So he cheated. What can you do? Nothing. Is it a crappy thing to do considering you have a wife and kids at home? Sure. Does it happen everyday, all over the world, to regular people like you and I? Absolutely. Does that make it any better? Of course not. But this is the great Tiger Woods. He doesn’t make mistakes out on the course, so how could this happen?
People, people, people….everyone is always so quick to anoint athletes as the second coming. We always forget they can screw up…just like the rest of us. They can do wrong…just like the rest of us. They’re not perfect…just like the rest of us. As a matter of fact, some of them are just downright horrible people…just like some of the rest of us.
According to a CNN statistic, 80-90% of professional athletes cheat on their wives. I don’t know about anyone else, but I am not at all surprised by this statistic. As a matter of fact, I find it a bit hard to believe that it may be as low as 80%. Considering the lives these guys lead, I think many people fail to realize these superstar athletes are just human beings, albeit with superior athletic skills, but human nonetheless. You take a 2o-something year-old kid, sign him to huge contracts and endorsement deals paying him more money in one year than the average person will see in their lives, and that kid begins living a different lifestyle. They are now millionaires. But they are still kids. What do you think is going to happen? These kids are now rich & famous and therefore….more attractive to the opposite sex. They are young and irresponsible and unfortunately, often times are not properly guided. And they get used to it. But what I don’t understand is where these guys lose sight of the consequences of their actions. Especially knowing they are in the spotlight. Why wouldn’t they make smarter choices?
Look at just some of the names in recent memory. Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Alex Rodriguez, Michael Strahan – these guys have all been exposed as cheaters and made to look like scumbags to the general public. Worse in Kobe Bryant’s case which ended up with allegations of rape! Although we all now know the allegations were false, Kobe’s name will always be tied to that incident. But these are only financial losses and a poor public image. I can name an athlete who I’m sure would be willing to switch places if he could with any of these guys….Steve McNair.
Steve McNair had a 20-year old girl on the side. He lost his life to her in a murder-suicide. Obviously, this is an extreme case, but if it happened to one guy, why not anyone else? But as usual, no one thinks about that ahead of time. I’m sure very few athletes walked away from that news thinking “Man, that could happen to me” then decided to change their ways and actions.
On the flip side, how many of these athletes wives know what’s going on? How many let it continue to go on in order to continue to live the glamorous lives which their husbands career allows? I’m going to guess almost all of them. How could it be anything else? Your husband is a rich, famous athlete who is basically a target for groupies who are looking for sex, money and gifts from him. He is on the road, away from you constantly. What do you think is going on? Are these wives foolish for thinking nothing is happening? Or are they foolish for staying and allowing it to continue? If they let it happen, then other than the ring, what’s the difference between them and the groupie?
So all of this media coverage leaves me with a few questions. Why is this news so much bigger with Tiger Woods than any other cheating athlete? Is it because he is the richest athlete in the world? Is it because he is a golfer and we expect better of him than an NBA player? Are we supposed to feel bad for Elin and their kids? Or was she aware of his goings on and therefore why should we? If that’s the case, should we feel the same anger toward her as we do toward Tiger for putting their kids in this situation?
In my own opinion, I say why should we care? These athletes should be role models for the sport they play….nothing further. None of us turns on Sportscenter to see Tiger Woods sit down for dinner with his family. I don’t care if Kobe Bryant is helping his kids with their homework. If these athletes are great family men, that’s fantastic. If not, then I feel sorry for their loved ones. But either way, that’s not why I’m a fan. I want to see Kobe hit a game-winning jumper as time expires. I want to see Tiger hit a 200-yard shot within inches of the cup. What they do outside of the playing field is not my interest or concern. And unless you are a family member or friend….it shouldn’t be yours either.
The more interest we pay to the sports these guys play, and the less attention toward the tabloid side, we will be able to avoid having to listen to all of this any further. Maybe then these people would be able to deal with this in their own home, where it belongs. For goodness sake, if I wanted to hear gossip and learn who’s cheating on who, I would watch some god-awful show on MTV.