Rumor: Tiger Ignores Sick Half-Brother

[jamo]

I agree with all of this, but the story seems incredible on its face.  As much as Tiger loved his Dad, don't you think he would help them?  Seriously, he'd have to be the world's biggest prick.  Or there has to be more to the story.

I'd be extremely surprised if we have the entire story, though maybe I shouldn't be, given Reily's history.

[GaijinGolfer]

As they say, "theres 3 sides to every story: your's, mine and the truth.  Id love to hear Tiger's side of the story before I make a judgement but thats never going to happen and honestly, its really none of our business.

[limoric]

I agree, but it in the situation it's a half brother that Tiger had contact with earlier in his life. If it was some cousin he's never met it would be a totally different situation and the media probably wouldn't have even grabbed on it.

I agree, this shouldn't even be news, Tiger's handlers should have taken care of this. Regardless of history, there's no doubt Tiger is a sociopath, I still respect his talent though...

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by TitleistWI

As they say, "theres 3 sides to every story: your's, mine and the truth.  Id love to hear Tiger's side of the story before I make a judgement but thats never going to happen and honestly, its really none of our business.

Word.

Just for a moment, imagine some reporter writing about your relationship with another member of your family. How would you feel? Would you take the high road & just say, eh, he doesn't know what he's talking about...or would you have the imperious urge to wrap a putter around his neck? I know what I would likely do, and it ain't the high road option.

How dare Reilly even go there. He doesn't even know one-half of one percent of Tiger's relationship with his half-brother. That's family . Journalistically off-limits.

At least for those with a shred of ethics.

[RichWW2]

Originally Posted by brocks

Wow. If you wouldn't help a sick relative save his house for money that was trivial to you, I guess that's your right. But it is not your right to call me a liar.

I'm not saying you are a liar.  I'm saying you don't actually know how you would act with that much money.  None of us would as we have never actually been in that situation so we can speculate all you want but you don't know.  People who you think are your friends and all of your relatives would be all over you for money all the time if they knew you would just give it away. You'd get used like a dirty doormat. And if you were just giving money away, you wouldn't be rich for very long.

Also, you might think differently if you had a good reason for not having any contact with said relative.

Originally Posted by clubchamp

I agree, but it in the situation it's a half brother that Tiger had contact with earlier in his life. If it was some cousin he's never met it would be a totally different situation and the media probably wouldn't have even grabbed on it.

I agree that it might be a little different, but there has to be some reason Tiger doesn't want to help or have contact.  My guess is they tried to mooch off him before and he wants nothing to do with them now.  Like I said before, if he wanted a relationship with them, he'd have one.  If they didn't have contact before, they definitely aren't getting contact now that they ran to the media for sympathy and support.

[Shindig]

Makes me glad I'm not famous, because I'm sure I'd have situations like this. I recently discovered relatives that I wasn't aware of, and I'm in my late 20s! I'm sure if I had Tiger Woods money - or even Nationwide Tour Earner money - I'd have heard from them sooner. [quote name="brocks" url="/t/56905/rumor-tiger-ignores-sick-half-brother#post_697194"]Wow. If you wouldn't help a sick relative save his house for money that was trivial to you, [/quote] I have relatives I won't talk to and who I certainly wouldn't lend or give a dime to. My family had a big split about in the mid-90s and, as far as I'm concerned, my total family consists of about ten people. I'm sure if I were semi-famous, there might be stories about how I didn't help $relative with his $money_issue. I'm not saying Tiger's issues with his step-sibling is as strained as the issues that divide my family, but who knows? Maybe the step-sibling ignored Tiger because he was perceived (rightly or wrongly) as Earl's favorite. Maybe Tiger's given him money in the past - perhaps when he was healthy - and the guy never bothered to put away money when he could have, on the assumption that Tiger would always be there. Speculation, but maybe Tiger has a reason to disregard the man.

[Shorty]

Isn't it pretty obvious that if they had a relationship he'd help them out?

They obviously don't. So why should he do anything for them?

And the title of the thread is designed to criticise. Not good.

[The_Pharaoh]

Rich people are rich for a reason. They don't go around handing money out to every Tom, Dick and Harry, family or otherwise. It is the reason they are rich.

[Shindig]

Rich people are rich for a reason. They don't go around handing money out to every Tom, Dick and Harry, family or otherwise. It is the reason they are rich.

Well, it's not [i]the[/i] reason they're rich, but certainly, they don't spend money willy-nilly. You can get very rich off a mediocre paycheck if you spend wisely and invest intelligently. And you can get very poor despite a large income if you don't.

[limoric]

Isn't it pretty obvious that if they had a relationship he'd help them out?

They obviously don't. So why should he do anything for them?

And the title of the thread is designed to criticise. Not good.

It's his brother. Later in life, he can either regret having helped him or regret giving him 0.0000000001% of his money. Which will hurt more in his weiser years. All he needs to say to his handlers is, "take care of it, I don't want to know about it" and move one with a successful career.

[brocks]

Rich people are rich for a reason. They don't go around handing money out to every Tom, Dick and Harry, family or otherwise. It is the reason they are rich.

Tiger has donated his paycheck from the Chevron and ATT to his charity every year. It must be up to around ten million by now. To help his brother with his mortgage would cost him about a month's interest on that. Charity begins at home.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by limoric

It's his brother. Later in life, he can either regret having helped him or regret giving him 0.0000000001% of his money. Which will hurt more in his weiser years. All he needs to say to his handlers is, "take care of it, I don't want to know about it" and move one with a successful career.

Many people don't even know their half brothers. I am guessing that it's a similar instance here. And if there was a falling out, all the mofre reason for Tiger to ignore their demands, no matter how they are phrased, in their "We've never asked for anything" manner, (as they ask for something).

Just because someone's relative is famous doesn't give them the right to go public with a perceived slight, when really, they're just after something for nothing.

[brocks]

Just because someone's relative is famous doesn't give them the right to go public with a perceived slight, when really, they're just after something for nothing.

That's why they call it charity. Nobody is saying Tiger owes it to them. But it wouldn't kill him, and it's not like he has an endless supply of half-brothers. Seriously, even if he can't stand the guy for some reason, wouldn't it be easier to reach under his couch cushions and pull out a few grand, than to have to deal with stories like this? This would just be a rounding error in his checkbook.

[newtogolf]

First, we don't know the whole story.  Second, I know first hand once you establish a precendent for giving someone money, it makes it easier for them to ask a 2nd and 3rd time.  Tiger knows these people a lot better than we do.  Given his charitable nature with his foundation I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt (as I would anyone else) that there's a reason he's not bailing his step family out.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by brocks

Seriously, even if he can't stand the guy for some reason, wouldn't it be easier to reach under his couch cushions and pull out a few grand, than to have to deal with stories like this? This would just be a rounding error in his checkbook.

I think it'd be easier to do what he's doing, and makes the likeliness of something like this occurring again in a year - with the same half-brother or another relative - much lower.

[brocks]

I think it'd be easier to do what he's doing, and makes the likeliness of something like this occurring again in a year - with the same half-brother or another relative - much lower.

Worst case scenario, suppose some relative or another nicks him for ten thousand dollars every year for the next 50 years. That's half a million total. He would never miss it. Hell, he'd never even notice it. He spent four times that on his wedding, and we know how great an investment that turned out to be.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by brocks

Worst case scenario, suppose some relative or another nicks him for ten thousand dollars every year for the next 50 years. That's half a million total. He would never miss it. Hell, he'd never even notice it. He spent four times that on his wedding, and we know how great an investment that turned out to be.

Do you give a hundred dollars to everyone who asks you for it?

We don't know, but the guy may basically be a stranger to Tiger.

[brocks]

Do you give a hundred dollars to everyone who asks you for it?

Of course not. But I'd give a lot more than that to a relative, even a third cousin I've never met, who was in dire need. I've given a lot more than that to the Red Cross, for total strangers, after various disasters. Heck, I've even given a lot more than that to my ex-wife, and I guarantee that Tiger doesn't have half the grievances against his half-brother that I do against her. Besides, I'm not trying to rebuild a public image as a nice guy. Tiger was up to almost a hundred million a year in endorsements before hydrantgate, and reportedly lost about a third of that. If I heard it right, somebody recently reported that he's now behind Phil in whatever they use to measure desirability for endorsements, so obviously his image still needs some polishing. If for no other reason than pure selfishness, he should help the guy out. If a gift of a few thousand dollars gets him a few million extra in endorsements, everybody wins.