One thing we can all agree on is the amazing fall from grace that Tiger Woods has been met with over the following weeks. Since his car crash on Nov. 27th in which he sustained minor injuries, information keeps surfacing as to the nature behind the incident and the double life the famed golf star has been leading while sheltered behind his perfect and squeaky-clean image.
Until recent weeks, Tiger Woods has been the prefect model sports star and a marketing dream for his sponsors due to his mixed race. He has been able to spread golf and make it mainstream since joining the PGA Tour. His recent troubles seem to show a person crippled with fame, unable to live up to the exorbant expectations that his image has come to demand of him. Tiger has always demanded his privacy and built a wall to protect him from the media spotlight, making him that much more intriguing and mysterious to the public eye. Here is a timeline of recent events:
Week of Nov. 23, Tiger busted for cheating: National Enquirer reports Woods has been having an affair with New York nightclub promoter Rachel Uchitel, the affair included racy text messages. It quotes Uchitel: “We’re in love… I don’t care about his wife!”
Nov. 27, 2:25am, One of Woods’ neighbor’s calls 911, saying Woods crashed his Cadillac Escalade into a tree and is lying on the ground beside the car. Woods is taken to the hospital in “serious condition” and released later that day.
Nov. 27, Police release a report indicating Woods was in and out of consciousness when they arrived at the scene. Elin heroically rescued him from the vehicle by smashing in the rear windows of the SUV with a golf club and was hovering over Woods “frantic and upset” when police arrived. (FISHY??)
Nov. 28, TMZ reports Elin had scratched up Tiger’s face in an argument before he attempted to flee in his vehicle, and that Elin was attacking the SUV with a golf club as Woods attempted to escape.
Nov. 29, Tiger posts a vague statement to his website: “This situation is my fault… I’m human and I’m not perfect… This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way.”
Dec. 1, Cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs, 24, tells Us Weekly she had an affair with Woods, over almost three years. She is reportedly paid $150,000 for her story. She is also linked to actor George Clooney.
Dec. 2, Las Vegas nightclub marketer Kalike Moquin is named as another Woods woman, having “hooked up” with him several times at a Vegas hotel during an October weekend. It’s later reported she did not have an affair with Tiger but was in fact pimping girls to him.
Dec. 3, A statement is posted from Tiger again to his website. “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart.”
Dec. 3, Uchitel schedules a press conference to admit an affair with Woods, going against her original denial. The conference is called off with rumors that Woods’ camp had paid her off.
Dec. 3, Tiger was introduced to Elin by Swedish golfer, Jesper Parnevik, and employed Elin as a nanny. Jesper states, “I have lost all respect for him, primarily as a man and a father.”
Dec. 5, Model Jamie Jungers comes forward and tells UK’s Sunday Mirror that she had a two-year affair with Woods while partying in Vegas.
Dec. 6, Cori Rist tells New York Daily News says she met Woods in the Manhattan nightclub Butter and, a year later, was still seeing her, often in large hotel suites. Another woman, Mindy Lawton says she met Tiger in the Perkins chain of bakery restaurants, before they hooked up in a church parking lot and naming her “rag doll.”
Dec. 7, a porn star Holly Sampson does not deny having an affair with Woods.
Dec. 8, Barbro Holmberg is rushed to the hospital on “advanced life support.” Photographed being wheeled from Woods residence on stretcher.
Dec. 8, Deadspin says that Uchitel’s job was to find women for Tiger during tournaments around the world. Several sources say she may have slept with him, too, but she was not primarily his mistress. Deadspin says Kalika Moquin played a similar role, and is not believed to have been sleeping with Tiger.
Dec. 9, Rumors of sponsors beginning to jump ship. Gatorade drink gets cancelled. The brands involved state “This is coincidental and nothing to do with the “scandal!”
And it keeps coming… The Woods mistress count is now up to what? 12, 13, 16? Who knows anymore? Ambien and Vicodin have never been in the headlines as much with Tigers alleged abuse of prescription drugs and being under the influence of them at the time of the car crash. Rumors continue to swirl of sponsors turning their backs on Tiger, such as Accenture, Gillette and Tag Heuer. Elin has bought a secluded home in Sweden and is apparently leaving with the kids. She has been spotted numerous times without her wedding ring after more rumors that Tiger had torn up their pre-nuptial agreement and was said to have offered in the neighborhood of $55 million for her to stay. Tiger announces an indefinite hiatus from golf. His yacht is being prepped for a quick getaway to god knows where with reports that Rachel Uchitel will be renting a place near wherever Tiger is headed. Then last but not least, Tiger shows up on a list of patients of a Canadian doctor said to have provided steroids to athletes! What next??
The whole incident has more drama surrounding it than the last 10 seasons of Jerry Springer…. No wonder the intrigue. How someone perceived so perfect could be so far from it.
This self destruction seems all too familiar of a person who has been on top for so long. Pressure can be insurmountable and all consuming and needs an outlet. Unfortunately for Tiger, he choose a very poor way out. Look at Andre Aggasi’s recent tell all book. Tiger seems to be a mirror of his behavior. Self destructive while at the top. When you are at the top you are constantly told you are the best, but what is the best and how do you stay there. Always looking over your back and falling further and further away from who you really are and more and more into what you are not. An invincible, impenetrable force that no one can take down. You are still human, as Tiger has reminded us.
This is not an excuse for Tiger’s behavior as he is solely responsible for what he has done. He has dealt with it in the worst way possible without seeking the help he obviously needed to deal with his life.
It has been a long, long fall from grace in such a short period of time, but hopefully Tiger can in time, make things right and get back to doing what we all want to see. Him racking up wins and chasing records. It’s always nice to watch part of history.
