Jesper: "But when you are the guy he is, the world's best athlete, you should think more before you do stuff...And maybe not just do it, like Nike says."**
He may like to dine on dirt, but you have to admire Jesper Parnevik--who introduced Tiger to Elin--for expressing his, uh, views. Bob Harig reports on the comments made to Golf Channel's Inga Hammond (presumably viewable this evening on Golf Central or their 30-minute Tiger show airing immediately after):
"I would be especially sad about it since I'm kind of -- I really feel sorry for Elin -- since me and my wife were at fault for hooking her up with him," Parnevik said. "We probably thought he was a better guy than he is. I would probably need to apologize to her and hope she uses a driver next time instead of the 3-iron."
Geoff
**I just saw the video portion of this on Golf Channel's show. The portion of the quote with the Nike reference was not included.
Reader Comments (34)
he and his wife are responsible for what they do, Elin Woods is responsible for what she does and young Eldrick is responsible for what he does
if Jesper is having a spit in the heat of the moment, then OK, but apportioning blame is a bit much
Talk about a new world order.
Jesper, quite frankly, rekindled a little bit of my faith that these pro golfers have a soul. But like I said, I don't think he has anything to feel sorry about whatsoever...he did nothing wrong at all!!
When a man cheats on his wife, it is easy to apportion blame. It is 100% his fault. I
Brad
Marriage is tough, monogamy almost impossible. Among my married friends, I would say about 20% of them have remained true.
I have immense respect for them for being able to withstand the temptations which befall attractive, successful males, especially in this town (LA). To the others, I would council them to think through the ramifications of their actions, but ultimately they have to make a choice that is theirs alone to make.
Usually, the guilt and the self disrespect get the best of them and they stay in their marriages and try to make it work. It doesn't mean they are bad people, just frustrated and depressed sometimes by life's
vicissitudes and act upon their primitive desires.
There's no excuse for this, but hey, life happens.
Some on this site have no respect for Tiger now and wouldn't want their sons to grow up to be like him because of this unfaithful behavior.
Well, I guess FDR, Ike, Winston Churchill, Mandela are poor role models and whatever greatness they might have achieved (oh like saving western civilization from despotic rule) or saving a country mired in racial animus should be overlooked because....oh my gosh...they broke their wedding vows...so I guess in light of their past dalliances, we should now look at them respectively as a cripple, a dirty old man, a drunken egotist and an African Marxist terrorist.
and what has tiger done to be mentioned in the same breath as fdr, churchill or mandela?
The flippancy that you use to refer to betraying a spouse is shocking to me. Shocking!!!
I am at a loss for words. I've re-read your post over and over and I am simply stunned. For sure, I am not perfect. I have made many mistakes, many of them. I have not betrayed my wife by having an affair. I pray and work on this daily. I try not to pass judgement on anyone else as my opinions and judgements are not important at all. However, I have publicly stated that I am praying for Tiger and his family.
Please re-read your very own post and look at how you refered to adultery. "oh my gosh...they broke their wedding vows" and the like. Please think about how hurtful something like that could be...to both spouses.
I don't not wish to have an argument with you at all on this topic. I will not respond to any mean spirited respones. I am only wishing that you re-consider how important the vows of "holy matrimony" are...to use your own words.
I am wary of saying these things as others may not have the same views as I do...but I know in my heart that being flippant about the topic will not end up well and I am compelled to try to reach you or perhaps someone else with this post. PLEASE re-think your position. PLEASE!!!
Good luck at Q-School! The TOUR could certainly use a few more like you.
Oh, and what Margie said.
The Q: what thusgone said. Our resident "glass-is-always-more-than-half-full" expert, MRP, is way too nice to you, much to his credit.
My statement that Tiger is 100% at fault for his infidelity has nothing to do with religion.
Nevertheless, everyone is responsible for his or her actions. If they make poor choices, it is on them - not anyone else.
BTW - Like everyone, I do not claim to be perfect. Like everyone, I have made poor choices in my life. Every one of them is my responsibility. The fact that others made the same, poor decisions would not absolve me of my responsibility.
I have had a lot of previous man-love for Tiger, as I've stated in a few posts (he apparently didn't need it -- he was getting enough on his own. I'm so ashamed....). Anyway, the morality of Tiger's infidelity is certainly only a small part of the issue, and the story is only shocking because it's anathema to his carefully crafted public image, but I think the problem that most people have with his behavior is that, for the better part of 15 years, nobody has ever gotten to see a glimpse of the real Tiger, with perhaps the exception of at Hoylake in 2006. What we've seen is a manufactured, carefully handled automaton who has tried as hard as possible to keep everyone at bay, and who, oftentimes, has acted like a churlish prick on the golf course. Those of us who were fans could look past that because of our admiration for his golf game and the whisperings that, deep down, Tiger really was a great guy. That's why the debate about his behavior at the Majors this year has had two sides -- he's a hyper-focused killer who expects the best from himself or he's an asshole, depending on how you look at it. The problem is, we've now for the first time gotten a glimpse of what Tiger's actually like. It's not the only facet of his personality, to be sure, but it's an ugly one. So, now we're stuck with prick-ish on course behavior, surly evasiveness with the media, and now the inklings that, deep down, Tiger is just a douchebag. It means that the answer to this summer's debate about Tiger's behavior is that, in the end, Tiger is just an asshole.
It leaves his fans at a loss.
How disappointing.
Stevie would have known about this affair, as would have Woods' agent. Surround yourself with weak yes men, and look what happens!
There IS such a thing as right and wrong; there is a valid reason to think ill of Tiger Woods. Interestingly, the most Christian people I know are the most reserved in their responses, such as that of Zach Johnson, and another friend who in a private email simply said "he made a mistake, and he's admitted to it and appears to be trying to atone for it with the person to whom it matters most. End of story."
Q, if you don't believe that being honest with a wife or life partner is important, or that it transcends the "vicissitudes of life," then I feel sorry for you. As for the comparisons to Churchill et al, I haven't heard anyone say we should take Tiger's trophies away from him.
One of the things that makes me profoundly sad reading the commentary about Tiger's situation is the relative indifference to his infidelity. It's a serious, serious matter. Yes, good people do bad things, and he certainly deserves, I think, from his family, a chance to redeem himself. As for the rest of us, it's been said that Tiger owes us nothing. Probably true, but the corollary is we don't owe him anything, either. This discourse is more about what we believe, how we think of ourselves and each other. I'm happy to be in the camp which believes his actions, while human, not terribly uncommon perhaps, forgiveable, etc., are utterly despicable. I hope he and anyone else who's been watching learns something from it.
I don't think that the commentary you've been reading reflects a "relative indifference to his infidelity" as much as it reveals the inarguable fact that among sports celebrities (and politicians) infidelity runs relatively rampant. I sure hope that people aren't snickering about the pain that Tiger's actions have inflicted on his family. The sort of blow-up that precipitated the car crash is borne of intense pain. I know of what I speak. When a big man has a fall like this, people will get snarky. People will use crude humor. People will doctor photos and send them around the globe. They will do this because the thing that people hate the most is a hypocrite. Tiger's infidelity reveal him to be a bit of a hypocrite, because he surely sold the family images as much as he's sold his golf swing. But in my mind, even more hypocritical has been the way that he has stage-managed the roll-out of his response to the car crash and the resulting revelations. Put aside the fact that some of his Tigergate press releases can be properly construed to read as him protecting his wife, the truth is that Tiger has been trying to limit the amount of truth that has come out of his camp. And when the truth is reported accurately by the scorned tabloid media, he blames the messenger. This is hypocritical. This is unmanly. This is deflection that will surely not work. Had he come out early and said that he had gotten into an argument with his wife about his marital failings and he crashed the car because he was upset and that his wife assisted him out of the crash, I think that the negative reactions that you are now seeing would have been significantly tamped down. He earned the scorn of those who are mad about his infidelity by being a "player" on the road. He has earned the rest by being a weasel in the aftermath of the crash.
I didn't mean to belittle the importance of staying true and faithful to one's partner in a marriage.
I believe that those that do stay true deserve a tremendous amount of respect, since in this
day and age, it is becoming rarer for this to be the norm
I was merely pointing out that sometimes there is more by which to judge a person's character than just his fidelity to his wife.
I thnk (and personally know) some really great people out there who would like to go into public service, but they don't want every little picayune detail of their personal/financial life nit-picked by voyeuristic scandal mongers.
Perhaps in some paradoxical way, the Woods' can overcome these unfortunate circumstances and
come out with a better more honest marriage.
I respect your latest post very much.
I agree with you that perhaps this is a chance for Tiger to step up become a better man, better husband, better father. If he cares as much about that as he says he does...he can do it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!!
They did take out the part about possibly Elin should hit him with a driver next time...
...but the Nike comment is intact.
Other people also pay him a lot of money to sell stuff. If you are dumb enough to buy stuff because a celebrity of any type endorses it well, you get what you deserve.
Other players on the PGA should shut their yaps and stay out of it as they have made a LOT of money because of Tiger...that goes for sports announcers, reporters etc.
Tiger is a golfer. He is marketed as a golfer, not Jesus. Whatever else you have projected onto him is just that, YOUR projection. Grow up, leave your sactimonious crap elsewhere and let these people deal with this matter privately. No laws have been broken. And by the way, how many millions have you given to charity lately?