The Gross Injustice of the Tiger Woods Sex Scandal

As we step back from the last few weeks and look at the damage done to Tiger Woods it is quite staggering. And alarming. The man's entire being has been relentlessly assaulted by the media, driving him from the sport, sending his sponsors running for cover, and leaving his reputation in absolute shambles.

Upon reflection, one might be compelled to ask "for what?"

The man cheated on his wife and ran into a tree in his own lawn. Is it an admirable sequence of behavior? Certainly not. Is it worth crucifying him? One would like to think not to a much greater degree.

Tiger is not without blame. Why he lives in a regular neighborhood, no matter how glorious it may be, is a question that will never be satisfactorily addressed. He should be on a piece of property where he could conceivably drive into a hundred trees in a stark raving mad channeling of Mario Andretti and Paul Bunyan if he so desired. In addition, his publicly showcasing domestic discord is another point of blame he must assume.

These bad choices hardly entitle him to a cataclysmic, life-changing episode such as this. Since when does a Gillette pitchman get held to the same standards of a U.S. President? Since when does a PGA golfer receive the same moral scrutiny as the Pope? Tiger Woods committed no crime against society. He may have caused irreparable damage to his marriage, but that is his cross to bear. For the media to take that difficult situation and make it exponentially more difficult on Tiger Woods in a crime that surpasses anything Tiger Woods may have done.

As the media continues to pummel Tiger Woods, consider that he is not O.J. Simpson being accused of a double-murder or the head of a nation being accused of moral hypocrisy. He is a superstar, and added attention is part of the game. However, as a pro golfer and pitchman, he should not be held to standards of human perfection. Admittedly, it is a bit shocking to see a man with a goody-two-shoes image like his suddenly morph into Rick James, but that image of goodness was projected on him. One cannot really know what makes a person tick based on what you see on the golf course or commercials.

The media made this their top story, and now are sucked into the self-fulfilling inertia of continuing on and on with this whole debacle. Anyone who says they had relations with him is getting airtime. Any connection whatsoever to the whole drama is getting picked up and being put across as "news." Not to downplay the general public interest in this story, but could the overall passion in this sordid tale be getting overrated by the media just a bit?

Tiger knew the reality of the situation. In today's age, tabloid news items have been mainstreamed, the paparazzi element has exploded, and the Internet has created a firestorm of media attention. Still, if the standard that now exists is that any sports or entertainment superstars who happen to have any ugliness in their lives will be shamed beyond recognition, then this is an awful precedent to set.

Maybe he isn't the great guy everyone wanted him to be. If even a fraction of the details are correct, it is quite clear he is actually very far from a great guy. Nevertheless, Tiger Woods' fall from grace is perhaps the most precipitous in modern history for a non-religious or political figure. The reasons at the root of it simply should not qualify.