"Vijay Singh’s admission...affords the tour a wide-open window to let in transparency and public accountability."
Vijay Singh will serve his time but the bigger issue will be how the PGA Tour and other governing bodies handle this. If history serves as a guide, this will be handled with as little transparency as possible and only give the sport more of a black eye. (Though the tour does announce drug policy violations.)
Still, Karen Crouse asks the questions that need to be asked in the NY Times:
Unlike the major professional sports leagues and even the men’s and women’s professional tennis tours, the PGA Tour has steadfastly refused to announce fines or suspensions. Tour officials do not publicly acknowledge discipline meted out for acts like throwing a club into the gallery, blowing off a mandatory players meeting, getting into an on-course altercation with another player or walking off the course without finishing a round.
Their reasoning is that in the vast majority of cases few people know about the original transgression, so why broadcast it to the masses? How about to send a clear message to players that there is no place in the game for these behaviors? Or to show tour members that they will be held publicly accountable for their misbehavior, which can itself serve as a strong deterrent?
Geoff
**If you have 15 minutes and need the agony, check out Vijay buddy Tom Pernice's Morning Drive interview where he demonstrates all of the worst attributes of the culture Crouse takes on in the above piece. And nice job by the Morning Drive team in questioning Pernice.
Reader Comments (32)
Oh no.
[“It’s sad that people live and die by their sport and they have to, I guess, cheat and go around it and try to better themselves with deer antler spray,” he said.]
Isn't he supposed to be a "christian" (PGA Tour variety)? Which commandment is it that suggests kicking a man when he is down?
Does it work as good as the time proven Lucky Rabbit's Foot?
What will they think of next? Perhaps a new and improved club that's 17yds longer...err...forget it.
Hey, Rub the grundle says the scrotal sac of a dead horse behind the right ear for 3.5 minutes every other day will help you hit it longer! Wonder if he's sold any yet?
As long as Finchem is the commissioner, he is never going to release details of any disciplinary actions.
Part of the reason? You can bet your butts that he does not apply the same punishment yardstick for commensurate incidents. Different guys get zapped in different fashion. And since nobody can compare notes -- he tells the players not to discuss fines/sanctions with anybody -- nobody knows whether Tiger or the other big boys are being fined chump change or real money compared to the peons on tour who commit similar violations.
It's a dictatorship. He makes it up as he goes along. If I recall correctly, he has wide discretionary latitude on meting out sanctions for recreational drug violations, which ought to be codified beyond belief just for the sake of fairness and consistency. Did Matt Every deserve 3 months? Will Vijay even get benched for that long?
And DTF, I hear tiger balls do a lot more for your long game than the dead horse scrotum. My guy in Fiji can get that for you if you want, but I don't think it comes in a spray.
the whole thing is another overblown media stampede over nothing...but hey, it gives these guys something to write/Tweet/bolg about otherwise we would be bored with "serious reporting"
I don't know why you think this is a non-story, Bobby, and-- while I don't want to see it beat into the ground for weeks, it is a big story. Bigger than TW not making the cut, and Rory using Nike clubs, bigger than any win thus far this year.
But you are entitled to you opinion, such as it is.
Steve, Geoff and the media has done nothing to overblow this, and if nothing else, the want of being pain free, or having more stamina is certainly on my mind, and I would suspect, you probably fee the same way. These revelations may provide us with what to do and not to do.
Actually, Bobby D, if the TOUR announced its disciplinary actions as a matter of policy, there would be no story. Nor would there be many infractions. Embarrassment for most players would be enough and sponsors would not stand for them. Except for a very few, the policy would be, "Do that again and wear a cap that says "FUSE" or "5-Hour Energy Drink" instead of Titleist/TaylorMade/PING/Bridgestone.
10/10
Most tour "penalties" (fines and/or suspensions) fall under the broad category of "conduct unbecoming a professional." There is no actual definition in the book. Players are expected to know that they can't violate any of the myriad rules in the handbook and that they are expected to "conduct themselves in a manner becoming professional golfers that will not reflect unfavorably on the PGA Tour, its members, officers or representatives, tournaments or sponsors."
http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2009/11/18/five-months-later-there-are-questions-as-to-why-doug-barron.html
This might be more believable if there was a transparent system tied to the drug testing. But as we know, positive tests for illegal stuff like marijuana remain private (you know, because it's not performance enhancing according to the tour).
Ironically the tour's credibility may be taking a from its own website coverage. They reported Barron's loss in court in a detail-rich 70-word story (that's almost Tweetable!), but the November archive page does not include a news report about his suit or request to play second stage of Q-school, prompting the AP's Doug Ferguson to Tweet:
Fines, and or disciplinary suspensions are at the sole discretion of the Commissioner (Dictator) Finchem. "We do not make public and disciplinary suspensions or fines" Tim Finchem
How convenient.
When is the money laundering investigation going to take place? Seems there are many things happening down in Ponte Vedra that are not being fully reported on (990"s).
Are you referring to the PGA Tour's 409A deferred compensation Congressional tax exemption with regards to Tim Finchem's bonuses each year?
We get paid the Big Bucks to make this stuff go away..............
Paging Timothy W. Finchem, Timothy W. Finchem, please pick up the nearest white flashing phone and dial #86 for your message.
it might be big, but so is a pregnant goat.
Mr. 3n's- you been steppin' out? We're Czeching up on you. Inquiring minds -well- they are- uhh- inquiring.
The larger issue, sadly, is ''Did VJ use REAL PED's in his incredible run a few years ago?''
He had a bad start in pro golf, as we all remember. He is open to trying meds to help, which I do not diss, but, hey- somewhere I read something about ''inquiring minds.''
PS: ths was written hours ago, and for some reason, it did not post when I hit the button, still on the typing form field when I walked back in to the room. don't know if it is ''dated''
O'Meara had great run as he approached his 40's. will anyone cast doubt on his accomplishments. How about Kenny Perry or Sam Snead?
By all accounts, Vijays fitness regimen he took on years ago was designed to help him extend his career. His trainer has nothing but good things to say. Biased support I am aware but it we should hear out the facts before jumping to conclusions. Vijay has made a mistake, he readily admits, something far beyond most people in this situation. The usual behavior of planned cheaters is to deny, deny, deny.
It ridiculous what some people believe will help them, but Vijay is Fujian, not American. Eastern populations believe in these things more often than westerners to be sure.
Why rush to judgement? Why the tone??
He admits to taking a Product which contains a banned substance but has been proven cannot be absorbed when taken orally. So he could not have benefitted from ingesting it. That's an important discussion.
I am amazed we are several comments deep an nobody has brought up the scorecard scandal of nearly 20 years ago yet.
I am always amazed that no matter what Vijay accomplishes, writers routinely mention the scorecard scandal whenever they profile Vijay, 15 years after paying the price for that mistake. Writers still ask him about it regularly.
Now, be honest, would that happen to a white American boy? Really, be honest.
I think not.