief in their remarks.  The media has a penchant to isolate parts of statements and then try to make a story out of a portion of the dialogue. So keep it short best for most.

[zeg]

Dumb article.  No possible good could come from breathing more life into this story, and Woods has no reason to take the "opportunity" that this guy fabricated.  The only opportunity missed was for the tabloids who don't get a juicy public feud.  Woods, Williams, and the public are all better off thanks to Woods' restraint.