Tiger's Death Stare at Alex Miceli

[iacas]

I think he handled it about as well as he could have, and Alex Miceli has had a bug up his rear about Tiger ever since Turkey Night 2K9.

Sandwedge, you're welcome to your opinions, but you're in the minority here, and generally speaking, you too seem to be harboring some incredibly strong feelings that date back to several years ago. Let go of them. You'll be happier for it. I highly doubt Tiger ever did anything personally to you or even to someone you know really well.

[Hoganwoods]

Those who think Tiger needs a lesson in PR should try answering the same non golf related questions over and over.  Reporters these days have this self imposed belief that they have the right to know anything about an athlete just because he/she makes a ton of money.  The fans seem to think that because they buy a ticket to a hockey game or PGA tour event and that they help pay player salaries, that they should have full access to those athletes.  That's BS.  People love watching sports for their OWN gratification. We love watching sports for ourselves just like we like going out and doing whatever else we do with our lives.   Athletes don't owe us anything, and if reporters keep insisting on asking stupid questions that they know will not be answered, then they deserve whatever they get.  Tiger isn't there to set an example and people that have come to say that athletes should be held to a higher standard are ridiculous.  We PAY to watch greatness at all levels of all sports.  We don't pay for a lesson in humanity.

[Canuck]

I think Tiger is one of the greatest golfers ever. However, IMO he needs some serious help when it comes to PR. Look at guys like Phil, Keegan, Donald and even Rory.... when they are up on the stand being ripped or answering a million questions they more times then not will answer and try and keep a good public imagine about them. After Keegan's recent spitting criticism came out, he stood up and owned it and promised to improve himself. Thats a pro and he is a good man for speaking openly about it. He could have pulled a tiger and refused to answer and or pulled out the googley eyes but he owned it. IMO, with they way the media is now a days (and it isn't going to get any easier) I think Tiger would be a lot better off if he would try and answer the tough questions a little better. I know he is under such a microscope but he would seriously make it easier on himself if he would cut down on that I'm better than you attitude. Again this is just my opinion and how I see Tiger coming across. I like Tiger and he is a great golfer.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Canuck

I think Tiger is one of the greatest golfers ever. However, IMO he needs some serious help when it comes to PR. Look at guys like Phil, Keegan, Donald and even Rory.... when they are up on the stand being ripped or answering a million questions they more times then not will answer and try and keep a good public imagine about them.

Look, there's no question that in many ways Phil blows Tiger out of the water in terms of PR, but Phil's blown off the media countless times following bad rounds and Tiger's done that about as many times as you can count on one hand. He may be gruff, he may come off poorly (Augusta last year or the year before, for example), but he shows up. Phil ducks the media when he doesn't win or has a bad final round (notably he didn't at the 2006 U.S. Open) more frequently than people realize.

Also, Phil gave similarly curt answers when he was asked about his gambling habits and debts.

[TourSpoon]

This all would have been avoided if Tiger's agent would not have made his comment in the first place. It opened the door for the question to be asked based on the agent's strong response. If he would have just dismissed it as nothing with no opinion, they couldn't turn around and use it as the basis of their questioning. If this was done, Tiger could have said, "I have no comment and that message has been relayed consistently through my agent. Next question." Instead we get the ridiculous Alex, the showdown, and more distractions to golf. I am surprised that one of those guys didn't ask a question like "Your agent feels that the book was a violation of trust, do you feel violated?" That could have happened and again, Tiger's people need to think before they put out charged statements because they know the press will feast on it.

[zeg]

Let's remember that we're talking about sports reporting here. This is entertainment, nothing more.

When a senator or president is on the stage, a good journalist has a responsibility to ask tough questions and press for real answers. Those people make decisions and set policies that have a real effect on our lives and they owe complete and honest answers to the public. The journalists are there on behalf of that public.

When Tiger Woods is on stage, if he says he's not going to answer any more questions about X, then a reporter who asks about X is probably being a douche. When that reporter gets shitty about being reminded that Tiger is not going to comment further on it, he is definitely being a douche.

I'm sure HH is grateful to Miceli for making more news about the book. Personally, I'm not going anywhere near that exploitative pulp. A decent human being wouldn't publish a book about a colleague, current or former, without his blessing.

[Canuck]

I agree that the media pushes and pushes, I'm not surprised that Tiger cracks now and again. However with that said, because of who he is and what he has accomplished he will always be front and center. Its Alex's and other media's job to push for the hard questions and get the answers, kind of journalism 101. For the most part the general public loves to hear about the dirt and what Tiger is doing. Look at golf channel this am its all about Tigers reaction and how he over reacted to the media questions. Even when Tiger is playing like crap he is all the media wants to cover. He could go out and shoot 80 in a major and still be the featured group with shot by shot tv coverage. Which is just fine but the hard questions come with the publicity.

Also when tiger doesn't answer the the tough questions it will just make the media ask it more and more.

[zeg]

Originally Posted by Canuck

Its Alex's and other media's job to push for the hard questions and get the answers, kind of journalism 101. For the most part the general public loves to hear about the dirt and what Tiger is doing.

As I said above, I don't agree. If Tiger does not want to answer any question for any reason, that's his prerogative. He has no responsibility to answer personal questions for the public. Journalists are free to ask questions, but their job doesn't give them a pass on being decent or respectful of other people. Feeding the public's thirst for salacious gossip is a pretty low calling.

[Mr. Desmond]

On a related note, the timing of the excerpt release and Tiger's "controversial" press conference could not come at a better time for Hank.

He released an email to all those on his list saying pre-ordering was now available.

Coincidence? or a very strategic plan?

____

Between the two extreme views we see in several posts (Tiger is a douce, Micelli is a douche, etc), there is a middle ground where Tiger can control the situation. I suggest he go back to his Buddhist roots and find a positive solution because Tiger's people have been wrong about handling him since Shanksgiving. Steinberg was wrong to say anything about the book. He only drew attention to it, and his statement was more emotional than reasoned. I understand he did not clear the release with Tiger.

Tiger -- needs to handle the situation in a positive way. Since his agent caused the controversy with the release of his statement opposing the book, that opened Tiger to answering questions about it from the press. It was wrong for him to duck it since his agent opened up the issue with his defensive statement.

Tiger could have said, my dad was a military man who served in Vietnam and I admire the Navy Seals. While in another life, I may want to be a Navy Seal, I wanted to see how they trained. So I spent a couple of days with them, observing their training. It was fun. But I did not consider chucking my career to enlist so I might become a Navy Seal. But look, as to this book, they are Hank's opinions and impressions, they are not mine. He is entitled to his story - but it is his story. I wish him luck, and when you want to hear my life story, I will have one -- after my career is finished. I suggest you wait for that book.

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by iacas

Look, there's no question that in many ways Phil blows Tiger out of the water in terms of PR, but Phil's blown off the media countless times following bad rounds and Tiger's done that about as many times as you can count on one hand. He may be gruff, he may come off poorly (Augusta last year or the year before, for example), but he shows up. Phil ducks the media when he doesn't win or has a bad final round (notably he didn't at the 2006 U.S. Open) more frequently than people realize.

Also, Phil gave similarly curt answers when he was asked about his gambling habits and debts.

I agree with this.  If you're going to criticize Tiger's media interactions, it's that he's too scripted, robotic, and unemotional.  There have been a few occasions when he simply refused to talk about whatever issue he's being prodded on, and if pressed he would simply repeat "not going to discuss that" like it was pre-programmed until the questioner asked a different question.

If you're going to complain about Tiger in interviews, complain about the way he talks about his golf.  For year-long or longer stretches of his career, it wouldn't matter how he played or what he shot, he was always "didn't get it done," but "hitting some good shots," "real close," "glad he was finally going to have some time to practice," and "just needed to make a few putts."

[mtsalmela80]

Welcome to the United States

Originally Posted by zeg

Feeding the public's thirst for salacious gossip is a pretty low calling.

[Canuck]

Originally Posted by zeg

As I said above, I don't agree. If Tiger does not want to answer any question for any reason, that's his prerogative. He has no responsibility to answer personal questions for the public. Journalists are free to ask questions, but their job doesn't give them a pass on being decent or respectful of other people. Feeding the public's thirst for salacious gossip is a pretty low calling.

Totally agree that it is his prerogative to answer or not to answer. Im sure you must agree that if he chooses to not answer it and come across with a prickly demeanour that it will just fuel the fire. Now Tiger was totally thrown to the wolves, so to speak, by his agent and Im sure he is really happy with him. Tiger is under so much pressure for the American public to be #1 again that all the new media crap can't be easy to handle.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by iacas

I think he handled it about as well as he could have, and Alex Miceli has had a bug up his rear about Tiger ever since Turkey Night 2K9.

Sandwedge, you're welcome to your opinions, but you're in the minority here, and generally speaking, you too seem to be harboring some incredibly strong feelings that date back to several years ago. Let go of them. You'll be happier for it. I highly doubt Tiger ever did anything personally to you or even to someone you know really well.

Tiger and his agent handled and have handled the entire situation poorly for over two years.

Tiger's agent opened Tiger up to the questions by his rather emotional reaction to the excerpt from Haney's book. Micelli referred to Steinberg's reaction for asking the question -- Micelli, I'm afraid, was correct.

You would think that Tiger by now would be prepped for such answers or would have reached back to his Buddhist roots to react in a positive manner (see press conference after Shanksgiving where he implied as much). I guess his mom has the Buddhist roots, and Tiger can only answer questions like a petulant brat instead of a reasoned, mature professional. You'd think after years of being in the limelight and the scandal, that he'd received counseling or training to brush away these issue in a positive manner. But he has not. He ought to fire his agent or tell Steinberg to shut up, and find someone else to help him with PR, or maybe, just maybe, Tiger ought to grow up and be genuine. He needs help outside of the golf course.

Tiger just doesn't handle himself well.

[iacas]

Mr. Desmond, you're acting as if Tiger handled it really "negatively." You wanted him to talk about his training with the Navy Seals and his dad being in the military. He didn't want to talk about it. He basically said "no comment." That's not negative. It's not positive either, but again, "positive" to you was talking about it and he clearly didn't want to do that . Had he answered the question "positively" he'd then get a billion more questions, and you'd (and others would) expect him to answer all of those "positively" as well.

He handled it fine.

And what his agent did or didn't do doesn't matter either - it doesn't obligate Tiger to answer.

[Canuck]

Originally Posted by iacas

Mr. Desmond, you're acting as if Tiger handled it really "negatively." You wanted him to talk about his training with the Navy Seals and his dad being in the military. He didn't want to talk about it. He basically said "no comment." That's not negative. It's not positive either, but again, "positive" to you was talking about it and he clearly didn't want to do that. Had he answered the question "positively" he'd then get a billion more questions, and you'd (and others would) expect him to answer all of those "positively" as well.

He handled it fine.

And what his agent did or didn't do doesn't matter either - it doesn't obligate Tiger to answer.

But it just fuels the fire. Now he gets painted negatively in the media and is still going to be pushed on the topic. I know its kind of a no win situation for him but the way he came across I think is that is driving the media frenzy. He could have come out looking good and still not had to answer the question but when he shot back it just makes the whole situation worse.

[newtogolf]

Tigers agent is there to represent and protect his client, that's what agents do. Steinberg knew the exerpts from the book hit the news and tried to head off the questions before his client was bombarded with them.  Everyone seemed to respect the request except for Micelli.  Do you truly believe if Steinberg didn't make his opening remarks stating Tiger would not be answering questions about the book that Micelli wouldn't have asked his questions?  If you do, I have a bridge to sell you.  Micelli accomplished what he set out to do, make headlines for himself, and get everyone talking about him.

What do you guys want Tiger to do?  This isn't Tigers book, he didn't authorize it, contribute to it knowingly, nor will he receive any financial benefit from it.  Haney betrayed an implied trust, he appears to be within his legal right to do so, but Tiger shouldn't be expected to promote it for him.  What Haney is doing with this book is no better and maybe actually worse IMO than the women that Tiger slept with who came forward for paid interviews after Thanksgiving.  His and their only objective was to make some more money off Tigers name.

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Tiger and his agent handled and have handled the entire situation poorly for over two years.

Tiger's agent opened Tiger up to the questions by his rather emotional reaction to the excerpt from Haney's book. Micelli referred to Steinberg's reaction for asking the question -- Micelli, I'm afraid, was correct.

You would think that Tiger by now would be prepped for such answers or would have reached back to his Buddhist roots to react in a positive manner (see press conference after Shanksgiving where he implied as much). I guess his mom has the Buddhist roots, and Tiger can only answer questions like a petulant brat instead of a reasoned, mature professional. You'd think after years of being in the limelight and the scandal, that he'd received counseling or training to brush away these issue in a positive manner. But he has not. He ought to fire his agent or tell Steinberg to shut up, and find someone else to help him with PR, or maybe, just maybe, Tiger ought to grow up and be genuine. He needs help outside of the golf course.

Tiger just doesn't handle himself well.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by iacas

Mr. Desmond, you're acting as if Tiger handled it really "negatively." You wanted him to talk about his training with the Navy Seals and his dad being in the military. He didn't want to talk about it. He basically said "no comment." That's not negative. It's not positive either, but again, "positive" to you was talking about it and he clearly didn't want to do that. Had he answered the question "positively" he'd then get a billion more questions, and you'd (and others would) expect him to answer all of those "positively" as well.

He handled it fine.

And what his agent did or didn't do doesn't matter either - it doesn't obligate Tiger to answer.

If he handled it fine, we would not have this controversy, would we?

I suggested a response that was mature, reasoned and genuine.

I guess that is not possible with Tiger.

I think you are wrong about Steinberg -- He represents Tiger. When someone who represents you as your agent and makes a statement on your behalf, it opens you to questions. You've got to answer or you lose credibility.

Tiger acted like a petulant brat instead of a mature professional. He made denigrating comments to Micelli, something like "you're a peach, you know that?" or something like that. There is no reason to act in such a manner unless you are immature.

You handle these matters in a  genuine, professional, and personal manner if you want someone to react positively to you and you want your story out there.

If you don't, you act like Tiger and his Agent.

Immaturely.

[topspin4hand]

The key is that Miceli asked the same question THREE TIMES.  The clip being shown was after the 3rd time, and I thought he handled it okay. Tiger's best response would be"Hey, I'm not elaborating about *anything* in that book, otherwise, people can write books about me and leave me to explain everything said or claimed in them."

Originally Posted by Zwick

Miceli asked about 3 times the same questions whereas Tiger already made it clear that he wasn't going to say anything more about the whole Haney-stuff. Miceli's only goal was to get under Tiger's skin, if that is what you call good journalism...

Just read your posts again and tell me what you know about class? And how would you rate yourself in that departement?

But the biggest idiot of them all is Haney.