24th Feb 2010
EDEC 262- Blog 8
Blog 8- The Need to Apologize
Unless you’ve been living under a large rock for the past week, you’re probably privy to the sorted details of Tiger Woods’ private life, public indiscretions and recent apology on national television. As a number of commentators have mentioned, the world came to a virtual standstill this past Friday as the planet’s most famous athlete and highest paid celebrity publically apologized to his wife, his family and his business partners (though not in that order) for what was essentially a series of extramarital affairs.
The discussion here today is not to bandy about the morality of Tiger’s actions (I’m not sure anyone would argue that he was in the right) but rather to consider what Tiger Woods owes the world in light of his private affairs. Why does an individual need to apologize in public, on national (and international) television for a private matter? Why do we, as his adoring public, feel he owes us an apology? Given that millions of men have affairs and few have to reveal to the world their indiscretions (unless they’re the governor of South Carolina…), is it ludicrous that we expect him to spill the sorted details of his life for public scrutiny?
Tiger Woods has received a lot from us. He is the world’s wealthiest athlete. He is universally famous. He has become a powerful voice. Does he consequently owe the public a debt of obligation to explain himself in these times? Or do we label our obsession over the details of his affairs and the intricacies of his marriage as little more than voyeurism? Can a private matter be simply that: private?
Robert LeBlanc
The Tiger Woods scandal has been at the center of the news for quite some time now. While at first the affair was played off as a driving accident, the public soon found out about the source of all the drama. While this affair was huge, touching women from across the globe, the scandal was drawn out of proportion. As Robert mentioned, many married people have affairs, however, the media made it out as if Tiger Woods was the first to venture outside of his marital vows. I do understand that he is a role model for many and is the spokesman for many products, however, I don’t believe that a public apology was necessary. People were finally starting to forget out this whole ordeal and then a public apology is issued to remind everyone of these events. I do believe that it was necessary to apologize to his wife, his family and his sponsorships. I do not believe that it was necessary for him to apologize to the rest of the public, for what he does in with his private life doesn’t concern us. Many people have committed adultery, including David Letterman, and they have been let off with the hook with a few waves of the finger. While I am not excusing Tiger Woods for what he did, I do believe that we should cut the guy some slack. It is called a private life for a reason, and who are we to judge?
New Topic: Gender Stereotypes as Entertainment for the Youth
One question that has plagued my mind for quite some time is “who are the culprits responsible for exposing children to the values of hegemony”? After thinking about this, I started to read some of the oldest tales from the Grimm Brothers to the most recent tales created by Disney. Well, I found the culprits!! By reading these tales, I realized how much they contribute to constructing an environment filled with gender stereotypes.
Many of the tales that I read by the Brothers Grimm were targeting females. Such tales include Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella; these tales are aimed to provide a limited point of view of what it means to be a woman. Take a look at Sleeping Beauty for instance. It’s a tale about a princess who was endowed with traits that one would consider to be the ideal woman. This ideal consisted of beauty, the temper of an angel, grace, the ability to dance, a beautiful voice, and musically inclined. In this tale, Sleeping Beauty was expected to wait one hundred years until a prince would rescue and revive her. She was even expected to show more patience when her children were taken away from her by the ogress. Her submissiveness was rewarded in the end when the prince had returned to set things right. Hegemony is clearly embedded with Little Red Riding Hood as well. In the tale, Little Red ends up getting eaten by the wolf sending a very clear message. It informs girls on how they should act. The hidden message that is ultimately received is that young girls who are pretty, well-bred, and courteous should never talk to strangers or let themselves go, otherwise they shall perish.
Let’s take a look at the 21st century, where much of the media that children are exposed to still use gender stereotypes as a means of entertainment. Disney, of course, is my target and I like to refer to it as the “Disnification of Fairy tales”. There are so many tales that I can refer to, but for the sake of this blog, I will stick with my ultimate favourite, Aladdin. The issue at hand when looking at the film of Aladdin is the agency and power centered on a street tramp. Aladdin’s sole mission was to get and marry princess Jasmine. Jasmine’s role, on the other hand, was simply to represent Aladdin’s object of desire as well as a social stepping stone. Jasmine’s life was solely based on men and in the end her happiness was ensured by Aladdin who was given permission to marry her. Aladdin, the Lion King, the Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast, are just some examples demonstrating a lack of strong female characters and where masculine powers are reinforced.
*NEW TOPIC* The Vanity Fair “Whiteout”
I was watching Access Hollywood recently and they had an interesting report entitled “Whiteout” which was about Vanity Fair’s new magazine cover. The magazine cover is supposed to demonstrate “Young Hollywood” by photographing young rising stars of 2010. The cover shows actresses such as Amanda Seyfried, Anna Kendrick, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, Abbie Cornish, Rebecca Hall, Emma Stone, Mia Wasikowska, Evan Rachel Wood. These women all have white complexion and are skinny Hollywood actresses. However, it is interesting to see that there is not a single woman of colour on the cover or anybody of else of diversity. I believe that a major star that made an impact this year was Gabby Sidibe from the movie “Precious”. I actually saw the movie and this actress is extremely talented, was nominated for many awards such as the Golden Globes and an Oscar but yet failed to be acknowledged in such a high profile magazine. Despite the fact that she may not fit the A list Hollywood appearance she is still an upcoming and rising star. I think it is really sad that Hollywood chooses to ignore reality and I believe that Hollywood standards need to be changed.
I didn’t think Tiger Woods owed anything to the public, but I feel that it was a better decision on his part in an attempt to win his public back. Tiger has numerous ad campaigns with Gilette, TAG, Nike, etc and if his fans no longer adore him, why would these companies pay millions to have him as their spokesperson?
It is said that if you are famous, you owe everything to your fans. They are the ones who consume the products or media that you endorse so they are the ones who make you famous. A lot of people look to celebrities as their role models, so when they are caught doing something that is not generally approved of, but common, they tend to get it far worse than “normal people”. It’s strange how one day, a celebrity can be look to as a god, and after an un god like incident, fall right off the radar. Ex: When George Michael was caught exposing himself to an undercover cop (I think) in a public bathroom, his career practically went down the drain, but I think he had a couple more incidents to credit this to.
Hi,
I did not think Tiger Woods had to apologize on tv. I think it is stupid. I think media puts way too much importance on drama and Wood’s was just a great opportunity to entertain people and his own expense.
I don’t know Tiger Woods all that much; I did not follow everything he has done so I cannot comment much.
On the other hand, one apology that I found incredibly sad and inappropriate was Mellisa Hollingsworth’s after her misfortune in skeleton. She apologized to the entire country of Canada saying she felt like she let down her people and her country… I think athletes are under way too much pressure.
I also think athletes are under way too much media surveillance. For example, I watched the review on the next day of Jon Montgomery’s win in skeleton and I was stunned about what the TV announcer said while discussing Montgomery’s win. He commented on the fact that the first thing he did after he won was to grab a beer from someone in the crowd. It is funny, but is it appropriate to talk about this person’s every single actions?
I think apologizing to the public about your personal life depends on how much of your existence is your public persona.
We all saw Avatar, right? Where a person slips on a physical “tabula rasa” and dissociates into a better reality?
The 12-foot blue warrior body that paraplegic Jake Sully slips into in “Avatar” is not that different than the public persona of Tiger Woods–or Brett Favre, or Bella Swan, or Taylor Swift, or Michael Phelps, or…just about any famous musician, movie star, athlete, or serial main character. They are designed as avatars for us–the adoring, consuming public.
We’ve all read, listened or watched interviews from famous people. They’re usually really bland–”we had such a great time making this movie/training for this event/recoding this album. everyone is really close and great friends. we’re so grateful to the fans and just so grateful to be at the Olympics/the VMAs/the Oscars/the Superbowl. It’s a great experience and I’m just so happy to be here.” It’s the same generic, non-offensive thing every time. We’re not supposed to look at them as individuals with opinions but as avatars for everyone’s I-wish-I-were-her/him enjoyment.
Athletes and movies stars in particular use their bodies as billboards for advertising, for everything from sneakers to diamonds. Anyone remember the epic 2009 Wimbledon, Roddick vs. Federer? It was like watching a Lacoste crocodile combat a Nike swoosh for a few hours.
So about Tiger Woods. The only real big bit of publicity he got between the deluge of his scandal breaking and his apology last week was being on the cover of Vanity Fair with an interesting article about his avatar-ness–writer Buzz Bussinger calls him “the bionic man.”
What Tiger Woods ultimately owes to his public is the restoration of their unblemished, boring, blank avatar. Which he may never be able to do–he will now always be an individual with flaws, even if he goes on to solve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and cure AIDS. He personally donated three million dollars to relief efforts in Haiti–and I’m one of those people that Robert mentioned living under a rock, and I only found out by reading Woods’ Wikipedia entry (by the way, did you know his real first name is Eldrick?), but my guess is that went entirely unreported in the media.
There isn’t really a way to go back to being blank slate. Is there an option of becoming a reformed hero? Maybe Woods can free some Americans imprisoned in North Korea like Bill Clinton.
I also don’t think that a public apology was necessary. The only people that deserved an apology are the ones that were directly affected by the affairs. If I were in his wife Elin’s place, I would much rather a sincere and private apology rather than a media circus with the world watching. I think that the reason people felt so shocked about the Tiger Woods affairs was that he was always made out to look like a squeaky clean guy. Because his actions were the polar opposite of his image, people were extremely taken aback by the story. I am totally against the cheating and I cannot say that I follow golf, but I don’t think that his actions change his talent of the sport. I’m sure that many of his fans still believe he is the best but are against his actions. I think that the public apology was a way to tug at the heartstrings of the golf fans and ensure that people will still follow his career. In my opinion, the press conference was a way to ask forgiveness of his fans and not really the ones that were directly affected by his actions. Overall, I don’t think that the apology was necessary and I don’t think that it changed many people’s minds about him. I’m sure that people made up their minds after the news of the affairs broke and probably didn’t change with a public comment made by Tiger.
“For all I have done, I am so sorry… I have a lot to atone for.” – Tiger Woods
So last week, Tiger Woods finally broke his silence and spoke publically for the first time since his outrageous scandal that took place in November. Now 14 (or more) mistresses later, he has begun to accept his ‘mistakes’ and felt it was time to apologize. While I watched the news conference, I was left wondering why exactly does Tiger Woods need to actually ‘perform’ a public apology. I use the word ‘perform’ because in my opinion that is precisely what Tiger Wood did. He put on a nice suit jacket, had an audience live in front of him and most likely millions watching at home and the most important piece to a performance, a script, which he read every single word off of.
I question why he must apologize to the public and his fans, given that what took place is a private matter. However, I do understand that he is sports celebrity/athlete that is in the public eye; therefore everyone sees what happens in your life. His extramarital affairs quickly became the talk on various media news formats to the point where real news was taking a back seat to Tigers troubles. In reality, if such occurrence were to happen to any figure outside of the entertainment world, they would not be given a news conference to apologize for the unfaithful doings. In my opinion, the apologies should have taken place behind close doors between him and his wife, not him, his wife and the whole world watching on.
As Chantalle stated, there have been a number of other celebrity figures who have committed adultery. David Letterman is a prime example. If I am not mistaken, he quickly handled the accusations on his late night show, dealing with it promptly, instead of letting the mystery of what happened hang around awhile, just long enough for the media to latch on and put there own spin on things. Tiger did that with his post on his website, yet that only downward spiraled after the media got word. Personally, if I was a fan of Tiger Woods, I would have been perfectly fine without an apology. He was not having affairs behind the backs of his fans or the public at large. He was having affairs behind the back of his wife and his family. Those are the only people he should be apologizing to.
I remember the days after Tiger Woods crashed his car and the revelations of the various women he was accused of having affairs with and it was just ridiculous how much coverage the story got. Some TV shows used their entire time to cover the many angles of the story. It seemed almost every day a new woman was coming forward to reveal that she had an affair with him. For weeks, Tiger Woods was the main story in any entertainment show.
I believe that this story got way more coverage than it deserved, but I can understand why it received so much coverage. Tiger Woods had the image of being a stand up guy and a role model to many, and it was very surprising to hear that he had this secret life. It wasn’t only that he had one affair, but that he had many affairs (it hasn’t been confirmed how many, but I am pretty sure that Tiger Woods said “affairs” in his speech, so it is assumed that it is more than one). It was just such a shock for the people who knew and respected him and to the millions who saw Tiger Woods as a role model.
When I first heard that Tiger Woods was going to break his silence and speak to the media and the public for the first time since the revelations of his affairs, the first thing that came to my mind is whether or not he needs to speak and apologize to the public. Personally, I don’t think that he has to apologize to the public, because, as Chantalle said, it is his private life. He certainly needs to apologize to his wife, but I don’t think that this has to be done publicly. However, I can see why he would issue an apology to the public. He is a celebrity and has a lot of attention as a result. He is a role model to many and as a result, many wanted to find out why he had these affairs when it seemed that he had a perfect family, with his wife and two kids. However, I don’t think it is just to please the public by giving them some answers that Tiger Woods agreed to speak to the public. This apology I think is a very strategic move by Tiger Woods to help him regain sponsor money which he has lost because of this story. He wants to restore his image and he thinks that by satisfying the public by giving them some answers, it can help him do that. By having Tiger Woods explain himself to the public, it may help people understand why he had these affairs (though I don’t think there is any reason or excuse whatsoever for what he did) and may lead to them becoming fans of his again. If more people support him, then sponsors will be more willing to endorse him.
Personally, the apology did absolutely nothing for me. I think that he is sorry that he got caught and sorry that he has lost some sponsors because of what he did. I hope that he will learn from this, but who knows? He may feel “entitled” to do something like this again.
Shawn White and his private half pipe, is this right? He is given so much attention because he is great, but this attention seems unfair. Should others even imagine themselves winning gold or is gold already automatically taken? And should athletes start competing for silver and believe that gold will be taken by prevailing American’s who have their own half pipes? In an article about Shawn White’s Olympic win in the Toronto star, the reporters start the article by talking about is endorsements, his nicknames and about his own dvd.
WEST VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—He has cool nicknames: “The Flying Tomato” and “The Animal.” He has his own private halfpipe — Project X — in Silverton Mountain in Colorado. He has his own video game—“Shaun White Snowboarding.” He has his own DVD—”The White Adventures.” He has endorsement deals that have made him a multimillionaire.
They do not speak about his run that won him the gold, his techniques, or opponents because these are secondary to everything else Shawn White has achieved. The media puts more of an emphasis on his other achievements that will earn them [the medias] money instead of firstly discussing the medal this athlete has won. This is also a great marketing technique because society becomes aware of what White has endorsed and this way more sales are made. Therefore, are the Olympics just an aid for advertisements or are they more than that?
As many of my classmates (e.g. Chantalle, Mimi, Catherine and Tania) have said already, I do not believe that a public apology was absolutely necessary. There is no doubt that what Tiger did is scandalous, horrible and surprising; however, it is still most importantly a private matter between himself and his wife especially. It was shocking to find out this side of Tiger as he always led a very private personal life, not always trying to be in the headlines. What was the most surprising was that Tiger had sworn that he would never be unfaithful as his own father was for many years and he saw what that did to his mother; therefore, he never wanted to inflict that kind of pain to anyone. Like father, like son…?
Although Tiger is an extremely famous athlete known worldwide, as Robert mentioned, I do not believe that he owed the public an apology. He probably let down many of his fans, but than again, do his fans love and support him because of his extramarital affairs or because of his amazing talent in golf? I think that this is what everyone has forgotten. The media is so eager to find out what bad things stars are doing that really, in this case, they do not care about Tiger’s career, they simply want to gossip. Since I guess Tiger lost points in his fans’ books, I guess that it was a good idea that he made a public apology as it probably gained him back some lost points; however, I definitely do not think that it was absolutely necessary.
As Robert mentionned, I have been living under a rock for several years now and I do not watch television very often. I do not have cable TV home and I don’t spend my evenings contemplating other peoples’ life on TV. I have heard about Tiger Woods affairs but only through jokes on the radio or on the top of those magazines displayed right next to the cashier in the grocery store. I do not understand how this can be taken that seriously. This is not the first time that somebody who’s popular makes something stupid and that the whole planet knows about it. Most people don’t really care about what they do. I don’t think that anybody cried when they learned that he cheated on his wife(well maybe his wife did). Mike Tyson went to jail because he was beating the crap out of his wife and he was still filling those auditorium when he was fighting after his realease. I don’t think an apology was necessary because I think nobody cares. If somebody does actually care well I’m sorry to tell that person to get a life and stop being to worried about famous peoples’ behaviour. I mean what do you expect anyway: you put a lot of money in the hands of people that are not especially smart… what do you think is going to happen. I am not saying that Tiger Wood in particular isn’t smart but most people on T.V. are not famous of their sharpness but for their other talents.
I think the entire Tiger Woods fiasco is simply ridiculous. However, I am also torn about what is the right thing to do regarding, whether his apology should have been a public or private event. One part of me says, this is a problem that he has caused with his wife, with his family; the apology should be behind closed doors while he begs his wife to forgive him and take him back. I had this stance for a while, simply believing that members of the American public love to act like voyeurs, making this situation no exception. The media only speaks about things that will get people’s attention, an unfortunately this is one of them; affairs always seem to be “juicy gossip” but not news. After having several conversations with people about this ordeal, someone shed some light on the other side of the issue for me. His wife does not pay him, his wife does not fuel his career, while she may be a fan of his and he, her role model, there are more than a million fans who look up to him who did not marry him. While his wife is undoubtedly upset by his infidelity, his fans are also hurt that the man that they have looked up to has done something terrible. He has allowed himself to become this idol to people worldwide; he has accepted the benefits with open arms. He has tons of sponsors and makes millions and millions of dollars a year. He never had a problem with receiving the perks of being a superstar role model, however, in the words of Spider-Man, “With great power comes great responsibility.” He needs to stand up to his end up the bargain, I think he does owe the American public an apology because he has shown them in the past why they should believe in him, and he now needs to show that he has remorse for failing us as a role model.
Tiger Woods’s affairs have been in the news since God knows how long. And as soon as the story died down, another woman would show up and claim he had sexual relations with her. Not only did these women divulge that Woods slept with them, they also made a point to discuss his “issues” in the bedroom (how sexually active he is, how kinky, etc., etc.). I find it revolting that these women would come out and speak about someone in public like that. Can you imagine someone divulging your private matters for the entire public to read and have access to? It’s ridiculous that the media feeds on this and rides the wave of insanity. The whole point and reason Woods’s affairs are despicable is because he has a wife and kids. As news followers, we think: “omg, what’s wrong with him? He’s famous and he was an ideal role model, had a beautiful wife and kids, why the hell would he do such a thing?” Essentially, we feel bad for the wife (even though she somewhat beat him up) and the kids because there’s a certain level of maternity in all of us that believes the kids should not be brought into the whole shebang, but with the articles that have been published about him, I can’t help but think it’s a total invasion of privacy. People like it. People like having a person who seemed okay and a good role model to fall. I think it reminds us that celebrities are just like us. I have discussed Woods’s affairs with a friend recently and he kind of enlightened me. He asked me why I made such a big deal out of it since there are so many men out there who cheat on their wives. Why should it matter so much that Tiger Woods be held to so much more guilty than any other man who has cheated on his wife? Is it because he’s a celebrity? Is it because he’s super rich and earns a lot of money? This whole scandal is, in fact, celebrity gossip. Its sells so well, and people loooooove to hate celebrities. They’re human, they make mistakes, but for one man to have to apologize to the whole world, it seems somewhat excessive. As Natalie Seguin pointed out, do his fans love him for his skill in golf or do they love him for his personal relations? For sure a well-rounded person is desirable, but as I said, we’re all human, and we make mistakes and we have problems. For the media to have taken a person who has problems (his father cheated, now he cheats… a correlation of bad childhood memories much?) and make a big story out of it is truly something unethical, but hey, it’s celebrity gossip–how ethical are they anyway?
NEW TOPIC: MODERN DAY TELEVISION
The other night, I was thinking about the return of my current favourite program, Gossip Girl. Just by the title, you can tell that the show deals with gossip and surrounds themes such as sex, lying drugs as well as other scandalous tales. Despite the fact that I very much enjoy the show, I was thinking about how much television has changed. When I was younger, shows like Full House and Step by Step were really popular and yet those shows did not have such themes surrounding them. I think it is sad that in today’s society most shows need to have this type of drama to succeed. Whatever happened to wholesome shows? They were just as popular as these modern time television shows. Even Friends, who is much more recent, did not have such a scandalous ideas like shows such as Gossip Girl, The OC, The Hills…etc and yet was extremely popular. I think it is sad that we have become dependent on such vulgar shows when we were once perfectly fine with nice normal amount of drama programs. Perhaps as time goes on, this too will pass and society will become engrossed in a new type of program.
***Different Topic****
Branding Cities
I’ve noticed lately a number of TV ads which promote tourism in different locations across North America. If you’ve been watching the Olympics then you will probably recognize the Vancouver ad which stars Michael J. Fox, Steve Nash, Ryan Renyolds, that lady from Sex in the City, and Sarah McLachlin. There is a similar ad for California which stars David Beckham, Jay Leno, Vanessa Williams, and of course Ah-nold the govenator. The Ontario ad that has also been playing does not use any celebrities but has a catchy theme song. What strikes me, to begin with, is how slick the production value of these ads are. They’re very polished and, as mentioned, often involve some heavy duty celebrity power. From a critical media perspective, it seems like cities/regions are attempting to brand themselves to differentiate themselves from one another. But why? Is it to promote investment or simply tourism? And are these ads simply hollow promises (in the sense that I don’t even know if the featured celebrities all actually live in the locations they are promoting and are the landscapes/activities really representative of the locations?)
I do not believe that Tiger Wood owed an apology to the public. I understand that Tiger Woods is known worldwide, and the fact that he is public figure, is the reason that his affair was spoken about on every news channel, magazine etc.. However, since people were deeply hurt, it should have never gone this far. The fact that Tiger Woods made a public apology didn’t really change much. If it did, then to who?? To the public?? What about his wife, and his family members who were the real victims in all of this? Do you think that a public apology made them feel better or let them forget what he did? That’s why his public apology wasn’t necessary! Can his fans actually just forget what he did? They will always be reminded of the terrible things he did to his wife, it’s only normal. However, just like Chantalle said, people were slowly forgetting about the whole ordeal, they were putting it aside. Not that they would ever forget, but definitely moving on!
**DIFFERENT TOPIC** Alexandre Bilodeau’s Gold Medal Win
After having read Vanessa Sayer’s post on an article written about Shawn White, I was curious to see how other Canadian Olympic athlete gold medal winners were portrayed in various articles. I fell upon an article in Maclean’s magazine written about Alexandre Bilodeau, who made history by winning the first gold medal on Canadian soil.
Throughout, this article, there was no real mention of any advertisers or endorsers that had supported Bilodeau. Rather this article, reflected Alexandre’s hard work, perseverance and struggles as he trained for the Vancouver Olympics. This article reflected all of the important aspects of what should be written about an Olympic athlete. It spoke about his emotions and how it felt to win the gold medal for Canada. There was also a heart wrenching story of his older brother Fréderic who has been an inspiration to him from the beginning. His older brother suffers from cerebral palsy and skiing is what brought these two brothers together, because the article mentions that ‘..on snow gravity is Fréderic’s ally not a force to overcome…’ These are the types of stories we should be hearing about athletes, stories that share with us the how far our athletes have come from when they first began to train and what they will do to bring home as many medals as possible on Canadian soil. I think that this is the type of good media that is following the Olympics. These are the types of stories that should be seen more, because many schools are following the Olympics. I know that at the school where I work all of the classes follow the Olympics daily and students bring in pictures and stories about our athletes. I think that if more articles were written such as the one in Maclean’s about Alexandre Bilodeau, the more our students will be learning about the importance of perseverance, hard work and most importantly that we can achieve anything if we truly believe it and work for it. These types of articles show our students the real stories behind our athletes and the beauty of the Olympic games. GO CANADA GO!!!
Please; enough with the Tiger gossip! What the man does on his own clock is his business and should not have been blown out of proportion the way it has. No way am I encouraging the path he has chosen, but who are we to judge his actions? The man is an amazing golf player and this is the only reason he has reached the level of popularity he is at. People do not admire him for the way he is with his wife and kids (good or bad), they do it because of his stunning performances on the court. Who knows, maybe the so-called “sex addiction” he had is what made him such a talented golfer. Maybe it was his gateway to stress relief. What if without this dose, he becomes an average, mediocre golf player. Did the media just ruin this athlete’s career?
How often would E.T., etalk, and access talk about Tiger Woods prior to the events. He’s always been a low-key type of guy. Can he (or anyone for that matter) handle this insanity level of media attention. Would one not be physically, mentally, and emotionally destroyed after all this? An apology on INTERNATIONAL television, really? Has the poor guy not been through enough? I can promise all of you that the necessary apologies (wife, family, sponsors, etc.) had already been made under more personal circumstances, and that this episode could’ve/should’ve been spared for his own sake and well-being.
On that note, let us all take a moment to remember the immense talent of this athlete as I wouldn’t be surprised that if/when Woods makes his return, he will never be the same again. If this is true, media, I believe, should assume a big part of the blame.
I could say I’ve been living under a rock for the past week because of a bad cold. From reading some blogs from my classmates, I understand the big picture of the Tiger’s controversy. The world found out that this famous golf athlete was not perfect, he made mistakes, and he apologized. What astonished me the most is that there was a “virtual standstill” for an admission of guilt done on national/international television last Friday as LeBlanc stated in his blog. I can hardly believe that people are so curious and obsessed with other people’s private affairs. This is mass media’s influence. I also believe it was not necessary for him to apologize. Most people these days do not forgive and forget so there was no need for him to admit his mistakes to the public once more. What goes around comes around Tiger Woods, too bad he had not thought about it before sleeping with several other women than his wife. What is very funny is that if you Google: “how many women did tiger woods have an affair with” there has been over 2, 140, 000, 000 searches for this. My oh my do people want to know! Haha Sorry if people might get offended because I’m not taking this “Tiger Woods Apology” issue seriously.
I was aware of Tiger Woods’ apology taking place on National Television; however, I was not interested in watching it. Like many other students in this class I do not feel that it was necessary for Tiger woods to offer his apologies to the world. I am more than certain that he has made the appropriate apologies to the people concerned such as his wife, sponsors, and family. Placing the title “Tiger Woods’ Apology” on all news channels nationwide makes it “the event” to watch. No wonder his story sells; he is the most famous golf player that everyone looks up to!! Not to mention that I also heard by a few sources that the media was suggesting that Woods should also apologize to his mistresses!! What?! How ridiculous. Those women (mistresses) were surely aware of who they were dealing with and knew what the consequences would be if ever news went out! This is just another way to have a hot story on the headlines once again.
Unfortunately, being so famous seems to put Tiger in a position where he no longer has a private life as a husband and father. If everyone that had an affair were to apologize on national television the news would be never ending. I believe that his true fans look up to him for who he is as a golf player compared to what is going on in his personal life. Although most fans were disappointed by his actions, the affairs that happened will surely not affect his talent in golf.
Honestly, I was pretty surprised to see that many people did not think that Tiger Woods owed the public an apology. Of course, the apology wasn’t necessarily crucial to those who simply know who he is, however, lets not forget that when you enter a career that is within a public field, you often become a role model to a large amount of people. In the case of Tiger Woods, he was a role model for many young children who looked up to him as the “God of Golf”. Millions of children wanted to be just like him and you cannot shatter their image of you when you hold this type of power. I understand that his mistakes does not make him less of a Golf player, but lets face it, the media never ONLY talks about what a celebrity does for work. Media shows such as TMZ and Entertainment Tonight are usually based on where they spotted a certain celebrity and what they do with their free time.
I think the reason he apologized was mainly for his close family and friends, but it was also for the people who have supported his career such as his sponsors. There are a lot of people out there who gave Tiger Woods a lot of money to put out a good image and to influence many people in a positive way.
I really don’t think he was looking for extra attention from the media with this speech. The reason he was speaking that day as well was to ask for his family and children to be left alone. It is sad that he has to say this, but it is also reality and I don’t blame him one bit for doing so. His family and friends do not deserve to suffer because of his actions and he recognizes that. He also gives a really interesting and truthful explanation (not excuse) for why he did what he did. He says that being in the public eye and having everything he wants at the palm of his hand made him believe that typical rules did not apply to him. With the amount of enormous mistakes that celebrities may make in front of the entire world, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anybody admit to this before. I can honestly say that I have gained back some of the respect I had for Tiger Woods before all of his mistresses were revealed because of his apology and even though I know that this does not matter to him or anybody else personally, I’m sure it helped his family regain a certain sense of dignity which they never should of lost in the first place.
I agree with the others who said that Tiger Woods did not need to make a public apology. It was his wife and family that he cheated on so why does he need to apologize the society! The media latched onto the fact that Tiger had an affair an all of a sudden more and more “lovers” seemed to come out of the woodwork and the story got bigger and bigger. Then of course the media was upset that Tiger was not speaking about it and was dealing with things privately with his wife. Why was that such a bad thing? She was the one who was affected most by him being unfaithful. Then Tiger broke his silence and spoke to the media about his affairs and apologized to society! As Robert mentioned millions of men have affairs every year and they don not need to go on national television and apologize. Some men have another life with their mistress and no one ever finds out! The affair has nothing to do with Tiger’s golf abilities it is a personal matter. The media seems to be saying how Tiger Woods was the perfect person and then it turns out that he is not so perfect… I’m tired of seeing his face on the cover of newspapers and magazines. I question whether some of these mistress’s are only speaking out to get their time in the spotlight. Are they too not to blame for Tiger’s indiscretions? It takes two to tango… Has a society we seem to delight in getting a chance to see into the lives of the rich and famous. Just because one is a celebrity does not make one perfect. They are human and imperfect like the rest of us.
One of many statements that bothered me when listening to Tiger Woods’ apology was:
“I felt I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me, I felt I was entitled” ~Tiger Woods
Just because he is famous does NOT give him any more rights or entitlement than the next person. What he did was wrong regardless of who did it, and the fact that he thought other wise gives me the impression that there may have been other things that he may have done because he believed that he deserved it after all the work he ha done. In my opinion trust is going to be something that he wins back from not only his wife, as he mentioned, but from his sponsors and his fans.
He has been looked up to by many people over the year, young and old and to know hear that he felt that he was entitled to enjoy any temptation that came his way makes me feel that he may not be the best role model at all. a role model should be someone that thinks clearly and could make a sound judgment call when it would come to something so blatantly obvious as being something wrong, regardless of if he may or may not get caught.
In my eyes I think that the apology made matters worse. I now know that he not only has a sex addiction, the apology has shown a light on his reasoning and ability to make judgment calls.
But Speaking of The Need to Apologize…
I am so peeved right now as I just watched CTV News report that the women’s hockey team of Team Canada had issued an apology for taking their celebration onto the ice! I mean who can blame them…they only just won a gold medal in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics games!!! Are they kidding? It really makes me wonder, had it been the men’s team participating in such a celebration, would it even be newsworthy? Isn’t that what people do when they accomplish extraordinary feats, by celebrating with champagne, a few drinks and some cigars…but I guess that’s just what men do. It’s only when male athletes have enough mistresses to populate a small country, that they become unfit to be a good role model.
I understand that all famous athletes are supposed to set good examples and be role models, and if working hard enough to win a gold medal doesn’t do that in itself, than what will?
It’s not like these girls were doing Jello-shots off each others belly buttons and were smoking up and getting high. When Michael Phelps got caught smoking weed, he had to apologize – but WEED is an illegal substance.
Some people are saying that some of these “women” are not even legal, because every province has different legal ages, and BC’s is 19 years old. All I have to say to that is that if these girls can’t celebrate with the “big girls” when they win a gold medal, then they shouldn’t be eligible to play on the “women’s team”!
I can’t believe that they had to apologize for celebrating…the media couldn’t let them just enjoy their moment. As a Canadian woman, I am especially proud of those WOMEN!!!
** Olympics**
Well I’m gonna pick the talk about the Olympics again, since I wasn’t even aware of Tiger Woods making an apology so good for him I guess.
So normally I don’t even watch hockey…at all, but the idea of the team Canada verus team USA, germany…I don’t know but it seems very national and worth watching.
Canada plays good, I mean really damn good. 8-0 against Norway, even though we lost to US lost with 5-3, we kicked butt against Germany (8-2) and now Russia (7-3). I’m just simply amazed at team Canada. Makes me proud to be wave the Canadian Flag and be a part of their culture.
So anyway, onto the women, or should I little girls? Frankly, I watched their final match with the US and we took home the gold. SWEET!!
But what really brings my blood to a boil was them receiving the medals. The USA women team had shown poor sportsmanship, heck they weren’t even congratulatory at all towards Canada for winning the Gold. Some ladies were pissed off and and some were even crying as if someone just died. Like I understand Silver ain’t gold, but seriously was this all part of the show? Because if it was, its a poor example of how women should act. When I was watching team Finland getting the bronze, they were simple ecstatic. It takes a lot of hard work just to get A medal. While I’m thrilled we won the gold, I was very disappointed in team USA’s reaction. They all played well, but there is really no crying over winning a silver medal. Just think of the countries that didn’t make the cut.
As I’m reading Alexandra’s comment, I’m amazed at how they need to apologize for celebrating. That’s completely messed up
New Topic: Ted Bird…who does he think he is?
Most of you know who Ted Bird is if you’re from Montreal and hate Mix 96. He was the CHOM radio morning man for many years. I thought he was wonderful, often hilarious, and enjoyed waking up to his witty banter. He has since left CHOM (unharmoniously), started a blog, written for The Gazette, and starting Monday he will be doing sports commentary on CTV news.
I liked Ted Bird, until this. I would post a link, but I know none of you will follow it, so I am going to paste his article in here and then comment on it afterwards.
http://communities.canada.com/MONTREALGAZETTE/blogs/birddroppings/archive/2010/02/27/canadian-women-go-a-broad.aspx
Canadian women go a-broad
Ladies hockey champions?
Er, not exactly. Not when members of the Olympic champion Canadian team at the Vancouver Winter Games chug beer and smoke cigars on the ice after beating the U.S. in the women’s gold medal game. Those weren’t ladies. Those were broads.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t expect women to wear aprons, bake pies and otherwise do what they’re told. For better or worse, that ship has sailed. But the spectacle that unfolded at the end of Thursday’s game was a little too unladylike for my tastes. Even the gold medal-winning Canadian men’s team in 2002 restricted their non-traditional celebrating to bringing their kids onto the ice. That was precious and touching, and you can call me old-fashioned, but I would rather my women be maudlin and sentimental and leave the beer-drinking and cigar-smoking to the men.
Besides, what’s to celebrate? That we beat our only serious rival in a sport where parity after Canada and the US is non-existent? I’m on record as opposing women’s hockey as an Olympic sport until such time as the calibre of play is world class across the board, and even at that, the pace of the women’s game at its highest level is conspicuously plodding compared to the men.
I realize that in 2010 it’s hugely offensive of me to say anything negative about women in general and appallingly un-Canadian not to jump on the bandwagon when we win a gold medal in such johnny-come-lately Olympic events as women’s hockey, ski cross, driveway shovelling or snowball fighting, but as long as we’re being politically correct, it would be hypocritical to endorse the notion of team members (including at least one under the legal drinking age) consuming alcohol while openly violating our much-cherished anti-smoking laws by sucking on lit stoogies in a public building.
We can’t have it both ways. If we’re going to wallow in the kind of sanctimony and self-satisfaction to which so many Canadians feel entitled, then we have to abide by all the rules, all the time, and dat goes for da broads, too.
Now all of the things I have to say to this are hard to put concisely into a blog. I would like to say that this filled me with rage (the ragey-ist sort)—especially because I had to explain (yell) at my boyfriend about why this is so wrong. He agreed with me in the end.
Just because there is not much competition in women’s hockey does not mean it should not be an Olympic sport. The Canadian and US women work their asses off to get where they are. They are the best of the best. They train hard and they play hard. They compete at an Olympic calibre level and this is where they should be playing. Just because the other countries have not caught up to our calibre of hockey does not mean that the women who have should not have the right to compete for Olympic medals. Fuck having the same calibre across the board. Is he saying that if the Canadian and US teams were shittier, it would be ok because then there would be competition? Or is he saying that just because these women may not play NHL style hockey that they don’t belong in the Olympics? Unlike the men’s team, hockey is not a full time job for them. They don’t make 5 million dollars a year for doing what they do. You could even say they have to work harder than the men’s teams. And anyone who watches team sports will see a difference between men and women’s team sports—it doesn’t mean one deserves to be in the Olympics and the other doesn’t. It means that men and women play together on teams differently.
Seriously though, “Johnny-come-lately Olympic events”? Yes, ski cross is a new Olympic sport. No, hockey is not. If there is going to be a men’s competition, there had better be a women’s competition. If the other countries can compete, it doesn’t mean that the two that can should be barred.
I do not necessarily condone the drinking and smoking on the rink after their victory. Yet I’m sure if the men’s hockey team had done the exact same thing, no one would have commented on this way. You know what? These girls aren’t ladies. Their athletes. They don’t need to be sentimental, they need to be good at a sport. No one ever asked for this to be called ladies hockey—it is women’s hockey. For the same reason that it is men’s hockey and not guys’ hockey. And, again, though I don’t agree with them doing it on the ice, what if women do want to swig beer and smoke cigars? Does that mean they are automatically men? Does it mean they can’t be women anymore, because they are participating in a stereotypically male activity? Sorry, Ted Bird, but you’re an ass. Maybe women shouldn’t participate in other male activities, like having jobs or driving cars. Maybe I should be in the kitchen, making Ted Bird an apple pie. Or maybe someone should tell Ted Bird that acknowledging that something is offensive doesn’t make it ok to say it.
Different Topic Olympics
THE WHOLE COUNTRY BY YOUR SIDE JOANNIE ROCHETTE
Every athlete’s childhood dream is to be part of the Olympics. Joannie Rochette grew up in Ile-Dupas, Quebec. She was rated as a potential medalist coming into Vancouver 2010. Her mother was her biggest supporter, she never missed a practice, a training, or an event. They were one, and needed each other a great deal. Hours after the media got hold that Joannie’s mother passed away, the phones went off the hooks. Instead, of reporters giving her a bit of privacy. The word got out, and the ordeal got blown out of proportion. We as Canadians felt her pain. She got interviewed and expressed her sorrow, and what it meant for her to not have her mother’s support at the highest stage possible. The Olympics is the top, there’s not a higher level of competition, but would Joannie have the strength to continue? What was going through Joannie Rochette’s mind? If she didn’t skate would she regret it for the rest of her life? Many people questioned her participation. I can’t even believe she participated in her routine and the fact that she won a medal is just incredible. This moment will live for the ages. I hope she holds the flame in the closing ceremony because Joannie Rochette demonstrated determination, willpower, perseverance, courage, and bravery. She has become an inspiration to me, and hopefully for millions of people across the world.
Before I begin my blog, I wanted to mention that Joey Romano did the right thing to post about Joannie Rochette. Someone had to do it! Congratulations Joannie Rochette! Bronze medal won by a woman with a heart of gold!
As for Tiger Woods, I don’t think I can add anything to what Patrice said! What is up with all of us sticking our noise in other people’s business? Well that’s mankind for you! If I hear that so-and-so said this or did that, right away do I want to know. It goes the same of athletes and celebrities. But nowhere near is it ANY of our business. He cheated on his wife. The media found out about it. And I feel as if it’s more important than the devastating news from Haiti! Okay, he made a mistake, and maybe it wasn’t even a mistake! I’m not saying cheating is right! I am completely against it, but it was HIS choice. No one put him in chains and forced him to do it.
Owe an apology to us, his fans, his business partners, his wife his family… Gosh, is he going to have to owe an apology to my pet fish as well? Give the guy a break! I find it out though, that , like mentioned, he owed an apology to his wife, his family, and his business partners, but not in that order… We see where the media puts and emphasis on and what is prioritized (the sport and the fame before privacy).
Also, Patrice mentions how we never really heard of his private life, and that is by far true! We hear about Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohans’ scandals and they just pass by us now. But when someone so highly respected goes and does such a huge act, it becomes a crisis as big as the next World War 3!
I think people should sit back and think of the things THEY do themselves. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes, and it’s not because we aren’t famous that we need to owe an apology to the world EXCEPT the ones we’ve hurt and ourselves!
I just wish him the best in his upcoming career.
**DIFFERENT TOPIC*** – Olympics: Champagne after Gold
Since I already blogged about Tiger’s apology, I will be commenting on Canada’s hockey team celebrating after their gold medal win. After beating team USA, the Canadian women went on to celebrate by drinking and smoking cigars in their locker room. It made the media when they took their celebration to the ice. I am in the U.S. right now, and I saw on TV that the broadcaster wasn’t very pleased. He said the Olympic Committee was shocked and embarrassed that the girls did this on the ice. I then started to wonder if it became such a big deal in Canada as well? “The members of Team Canada apologize if their on-ice celebrations, after fans had left the building, have offended anyone,” Hockey Canada said. So does that make it ok? “Some lay stretched out on the ice drinking from beer cans and champagne bottles, while one player climbed on the ice-resurfacing machine and honked the horn several times.” Once I read this online I became a bit embarrassed, but I mean, hey, we’re Canadian! In some ways it’s kind of expected and not that much of a surprise to me that they got drunk – the typical stereotype of Canadians right? I agree it was a little disrespectful, but why not? They just won gold! If Team USA had done the same thing, would it have been a big deal as well?
As I read through the blogs I noticed several things. Many people touched on the idea that Tiger Woods had no obligation to the publicly apologies for his affair. From what I understood they feel as if the only person who deserves an apology is his wife. I can understand this mentality and I do agree that she is one who defiantly deserves the most sincere apology, however I do feel that tiger needed to address the public about what he had done. I feel it is good for someone like him to admit their downfalls and apologize for their inappropriate behavior. I agree with Tania Lamorgese that his wife deserves a private apology, however I think that he should also apologize publicly as his mistake was publicly aired. This mistake should not be ignored or dealt with behind closed doors only because we a public we must hold our icons to a higher behavioral standard and when someone violate that they should recognize it in public.
I am not very into the realm of following celebrities’ lives but when I first heard about this Tiger woods thing, it was as my father and my sister were discussing the fact of whether this should affect his carrier. I remember my dad saying that although he had done something horrible, he is still an amazing golfer and he should not pay for it in that realm of his life. This upset me because I feel that celebrities should know before they enter into the public eye that society has specific expectation and that they are held to a higher standard than anyone else! David Dufresne mentioned at the end of his bog, “I would have been perfectly fine without an apology. He was not having affairs behind the backs of his fans or the public at large. He was having affairs behind the back of his wife and his family. Those are the only people he should be apologizing to.” I think that although he did not hurt his fans directly, he let them down in a big way!
The principal of Tiger Woods apologizing to the world is two-fold. On one hand, I think Woods did not need to make an apology on national/international television. His actions affected his loved ones and it is to them, he owes the apology. A public apology is tacky and unnecessary for the public to be involved in Wood’s personal affairs.
However, on the other hand, Wood’s apology was necessary because the consequences of his actions have affected deeply affected his career. This public apology was a strong reach out towards his fans and an opportunity to gain back the endorsements in which he was previously promoting. As a previous student, Mini Street wrote, “you owe everything to your fans” as a celebrity. “They are the ones who consume the products or media that you endorse so they are the ones who make you famous”. Therefore, in order to keep the fans’ respect, Wood’s needed to apologize for his career. In the end, I don’t really care about the Woods’ scandal; it’s not to my interest. He cheated on his wife with several other women. And? He isn’t the first person to do this.
Unlike many of my peers, I believe that the Tiger Woods apology was necessary. I realized that many of my classmates have considered the fact that Tiger Woods is a huge popular icon in media and is well off, the greatest athletic role-model. When I hear comments like “I understand that he is a great model for children but he still did not need to apologize for his actions to the public since it is a private matter”, I get extremely confused. If he is one of the greatest role-models for many individuals, including children, and he decides to act in such a way, then I do not see why this would be a private matter; it affects all of his fans. I think that we forgot what a role-model is and this worries me since we are all mostly considering becoming teachers. Something that some individuals might also not know is that Tiger Woods also has a foundation called the “Tigers Woods Foundation”. This foundation is about in Wikipedia’s words, “creating and supporting community-based programs that improve the health, education, and welfare of all children in America” (Wikipedia 2009). Basically, Tiger Woods foundation’s main audience is children and to add to that, his foundation is about teaching children to have big dreams and to excel in life. To add to that, Tiger Woods is also a member of the committee for “The First Tee” program, which is a program also directed towards the youth and according to the website, it’s goal is to “enable kids from every walk of life to partake of a game that teaches values for life and which can be played for a lifetime” (The First Tee, 2010). The values that “The First Tee” program is talking about for teaching children is certainly not relating to the actions that Tiger Woods recently carried out.
As much as the media might seem to “exaggerate” towards Tigers Woods’ actions, there was a need for an apology from Tiger Woods. As much as we wish to believe that his actions are a private matter, they did not only affect his family and friends. He has let down many of his sponsors, fans and more importantly the children that looked at him as a role-model. He also became a non-credible image where his fans cannot trust anything that Tiger Woods says anymore. Tiger Woods stood for values like trust and honesty in his programs and foundations and according to me, he did everything that goes against those values mainly by being disloyal to his wife.
Olympics: Champagne after Gold
I think this whole “Party on Ice” story is a bit exaggerated. After all their practice and hard work, Canada’s women’s ice hockey team won gold and celebrated like all hockey players do. So they had a few beers and cigars, what’s the big deal?
As mentioned in a previous blog, some members of the team were under the drinking age in Vancouver. If anything, there should be more of focus on underage drinking than on the “embarrassment” of the women’s celebration. The Olympic Committee seems to be more focused on the image and poor representation of sport values these women athletes have reflected, especially that their celebration took place on the ice at the Olympic venue.
In their defense, the game was over and they were just having the fun they deserved. They were celebrating- the traditional way. In my opinion, what caused an even greater scandal is the fact that they are women. If it was the men hockey team, I think this story would have had less of a negative impact. They probably would have been considered doing a “guy thing”.
In any case, the team took responsibility for their actions and apologized for their behavior. I think they handled it very well and do not think they should feel bad for celebrating.
We’ll see how the men react if they win gold tomorrow!
Je suis aussi d’accord avec la majorité des commentaires sur ce blog. Je crois que Tiger Woods, tout comme toutes autres célébrités, a droit a une certaine vie privée. Il est certain que nous sommes curieux face à la vie de cet homme puisque après tout, Tiger Woods représente un model en quelque sorte pour plusieurs personnes. Par contre, je crois que les détails qui nuisent à son image ne sont ni bon pour lui ni bon pour les personnes qui vénérent ce sportif. Mes grands-parents, tout comme plusieurs autres personnes âgées, avaient un grand respect pour cette personne et ce scandale a totalement changer leur point de vue. Je trouve vraiment dommage ce qu’il a fait mais je suis fâchée que les gens se basent sur cette tragédie pour juger cette personne puisque cela n’enlève rien à toutes ses exploits sportifs.
De plus, il y a plusieurs centaines de milliers de personnes qui sont infidèle à leur mariage et qui vivent des événements semblable et nous n’accordons jamais autant d’importance à ces derniers qu’à une célébrité. Je crois que si Tiger Woods doit des excuses à quelqu’un, ses excuses vont seulement aux gens qui sont directement affectés et non pas aux inconnus.
Response to “THE WHOLE COUNTRY BY YOUR SIDE JOANNIE ROCHETTE”
I also agree with Melodie Huot as I believe that Joey Romano’s discussion about Joannie Rochette is definitely essential! Being in Vancouver for the past week has really gotten me into everything to do with Canada and the Olympics. When I first heard about Joannie’s mother’s incident and how she was not sure if she was going to compete or not, I kept thinking and telling my parents that she has to skate! As hard as it is to lose a loved one, especially your own mother, I believe that Joannie did the right thing as she still skated her heard out. She has worked so hard and has trained for so many years, that to not skate would just go to a waste. It was great to see her skate so passionately and see her father cheer for her in the stands. It was also interesting to see her fans across the country all watching her perform at a large gathering. I am really proud of Joannie and am happy that she won the bronze medal for Canada. She has inspired me to do my best and never give up even during the hardest times in life.
As I read the responses to this week’s blog, I felt the class was divided into two different extremes: either Tiger Woods abused his celebrity status and owed us a lot more than an apology or he should deal with his private matters on his own and not on television. I couldn’t relate strongly to either party, and so I felt as I often do in class: ambivalent. I feel as though there should be a more balanced view argued, because the situation is not just black and white. Both with this situation and with media literacy as a whole, I feel it is important to yes, be critical, but not just for the sake of being critical. I fail to see how arguing that everything in media is a particular stereotype and prejudice fed to the mass consumer audience by The Man is any better than saying our media is nothing to be worried about and should be consumed at face-value. One extreme view is not better than another…
My mom is a big of golf and Tiger Woods. She always had to watch all the games which Tiger played. I never asked what she thought about Tiger’s affairs. However, when I think back to a friend who had a favorite singer. She became a member of the singer’s fan club and used to know the schedule of the singer as well. When something happened to that singer, such as an accident, she even cried. Although you might want to keep your privacy, it is hard to have privacy when you are well known. Everyone know that anyone who is famous are the same as us, but we can’t do anything about being curious of what they do. There was a popular actor in Korea who married an actresses not so popular and not so liked. Almost half of the fans became anti fans of that actor. Although it is their privacy and their decision to marry someone or to have an affair, we can’t help the fans to become disappointed. If that person is your star or someone you look up to, we can’t blame you for being disappointed. I think its wrong to say something about someone’s privacy, whether they are famous or not, but I’m sure people know that its hard to keep your privacy when your famous. Therefore, if you want your privacy, don’t become famous.
**NEW TOPIC** BC Couple’s Escape from Olympic Chaos
On my Mexico trip, I was pleasantly surprised to have met a very nice, young couple. We found out they were from Vancouver, BC. When asked why they would choose to leave their home town–the host city of the highly anticipated 2010 Winter Olympics– they laughed and said that was the EXACT reason they decided to leave that very week–to escape from all the Olympic chaos!
I found it very interesting, because it seems like nearly everyone, whether or not they are sports fans, takes such high pride in their Olympic team, and to live in the same hosting city, seems to me like it would be even more of an honor, not to mention a very exciting experience!
This made me wonder what all the Media hype about the Olympics comes down to, and about all the money and resources spent on making the Olympics the grand, extravagant event it is known to be. Of course it brings many people happiness and pride; but what about the other people it does not satisfy–further–those people who think of it as a burden to escape from?
This conversation we had with the BC couple got me thinking about how the media coverage on the Olympics definitely must inflate peoples attitudes and enthusiasm toward the national competition. I, in this situation, seem to be the passive consumer of this media coverage, having bought into the notion that the Olympic games this year was a big deal for Canadians everywhere. I guess I was wrong!
NEW TOPIC *JOANNIE ROCHETTE*
We have all heard of our bronze medalist, Joannie Rochette; and how her mother past away. Yes; I completely agree with everyone, it is tragic and very sad, and my condolensces goes out to her and her family. I believe however, that what is even more tragic is the abundant media coverage on this. If she continued her participation in the games throughout this horrible time for her and her family, it is because she wants to be recognised as an athlete, and not as someone who lost her mother during her competition. Right after she won her medal, I opened the television, and saw an interview. Thankfully, “Bronze medal winner” was written at the bottom of the screen, because otherwise, the only thing we would have known about Joannie Rochette is how she lost her mother, and how she feels; which I believe is a private matter. She is part of the Olympics for her figure skating talent, and should be treated and recognised as such!
After reading most comments on Tiger Woods’ apology, I find that many have brought up important points – who are we to judge?, what he does is his business, a virtual standstill was too much, he owed us an apology, etc.
Now, the way I see it, all role models ‘owe it’ to apologize when they do something wrong. If a teacher humiliates a child, they should apologize to that child in front of the witnesses. Tiger Woods has a broader public, as opposed to a teacher. However, did he hurt his fans by sleeping with other women? Indirectly, perhaps. But really, his apology should go to his loved ones. And to me, that equals a small number of people…
Lets forget about Tiger for a short period of time…what about his wife and kids?..Did they need ALL this attention? Maybe a little as revenge (his wife I imagine would like him to kneel in front of the world and admit he is a jerk). But isn’t the media encouraging this attention in a distorted manner?
All I have to say is that E.T. had a whole report on whether his wife would ‘Stand by her man’ like Hilary Clinton, and how this would help his career. As an outsider’s point of view, his personal life is at stake here…let’s not mix subjects and use his wife as a means to save his career.. And what is that saying again…what goes around comes around..?
When I watched Tiger Woods’ apology, I found it a little dramatic, unnecessary and I honestly was not able to get through the whole thing without being bored. It’s not hard to understand why he made a public apology, however, I think he’s sincerity is something to question. Honestly, I thought the very fact that his indiscretions were made public by the media was enough in itself, but a public apology is a bit too much. It’s just a first attempt to try and rectify his image. The only person he cheated was his wife and really she’s the only person who deserves his apology. His affairs are nobody’s business but his, his wife’s and their family’s. So I don’t think that he “consequently owes the public a debt of obligation to explain himself in these times”. But, in this day and age I think we all know that nothing about celebrities can be left private. The only thing that Tiger Woods is famous for is his talent at golf, and if even though he may be a very unfaithful husband, that doesn’t necessarily change how he plays golf. All in all, I think his public apology was selfish in that he did it to probably restore his image and furthermore, keep his endorsements.
I think it absolutely ridiculous how blown out of proportion this situation has become. It’s bothersome to even talk about it because it is SO none of our business. What people (yes, even celebrities) do in their personal lives is personal. People cheat on their husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends every single day. This is not to say that it’s okay or acceptable, but that it happens all the time. There is no public apology necessary for such a private matter. I even feel bad for Tiger, not because of what he did (even though it was wrong), but because he is being forced to make a public apology.
There is clearly a debate as to whether this apology is necessary (as we can easily tell from this week’s blogging). I personally don’t think that there is much to debate here; no one should have to publicly apologize for something they did during their off the clock hours which are personal and private. So he cheated on his wife… we hear of many celebrities who do the same thing yet most of them do not apologize for their private affairs.
I think that we are forgetting that Tiger Woods is not only a pro golf player and celebrity but a regular human being, a father, a husband (albeit maybe not such a good one). The fact that the cheating was made public is embarrassing enough… Does he deserve even more public humiliation? This situation should have been handled between Tiger and his wife.
The Tiger Wood’s scandal has made the headlines numerous times in the past few months due to his actions of adultery. Tiger recently made a public apology to his fans in the hopes of changing the image that people have developed of him. Some of my classmates believe that a public apology was not necessary and that the only people he needs to excuse himself from, was his wife and family. I happen to disagree with this idea, and believe that a public apology was justifiably the right thing to do. Although I do agree that celebrities are entitled to a private life, they aren’t always given the choice of what the public can find out about them. They are aware of this and are therefore responsible for the actions they take in their lives. Tiger was well aware that his actions may leak out but he went ahead and did it anyways. There are so many people that look up to Tiger, for he is presently one of the most successful athletes out there. His fans range from young children to elderly people who respected him for his previously clean image and successful career. How could Tiger commit adultery and not apologize to his young fans who look up to him as a role model? I also believe that his apology helped his image and career because he was able to be a man and take responsibility for his actions. It is also important for his fans to know that his actions were irresponsible and unacceptable so that they will not mimic his actions thinking that this is what people can do when they’re successful. Although Tiger wasn’t obliged to apologize to the world, I think that he did the right thing in trying to explain his wrong-doings and potentially save his image.
DIFFERENT TOPIC – HOW TO CELEBRATE A GOLD MEDAL
As a proud Canadian, I was so impressed when our women’s hockey team won gold against the US. However the next day I heard about an issue with the team. As Camille mentioned in her blog, after the game the women celebrated their win in their locker room. After al the spectators and fans had left the venue, their celebration continued out into the ice rink. The media captured pictures of many team members smoking cigars and drinking beer or champagne, and it turned into a pretty big issue with the Olympic Committee. The only issue that I can see with this celebration is the fact that two of the team members were under the drinking age in BC (although they were from Quebec, so they are legal where they live). They women’s team did nothing wrong, they accomplished something amazing, and had reason to celebrate and be proud of themselves. I think that the fact that the Canadian Olympic Committee, as well as the women’s team, issued statements of apology is a little bit ridiculous. Yes, they want to keep everybody happy and not offend anybody, but can anybody honestly say that after winning a gold medal at the Olympics, they wouldn’t celebrate? These women were only celebrating, in the way that they chose. They were not being embarrassing, or anything of the sort, and I see nothing wrong with what they did.
In response to ‘Can a private matter be private’, I think that obviously in an ideal world the general public would not feel the need or want to know the intimate details of one of our most famous athletes. However, if we were in an ideal world said athlete would not be cheating on his wife with not one but multiple women. So I don’t think that we can make a moral judgment as to what is more wrong, Tiger’s actions or our fascination by it.
With that in mind, I really think that it is the fact that Tiger had slept with so many women that made this story so outragious. People could just not believe how many women were comming forward. Infidelity is unforunately very common in our society but infidelity on that scale is quite disturbing and I guess that is why he sought treatment.
I totally agree with Chantalle Gauthier’s response. The Tiger Woods scandal has been blown out of proportion and even if this affected women across the globe, Tiger Woods is not the first man to have cheated on his woman or the last one. Magazines such as Us Weekly, Instyle and Intouch have all take an enormous interest in Tiger Woods affairs by interviewing anybody who thinks they had a sexual relationship with Mr. Woods. If these magazines believe that putting Tiger Woods in their front page weeks after weeks will sell, then we need to recognize our society’s obsession of trying to learn all details from Woods’ affairs. I believe his public apology was not necessary but I think it has mostly to do with his many campaigns at stake and his fans. The only dilemma is that when you decide to become a celebrity or become famous, your life become very public and you lose a lot of privacy. I do not believe that all his details of his affairs should have been spilled but people like dramatic events and problems; “Le Malheur des uns, Fait le Bonheur des autres”. Personally, I do not have any sympathy for him but there is a point where privacy should be respected and he needs to be with his family not apologizing to us. Tiger Woods will still remained an amazing athlete and will still have numerous fans. In my opinion, people forget and forgive rapidly. For example, Letterman’s numerous affairs with coworkers or Hugh Grant cheating on Elizabeth Hurley were sensational in tabloids and disappeared rapidly for juicier ones.
**DIFFERENT TOPIC ** Nuit Blanche in Montreal
“New York City is widely known as the city that never sleeps – but Montreal certainly gave it a run for its money last night.”- Gazette
The Nuit Blanche started in 2004 in Montreal, designed to be a night filled with various activities, free bus transportation and the metro is open throughout the night. However, this year, the event was less than up to par. People flooded the streets left, right and center, with no direction or control. Men and women flounced from one activity to the other, but never participating in them. Why? There was simply no delegation. Lines snaked around, but people were left to wonder which line led to where. Had there been more organization and volunteers present, maybe folks would have been left feeling less frustrated. Next year, perhaps Nuit Blanche’s organizing committee can bring forth better methods to restrain those certain individuals who tend to lose control in large crowds.
**DIFFERENT TOPIC ** Nuit Blanche in Montreal
“New York City is widely known as the city that never sleeps – but Montreal certainly gave it a run for its money last night.”- Gazette
The Nuit Blanche started in 2004 in Montreal, designed to be a night filled with various activities, free bus transportation and the metro is open throughout the night. However, this year, the event was less than up to par. People flooded the streets left, right and center, with no direction or control. Men and women flounced from one activity to the other, but never participating in them. Why? There was simply no delegation. Lines snaked around, but people were left to wonder which line led to where. Had there been more organization and volunteers present, maybe folks would have been left feeling less frustrated. Next year, perhaps Nuit Blanche’s organizing committee can bring forth better methods to restrain those certain individuals who tend to lose control in large crowds.
Becoming a celebrity, weather it be an athlete, movie star or singer, there’s no doubt in my mind that they should owe us something. After all, without us, they wouldn’t be there in the first place. Tiger Woods, like you said, is one of the highest paid athletes. Of course anything he does, weather it be good or bad will be broadcasted in the spotlight. This apology seemed heartfelt. I think public apologies are important to simply save face. Apologizing to the world, in a way, is brave. Even though he knew everyone around the world knew what he had done, he still came out and confessed and said it himself. He stepped out and showed the public that he wasn’t afraid, and although what he has done is terrible and I personally don’t think I’d ever be able to forgive it, I think it was a wise and good move to publicly apologize.
Apologies a la Tiger Woods are also a good way to get some pity. Seeing him hug his mother at the end was touching for some, which probably lead to some “oh, he is so sweet and brave” or “I feel so bad for him”. If people start to feel bad for him, they’re sort of forgetting the real reason why he is apologizing in the first place. Now, the talk of the town is not the sexual indiscretion, it’s the apology.
Woman’s Hockey Team Celebrations
I was so proud when the Canadian women won the gold medal in hockey the other day, and my friends and I were even chuckling at their celebrations afterward. We thought it was funny, as well as well deserving on their behalf; they were certainly the hopefuls for the tournament and certainly did our country proud.
The next day, however, I was bombarded with news about them having to appologize and take it to the officials. Why? I cannot believe that people would blow this kind of thing out of proportion like that.
I have watched countless car races, ski races, and other various sporting events that are often commemorated with a large bottle of champagne being tossed everywhere. Does it have to do with the fact that these are women?? After reflecting, I realized that most of these champagne celebrations seem to take place in the company of men… not as often women. Is this why everyone is in such uproar?
Or perhaps it is because they dominated the tournament so outstandingly that the other countries feel that we are rubbing it in their faces.
Whatever the reason, I think that officials should not be brought in, there should be no public apology, and they should really just be congratulated for their huge efforts and for making us all proud.
Great topic Robert!
Certainly, as a few others have already pointed out, the role model aspect of Tiger Woods persona necessitates a cleansing exercise in the form of a public apology. I laughed over the way Rachel Bradley put it: “What Tiger Woods ultimately owes to his public is the restoration of the unblemished, boring, blank avatar.” Indeed, could this be the first sex scandal in golf history? I can imagine my grandfather shaking his head in disgust over the defilement of his precious game. In any case, I think David Dufresne hit the nail on the head when he described the public apology as a performance. This is something Tiger Woods had no choice but to do as a public figure in the United States. He has joined a long line of humiliated public figures, from Hugh Grant (yes, he’s British but well liked in Hollywood) and President Clinton, who have had to perform what I think is closer to a confession than an apology. Not only do fallen role models have to apologize for their actions, the exact nature of their improprieties must also be aired publicly. The Puritan forefathers, those radical Protestants who came over on the Mayflower, made the confession a powerful conforming exercise in their tight-knit communities. Whenever a member deviated from the norm, he/she had to confess in front of the whole community in order to be granted forgiveness and the right to live in the community. No confession and the member was cast out into the unknown wilderness. Of course, I’m not suggesting Puritanism is alive and well in America – who could possible live up to those rigidly high standards in our current materialistic culture. Certainly, not Bill Clinton or Tiger Woods. However, there are echoes of Puritanism in American culture. Arguably, the utter lack of maturity over sexual matters amongst American celebrities and politicians is a reaction to the highly structured puritan lifestyle. Mark my words, we will be hearing more from our sinner, Tiger Woods, in the Church of Oprah – just like Hugh Grant a few years back.
Reading the blogs about Tiger Woods and the women hockey team “scandal” really got me thinking about this idea of a public image. I think many of us seem to forget that besides lots of money and fame, these celebrities are actually human. They are people just like me and you and in my opinion should not have to publically apologize for anything they do. I am not saying that what Tiger Woods did is right, but it is up to him to make it right between him and his family, not the rest of the world. Many argue that these celebrities are role models for young children. But a role model is someone you look up to and admire for things they do well, it does not mean you have to mimic their every move and agree with all they do. If we were raised right and hold true to our moral values, we understand what Tiger did was wrong, and should not be repeated, however we understand that he is human, and let’s face it- human can make mistakes. We know better not to repeat his mistakes. It just frustrates me sometimes thinking about who the media think they are demanding all this press and apologies. These celebrities do no owe us anything. If we are fans, we are fans of their work and what they achieve. We have all heard of many scandals that go on under the radar, but the minute it happens to a celebrity it is front page news. I just think the media needs to take a step back and remember that celebrities are human too.
I agree with many of my classmates by saying that it is totally unnecessary for Tiger Woods to publicize his apology to his wife and peers in front of the entire nation. It gives me a bad feeling in my stomach because it leads me to believe that he only cares of regaining the love from his fans and the millions of viewers who once adored him. Tiger simply wants back all the good attention he used to get and wants to once again be looked at as the good boy of golf with a nice little family. He is using his wife and peers as a prop in this plan. I think that if he truly wanted to apologize to her and to others close to him it could have been done privately, which would have made it seem more important to him rather than doing it for attention. I see this apology as something that is by no means sincere and is even embarrassing to his family because of the fact that he is putting the media and nation first, and his family second. It is a serious problem that we as this nation and media consumers are obsessed with gossip and knowing every detail about the people we watch on television. I do not agree at all with what Tiger Woods has done these past months or years but I also don’t agree with hating him as an athlete because of it. What people do in their personal lives should stay personal and if people are to find out then they should not be judged in their workplace based on private information.
After reading everybody’s blogs on Tiger Woods, I have noticed that there are many mixed feelings about his need for a public apology. Although I didn’t get the chance to see his full apology on TV, I did see a few snippets within the next few days, all of which were accompanied by a media response that was either ridiculing his decision to publicly apologize or questioning whether it was necessary or not. It was hard for me to come across media sources that actually “appreciated” Tiger’s apology and tried to make something positive out of it, which I find very interesting. It seems to me like everybody is just “out to get” Tiger Woods nowadays and make him pay for what he did as much as they can. To be honest, I actually feel bad for him and his current situation as it seems like his career is just continuing to be spiralling downhill because of the scandal. I am obviously not validating his poor choice to have numerous affairs while married, but he is certainly paying a bigger price for what he did compared to the millions of other people in the world who have done the same. Yes, he is a celebrity and thus subject to public scrutiny, but as Pamela mentioned, he is also just human and all humans make mistakes, and we shouldn’t be so quick to judge him for what he did as well as for his need for a public apology. However, for the purposes of this blog I will say that I do not think a public apology was necessary as the people he truly hurt would have probably benefitted from an apology done behind closed doors. On the other hand, my opinion is that he only publicly apologized so he can try to win back his sponsors and his fans, not the actual people who were involved in and directly affected by the affairs.
Another Topic
An unfortunate event happened the other day to figure skater Joanie Rochette her mother passed away. I found it amazing that she was able to compete and win a bronze medal even though such a terrible thing happened to her.
The media covering the olympics focused a great deal on this story and everyone including myself was wondering if Joanie would be competing. For the first time in my life I sat through a figure skating event. when Joannie performed I was so nervous that she would mess up. She ended up winning a bronze medal. What a story, so many people were hoping that Joanie would win and she didn’t disappoint.
Had I not heard about her mother passing away I would never have sat through hours of figure skating. The medias coverage of this story sparked enough interest that I was willing to watch a sport that I find extremely boring. I was worried she would choke under the huge amount of pressure that was on her. I have a huge amount of respect for Joannie Rochette For being able to come out and skate the way she did after having her mother pass away.
I have really enjoyed the experience of watching the Olympics and especially having them here on home turf makes it that much more exhilarating. While I am in the city I have gotten together with friends to watch hockey and during the break I went back home and was able to enjoy them with my family.
My only complaint is that I am so sick and tired of all the travel commercials that appear on the Canadian stations during the events! If I have to see Ryan Reynolds or Samantha from Sex and the City tell me how great British Columbia is or all those nobody singers tell me to visit Ontario and all its marvellous parks, I think I will scream. I noticed that they were only showing these commercials on the Canadian stations though and not on NBC. It is as if they are trying to jump on the patriotism bandwagon that the Vancouver Olympics have created and get people to realize that they need to explore their own country (or just B.C and Ontario) more. I found it interesting that these commercials never played on the American stations which seemed to say that we don’t actually want other people coming to explore our country except fellow Canadians.
Similarly, we have also seen all the commercials have an Olympic theme during the event to show viewers that they support athletes and that is why we should buy their product. Cars, banks, and McDonald’s were the main ones I noticed and I also noticed how on NBC, McDonald’s supports America and on CTV, they support Canada instead of just having one commercial that supports everyone, they felt the need for a division.
Although it may seem absurd to expect a public apology for a private matter for an action that many more men do, it is something that the public needs. Yes, because we engage in voyeurism but mostly because younger children do too. As an athlete Tiger Woods could also be considered as a role model for children or teenagers, so then what message does he send these kids who want to be like him? It’s ok to cheat on your wife? What message does he send to his female fans?
I think that on the one hand he had to do it because he is in the public eye and has a certain influence over our youth. On the other hand he probably did it because his publicist told him it would be best for his reputation. So then it isn’t a sincere apology and if the youth can see through it than it defeats any pro social intent and it becomes another selfish act with the intent to protect his reputation.
This is a response to Valerie Gendron’s response to Tiger Woods’ apology. I’m in total agreement with Valerie and I couldn’t have said it better. I was also very surprised that most people think Tiger didn’t owe the public an apology. Although I acknowledge the fact that celebrities have a right to their private life, I believe fame comes with certain responsibilities. I think that even though most celebrities never asked to be a role model, it just comes with the job, whether they like it or not. Like Valerie said, he remains a good golf player but his public image was greatly tarnished. Sponsors pay huge sums of money to have the right to associate with celebrity/athlete’s positive images. I think it’s important to realize that Tiger’s influence and power goes beyond golf tournaments and for this reason he owes the public apologies when he commits socially unacceptable actions, even though they are considered of a private nature. I agree with Valerie’s last statement regarding the honesty of his apology, I think it helped him gain back some respect and helped his family regain a certain sense of dignity.
I watched every second of the Canadian women’s hockey game against the States, and I was incredibly excited when they won. I am so proud of the team and the fact that women are just as capable and talented in hockey as the men (who are equally fantastic – good luck with the game today!). As Jennifer Allore mentioned, It was interesting to find out that the celebration of the women’s team on the ice after the game was coming under fire. Apparently the IOC has a strict policy about drinking alcohol around Olympic medals, and so it was interesting that they have not taken more action against the team. I do think it was wrong that Marie-Philip Poulin, who is 18 years old, was drinking alcohol. Anyone else caught drinking underage (the legal drinking age in BC is 19 years) would have been arrested/fined. Are there double standards for athletes? I believe that the team partying is not the issue; although they should have been wiser in where they decided to party. Athletes are representing Canada, and should take better care when making decisions that could put not only them but all Canadian athletes in a negative light. The media is ready and willing to catch anyone and everyone in compromising situations and will broadcast it to the world; it is important to be careful in your actions. Take Scotty Lago for example. Lago, a bronze-medallist snowboarder, left/was kicked out (conflicting stories) of the Olympics after being photographed in a bar with the medal hanging over his crotch being kissed by a girl. TMZ released the pictures. Both Lago and the women’s hockey team issued apology statements. Lago is apparently kicked out, and the hockey team gets a bit of bad press. Was this fair treatment and were the consequences severe enough?
Forgot to mention this was a NEW TOPIC – inspired by Jennifer Allore’s blog called How to Celebrate a Gold Medal
I saw only brief flashes of the Tiger Woods apology and I thought (like Tania and many others) that it was rather ridiculous. The address did not seem very genuine but instead a very staged public way to save face ( and endorsements too). I doubt too that his wife felt any better after the whole world knew the intimate details of their personal lives. As if the idea of cheating isn’t enough of an embarrassment alone, but to have the affair splashed around the media must just add insult to injury. I don’t understand how publically admitting a “mistake” makes it any more excusable….I don’t know about you guys but the last time I got my heart broken I didn’t want it to be splashed all over Facebook let alone all over national news.
It seems that the media has removed a level privacy for the rich and famous. Somehow, audiences feel entitled to know everything about their icons. As a result the personal lives and intimate details of the people are shared. Magazines and gossip shows seem to revel in others misfortune. We feel like we somehow know the celebrities and their personalities having never actually met them. We have been given the impression that the space between us and superstars has been reduced. We are given enough details to make judgments about their character and to idolize these individuals and buy their products….
The Tiger Woods affair made me think of the backlash that Clinton received during the Monica Lewinsky debacle. There seems to be some sort of ill-defined morality line drawn for celebrities and public figures. It was okay for Clinton to be a ladies’ man and charm middle class women, but suddenly it crossed the line and he was morally crucified in the press and faced impeachment. His extra-marital affairs have what relevance on his ability to govern a country?
DIFFERENT TOPIC
(President Clinton’s apology to the Nation)
I couldn’t help but think of so many examples of people who are in the spotlight who have publicly addressed the nation their private lives in order to maintain their status of “role models” or simply people we look up to. There have been apologies from Britney Spears to Tiger Woods, to Chris Brown…and many more. We have all witnessed these apologies throughout the media. But why do they need to apologize to the public if it is a matter of their own private lives, like any ordinary human being. President Clinton’s apology to the nation strikes out to me because it was one that shocked the nation. He quotes: “We need to stop the pursuit of personal disruption and the prying on personal lives” as he announces his misconduct with Monica Lewinsky.
Furthermore, I want to take this to another level and ask the question, is it our moral duty to apologize to the whole world for our own private decisions? I think a lot has to do with how media wants to represent itself. It has a huge impact on everyone’s lives because it illustrates this idea of “perfection” and “order”. By that, I am suggesting that people need to put on this fake facade and feel like they are role models even when they enter their private lives. I know if I was in that position, I would feel like I would have to apologize because it’s not something you want the world to perceive you as being. It’s disappointing to see so many people that struggle always feeling in control, perfect, and graceful. We are all human beings who make mistakes in life. We all have a duty in life, but is that duty to be “perfect” in the eyes of the media?
I don’t think that President Clinton really wanted to address the public but it would have ruined his public image. Of course, with media it’s all about the public image. The limelight is something that can be taken away from you with a blink of an eye is someone acts in misconduct.
DIFFERENT TOPIC
MOIR AND VIRTUE
I have to say; during March break I was in Cuba and didn’t get a chance to watch much of the Olympics. I saw glimpses of the skating and curling and watched a couple of the hockey games… and before Cuba, let’s face, being bombarded with exams didn’t leave me much chance to watch the Olympics either. So, I’m a bit lost when it comes to who has been winning what. However, every glimpse that I did get to watch the Olympics, every time I put on CTV or even while I watched the hockey game, the only people I ever heard about was the gold in ice dancing won by Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue. I saw their story play at least three times and their faces where posted everywhere. Now don’t get me wrong, I think their win is amazing! They are both so young and did such a great job. However, I feel like their past, age and the fact that they are two pretty faces have gotten them a lot more praise then the other winning teams and athletes. I have no idea if this is true, that’s why I wanted to make a point to blog about it. Although, I can’t get over that every time I have put the Olympics on while I was in Cuba, Moir and Virtue where the only ones I ever heard about. Maybe the crazy over their win is over by now, but it still leaves me wondering, has the other medalist gotten as much recognition as these stars?
I also wanted to mention that I agree with Sabrina Cerro. I met a couple of people from Vancouver while I was in Cuba and they all wanted to escape the Olympics as well. I was very surprised! I guess I would have to agree that I too must be acting as a passive consumer. I thought people would want to stay there, especially that the Olympics is happening in their own province! What’s making all these Vancouver inhabitants run away?
Response to Nuit Blanche in Montreal
Deborah made a great point about the disorganization of this year’s Nuit Blanche. People were walking everywhere and there were lines starting from every side. Nobody really knew what was going on and which activity the lines would lead you to. I spent most of my night in the Old port. The decor looked very nice with all the pretty colors. However, there was a lot less security/volunteers than I had expected. Perhaps I just didn’t see that many because they blended in with the large groups of people though.
My biggest complaint of the night was the metro system. This is not the first year that Nuit Blanche takes place. It was heavily advertised on television, in newspapers, and in the metros themselves. They knew that the turnout would be big, especially with the mild weather that we had this weekend. When i took the metro around 3am, it was so packed! There were many cops trying to keep order but it was hard. The problem was that there just weren’t enough metros for all those people to get in to. I think they should have added a lot more metros for this one night, instead of having us all wait 15 minutes for one to finally pass. At this point many people were also drunk and high, and this made the whole situation even more uncomfortable since frustrations were higher than they normally would have been for many. I now understand why metros are not open past 1am.It really isn’t that much more convenient. I could only imagine the mess that would occur every weekend with drunken people trying to get home. There would be many more fights and people getting sick in the carts. There just aren’t enough cops around to supervise large masses of people. They did their best, but they cannot control everything. In our metro cart, people were smoking and it was bothering many others, but most were too afraid to say anything with fear of their retaliation in a packed metro where nobody could move.
Overall, it was a nice night weather-wise, and the festivities were well thought out. They just need to work on better organization and be prepared for the amount of people they are sure to attract.
In response to the Tiger Woods public apology, what struck me the most was (like many other students mentioned) the need for this ‘apology’ to take place in the first place. I understand why Tiger Woods did apologize on national television to basically owe some sort of explanation for his previous erratic behavior to the people and various organizations/corporations who support and sponsor his career. To make his apology publicly known seem sensible in this respect making it seem more authentic and official.
However, it does lead one to reflect about the whole notion of public apologies and their purpose to begin with. As many people have already questioned, doesn’t Tiger Woods, whether he is a celebrity or not, deserve his own private life. He is a human being with needs as everybody else. Isn’t he entitled to have his own affairs left exactly that, ‘private’ rather than splattered all over the evening news? I would answer yes to all of these, however he did do all these things in the public eye making his actions known to many, and therefore questioned. I think because he is such a global icon, his actions are more scrutinized and questioned. Unfortunately, do to his great celebrity, he does need to be very conscious of his actions in public (much like every other celebrity existing worldwide).
It is amazing how quickly people can be judged and scrutinized when in the public eye. Essentially we are all voyeurists to varying degrees. If we didn’t care so much about what other people did in their lives perhaps we wouldn’t be so interested in what they did…
In response to Tiger Woods’ apology on his adulterous affairs. It needs to be said that a person of such fame is one of few. Unlike celebrities that are famed for various, practically unexplicable, things, such as any of the three Kardashian sisters or the “Spidey” couple [comprised of fame-seeking Spencer Pratt and Heidi Whats-it], Tiger Woods is a ceclebrity that has reached the A-list, in most respects, due to his incredible talent. As is the case with all “stars,” as Woods has riden to the top, his life been pryed open and he, therefore, has been forcibly been made into a role-model. Sure he is pretty good at golf, however, what appeals to fans, and what the media feeds to them, is his fascinating mix of racial ancestry (that noticeably fits him in with any one of his backgrounds; caucasian, african american, asian, and some other race). People first noticed him because of his skills but, in reality, how many people watch golf on tv? It is boring!! What has utlimately risen Woods’ fame is the fact that he can appeal to the majority of races and is (or was) seemingly a genuinely nice family man that has his priorities set in order and therefore can righteously be idolised. When Woods was caught running around with numerous (or at least a number which is definately not set in stone as of yet) lady-friends, this shocked the fans’ ideology of Woods to its very core. When a man who is principally known for his “niceness” is caught in the midst of the ultimate sin, this breaks down the pedestal on which Woods was placed as it confuses the fans by creating a cause for questioning his fame. In short, the fans feel as cheated as his wife feels – They,also, feel cheated of the perfect man who fit a number of hard-to-uphold, in this day in age, criterias. Nowadays, when an idolized public figure does something wrong, he/she needs to beg for forgiveness not from the wife/husband, but more from his/her public or risk spending the entire remnants of his/her career in the proverbial dog house.
(Yes, I stole this last sentence form the Ikea commercial but I think it fits given my statement)
The whole Tiger Woods situation that has been played out in front of us over these last few months has been rather interesting to watch. Normally, this is the kind of situation that concerns only the people involved, however, given the magnitude of Woods’ celebrity status it was inevitable that it was be a major media story. I don’t think he needed to explain himself to the general population about the situation. It is between him and his family. That said, given that he benefits from us, via his endorsement deals, it was the right thing to do. He needed to clear the air and attempt to rebuild his image and his brand.
All things considered, I believe that his press conference came far too late and should have faced the media and the scrutiny far sooner. He is the most famous athlete in the world and, given the nature of our society, he had to have known that there would be an enormous demand for details about the situation. That said, the reason that Tiger Woods apologized and addressed the situation was not because he wanted to,. He did not address the media because he thought it was the right thing to do. He explained himself because of the pressure being placed on him by the media and by the public. As soon as the story broke we, as a society, became obsessed and demanded as many details as possible. The story was being featured on every news station in North America. The public needed to know everything and demanded to hear from Woods and that is why he finally decided to address the situation. Obviously private matters can be private for most people. However, when your are the richest and most famous athlete on the planet your life is in the limelight and with the way society is, your business is naturally everyone else’s business.
I feel that a person who has the stature of Tiger Woods and has become wealthy due to much public interest and the help of sponsorships and who is an icon to many owes some sort of explanation when his private life is catapulted into the limelight. Although it is also very much that people of today are simply interested in the life of “celebrities” and are curious and in a sense like to feel that these people are real and do have problems beyond all the money and the fame. People are so attached to celebrities these days they feel that they are almost a part of their extended family and they feel that in having let them into their homes through TV and or memorabilia that they are just as much entitled to a sense of understanding. I think that people who take on the sponsorships and live in the limelight have, to an extent, a duty to their loyal fans as well as their sponsors. It can’t all be money and fame, when that life is chosen lack of complete privacy is a price you have to pay. Take John Edwards for example, he tried to hide his affair from the public eye and even blamed the baby his mistress was having on a loyal employee, why should the public elect such a candidate to be their leader when he cannot even be honest about his private life. The public wants to feel they can trust who they believe in. Although it’s not necessary that he be extremely transparent, I feel that we should actually applaud Tiger Woods in that he was quite honest during his press conference ( but I guess he didn’t have much of a choice since TMZ covered his sex rehab visits and his mistresses on a daily basis since the news broke.)
NEW TOPIC: HOW YOUNG WOMEN ARE REPRESENTED IN TEENAGERS’ TV SHOWS
I believe the role of young women in teenarger’s tv shows has changed overtime, but the main idea remains: they are dependent on boys and men. Girls, young women, and women are defined as helpless people that need physical, financial, as well as emotional support from men around them. They always seek men’s advice and can’t make decisions by themselves. They also need help from men to pursue their dreams and find their way in life. Moreover, the leaders or hero of such television shows are almost always men. For instance, if we take a look at Dawson’s creek, Roswell, One Tree Hill – t name a few – the main characters that we look up to are always male characters. I think this influences the way young women perceive themselves and the way they are perceived by the population in general. For this reason, I believe that different television shows should be developed, in which we would be able to see women that are strong and that fight for what they want.
As much as TIger is a role model, he is also just another person with his own shit to deal with. “I have let you down. I have let down my fans.” (That’s Tiger) – WHO CARES. Scandals happen all the time and the ONLY reason they’re so big is because our media amplifies the stories so much. It’s the people digging into Tiger’s personal business who should be apologizing.
He wouldn’t be apologizing if he hadn’t gotten caught. That’s what makes this apology worthless in my opinion. I do however appreciate his standing up for his wife, clarifying that there was no domestic violence present in his home.
It just seems so ridiculous that he has been forced into this position when it was his personal choices. I’m not defending infidelity, but I’m defending a persons’ choices without the influences of corporations. I really feel like he’s doing it because his sponsoring businesses are the ones who profit from this. Not Tiger.
Many men cheat, but do they really owe the public an explanation and apology, even if they are a celebrity, such as Tiger Woods? His handlers successfully humbled him with the “14 minutes of fame” speech, but my answer is “no.” The only person he “cheated” on was his wife, Elin, who I applaud by her reactions as a pro-active role model for all scorned wives. As a former Hollywood Madam and Scandinavian wife of yet another handsome, charming, African-American “cheating” celebrity named Woods (pop star Stevie Woods) this situation for me is just deja’ vu. I don’t believe the public apology was necessary. Some people obviously enjo seeing succesful people do bad in their personal lives, gives them a certain sence of proximity, makes them believe and realize that they really are human beings just as we are, who make mistakes. Overall, the instant reviews for the apology by Tiger Woods are almost all negative so far. Experts on CNN.com, MSNBC and and CNN are all giving it a thumbs down. Rick Cerrone, the former head of media relations for the New York Yankees, said on CNN that the performance was so bad it was going to be used at colleges and universities as an example of how not to stage such an event. Overwhelmingly, the analysts attacked the obvious coaching of Woods — several said “overcoaching.” They also criticzied the staging with the dominant camera shot encompassing three women including the mother of Woods.I thought some of the words sounded good, but, I too, thought they sounded too good and wise ,the best words of apology that money could buy.
Tiger Woods, like all humans including myself is not perfect, he like all humans do sin and then continue with the sin by continuing with the same behaviour/action relating with that sin.Now, for all us humans the lesson here is what our behaviour are we going to continue to judge or condemn, or are we going to forgive.All our sinful actions can be and must be forgiven.It is of course something that all us humans tend to find hard to do.We find it so much easier to condemn and to judge rather than to forgive and remember we are in the same living category as Tiger Woods and as such whatever sinful action he has done we also have the same potential to do, or have done. The different is our sinful actions are not blasted all over the world,I wish that we all can find it in our hearts to forgive.However, Tiger Woods must realize that while we can forgive the consequences of his actions cannot be taken away.Let’s remember to be spread positive vibes to all our fellow mankind in time of good and bad, as we are not perfect while we are going through our life journey…
The case of Tiger is one of many: a celebrity that made a (large) mistake in the public eye, and will now pay dearly for it. Regardless of what these celebrities and public figures do or do not do in their private lives, it will always be aired for the world to see. I certainly think famous sportsmen and actors etc deserve their privacy. That is no question. They are only human as we are, and don’t always deserve the kind of disrespect that they receive from paparazzi and tabloid magazines. However, I also think that every celebrity needs to own the fact, as Tiger did, that they are a role model for many people. They can deny it and try to move away from that image but being a public persona comes with costs. The money and fame may seem wonderful at first, but it will not come free of certain compromises that must be made. Tiger, as stated above, is not perfect. The fact that he got in front of millions of people and apologized was admirable, and not all famous faces that do wrong have that courage. Personally, I do not see the point in having these formal press conferences for people like Tiger to spill intimate details of their lives to us. It is none of my business what Tiger does in his free time as long as he still plays the sport. But…he is a top notch sportsman. He has many, many fans. He inspires many aspiring athletes, and for them, this apology and admittance of what he did wrong was necessary. For Tiger, I hope that he can come back and be a better person than he is now, and overcome his demons. To err is human after all. We must keep in mind that just because someone is famous does not give us the right to deny support when one needs it most. I’m not saying Tiger does not have responsibilities to the public, but sometimes we all just need a little help.
** I know some of these posts are late, I was unclear as to whether this blog was due for today.
In regards to Tiger Woods, I totally agree with the point that Ali brought up. The apology was definitely pushed by the companies that sponsor him, i.e. Nike and Gillette. The general public sees Tiger in their numerous commercials and as a result, they want him to continue to be on good terms with the public. I mean come on, since his public apology, I can finally shave my legs again and not feel guilty!
I am not saying that Tiger Woods does not feel like an apology is necessary, however I am pretty sure he feels the only person requiring an apology is his wife, considering she was the one who was hurt the most in the situation.
Like most apology speeches, his would have most likely be written by his publicist. It is pretty evident from his speech that it is not all that genuine, his isn’t speaking his own words, and he really doesn’t want to be there.
In that sense, the apology is useless. It is just being staged.
To relate the situation to the recent Olympic events, it is similar to the apology made by the women’s hockey team after their “incident”. I am pretty sure the girls couldn’t have cared less about the situation but a formal apology was written up to make sure they were on better terms with the public. Pretty pointless if you ask me! Apologies are useless if they aren’t sincere.
After watching the Tiger Woods apology video, my immediate first thought was “I do not believe a word he just said” and my second “Why did he need to apologize?”.
To begin with, I must admit that I have been rather well informed about the Tiger Woods “saga”. It may be voyeuristic, but the media coverage of this scandal was very high, and although I hated to hear about such a sad story and felt awful at the thought of what his wife must have went through, I was curious. I do find it ridiculous that the media covered something like that, after all, I wouldn’t classify Tiger as a “celebrity”. He is well known, but up until now, as far as I can tell he tried to stay out of the spotlight.
I believe that the media covering his affairs was unnecessary, and although he messed up in his private life, he isn’t advocating abstinence or marital faithfulness, but is a golfer and I do not think he owes an apology to anyone other than his wife.
Caranda’s Women’s Hockey Team celebrating
**sorry it’s late,I was unaware there was going to be a blog this week.
I am so proud of both Canada’s men’s and women’s hockey teams on their gold medal wins. After such accomplishments, celebrations are definitely in order and well deserved. I was shocked on Friday as I was bombarded with media reports regarding the post-game celebration that the Canadian women engaged in. I don’t understand how it affects anyone that our team decided to leave their smelly dressing room and have a drink and cigars in the exact place that caused the celebration to happen. Many sporting victories are celebrated in this way and no attention is drawn to the matter. I feel like part of the reason the women are being criticized for their actions is simply because they are women. I think the public’s reaction would have been very different if it had been the men out there celebrating. In a society where women and men are supposed to be treated equally this is evidence that there will always be some form of sexism in our society.
One of the issues concerning this celebration was also the fact that they were smoking indoors. After the gold medal game today there were fireworks being set off. I thought this was funny because fireworks are obviously more dangerous than a few cigars. Another issue was that one of the girls present was only 18 years old, and the legal drinking age in Vancouver is 19. I think this is especially irrelevant because she’s from Quebec, where the legal drinking age is 18 and I’m sure she has partied before.
Finally I would like to address feedback that I’ve heard on the topic. Something that I found very interesting was that some people were discussing what our reaction would be if this had been the US women’s team. As a nation I feel that is this were the case there would be no division concerning our opinion on the event. I would like to think that I would stick up for the women like I am now if it had been our neighbours to the South but I’m sure I wouldn’t feel that way. I’m sure many people would call them classless and the situation inappropriate. This bring up the question, do we have the right to do as we please because the Olympics are being held in our country? Yes the women did take advantage of this, I’m sure they would not have done that if this was 4 years from now and they won in Russia but it is our ice and if anyone should party on it, I think it should be Canadians.
An apology has been issued by Hockey Canada which I don’t think was necessary but a good move on their part to not lose the fans that were somehow offended by the events of Thursday night.
Inspired by what many other students are writing, I am choosing to comment on the Olympics also.
It was a very tense day watching the Olympics with my family and experiencing Canada’s last gold being won by the Men’s hockey team. The closing ceremony was quite interesting. Though Canada as a whole shined throughout the entire Winter Olympics, the only thing that could be shown over and over again was Sidney Crosby’s gold winning goal.
Yes, it is an amazing moment that made me feel incredibly proud but let us not forget that these are all NHL players playing for various countries. Don’t get me wrong (my boyfriend and I discussed this for a long time today) but I feel as though too much emphasis was put on this last gold than on all the other 13. I truly believe that those athletes deserve their golden moments more than our hockey team because they have worked all their lives for this moment.
Another thing that was rather annoying during the closing ceremony was the man speaking on behalf of the Olympic committee?? I cannot recall who he was exactly, but I can tell you his French was awful and he had a few comments in his speech that didn’t seem to fit (such as how many people are wanting to be a part of our country due to the Olympics and how lots of “coloured” people want to be a part of our wonderful diversity). During his speech when he mentioned the Canadian hockey team winning gold, the crowd gave a standing ovation, however when he mentioned Alexandre Bilodeau’s golden moment it was not the same reaction. For me personally, I watched the men’s moguls and by far his historic golden moment is what I will remember about Vancouver 2010.
*New Topic*
Image of Athletes-Professionalism
One of the clips that stays in my head from the olympics is not people winning medals or amazing jumps, goals or routines, it is the celebration of the athletes after they have won those medals. The was one athlete who was filmed drinking beer while walking down the streets of vancouver. This would have been fine if he was an every day Jo who no one knew of but he was a Canadian olympic medal winner and I do not think that this is an image that should be shown to youth all over the world. As a coach, I do not let my athletes do anything that would be considered unprofessional such as swearing and they must always be dressed appropriately. I always remind them that when we are at a competition, they are representing their club and not only themselves. All athletes need to keep in mind that they are representing their club and in the case of the olympics, your whole country.
Yes I do. I firmly believe, that as a role model and a figure in the spotlight, Tiger Woods had better apologize for his private actions. If you have decided to go into the lime light and be someone who is a role model for younger people, and in his case he is a very influential person, then you had better apologize for acts that morally or socially are concidered wrong. If he continues to monopolize women, sleep around and detour from the family values that, Americans especially, hold dear, then you should not be a role model for younger people, because, quite frankly, I believe they will get the wrong idea. If they see famous people drinking, doing drugs, sleeping around, beating women and children, then it is most likely going to get into their heads that that is the style and it is ok to do so because they are famous.
I have now managed to watch the apology twice. Each time, I think to myself, “this is so rehearsed.” Everything about it just seems so staged…the manner in which he is talking, the words uses, and the way he goes and hugs his mother afterwards. Although, I have to say that I truly do believe he is sorry; but I have to think to myself, “why is he sorry?” Does is truly regret his indiscretions, or he is sorry he got caught. I mean at a certain point he must have known that what he was doing was wrong. i mean let’s get real, he was continoulsy cheating on his wife and lying to his family. It is obvious that he did not take his familial responsibilities very seriously. But, that is just it. It is family/personal responsibilities that he did not live up to. I think that the apology was necessary in the sense that he is in the public eye and with that come the necessity to save face, but I also believe that it was blown way out of proportion. This is a matter that should be handled privately. What I mean by this is that of course a brief public apology was necessary, but the coverage and interest dedicated to this matter is extreme. I do not believe that celebrities, actors, athletes, should not serve as a model of morality. One should be able to understand, and it should be explained to children, that these individuals are only human as well. They make mistakes just as everyone else does. Although it is ultimately their own fault for making mistakes, it is part of being a human. It is our own fault for putting so much empahsis on these individuals in the first place. Giving them this sort of power over our lives, as though they are an ultimate guide in excellence and superiority, is a downfall on our part.
He has now taken time off of work, and certian sponsors have pulled out on him. I mean this is all focused on reputation, not skll or athletic ability. He is in this social position, because he is an excellent athlete and works hard at his sport. This is what should be important. As mentioned in class, African-American basketball players, may serve as a role model for young students. Yet, it should be enforced that they are models because of their abilities and their perserverance. I think that it is wrong to attach such high expectations on athletes. As mentioned, there are millions of people who cheat on their significant others, yet it is only when a public figure gets caught cheating, that it is made into such a big deal. Same thing happened when David Letterman’s story first surfaced, not that long ago. How can someone’s private life be discussed on talk shows, radio shows, and Larry King Live??? I mean ok, they did something wrong, now they have to deal with the backlash…leave them alone! It is as though some people want to impose their hopes onto public figures. I do not think it is just to place athetes intot this framework of perfection.
However, in the case with Tiger Woods, he stood up and made an apology, which must have been very embarassing for his family. I have a hard time believing his apology and I although I hope he does feel remorse for what he did, I do not feel that is is any of the public’s business.
New Topic: DRINKING AT THE OLYMPICS. OK OR NOT?
After today’s lecture and all the talk about some Olympians drinking to celebrate their victory, I wanted to express my opinion about it.
I can understand that that could offend some people but I don’t feel that way about it at all. In fact, seeing the athletes celebrate with a drink is perfectly normal to me. In life, drinking is ok in other situations but apparently drinking after winning gold is not ok.
For instance, when someone gets engaged/married, isn’t it fine to have a glass of champagne to celebrate that occasion? When hockey players win the Stanley Cup, isn’t it alright for the players to skate around the ice with bottles of champagne being poured around? On movies and on television, actors drink all the time and it is filmed and it is not frowned upon.
So, when our Canadian athletes have worked very hard and trained for years and years to be able to go to the Olympics to then win gold, why is it wrong for them to have a drink on honor of their life long goal?
DIFFERENT TOPIC: ‘Before and After Pictures’
I can never quite understand the before and after pictures that I see on infomercials. Whether the company is trying to sell exercise equipment, a new weight loss regime, make-up, or anti-wrinkle cream, there seems to be a standard formula for portraying people who are said to have used their product. This formula can be found in the ‘before and after pictures’ that the companies use as evidence for the effectiveness of their product.
One of my favourite examples of the use of before and after pictures as evidence is through the infomercials prepared by the company Proactiv Solutions. This company, as you probably already know, sells an acne treatment system that is said to be a “revolutionary system [that helps] to prevent breakouts before they even get started,” (Proactiv.com). In their ‘before pictures,’ people are often expressionless and unhappy. Their faces are covered in acne, are red, and the pictures look like they have been taken by amateurs. Contrarily, however, in their ‘after pictures’ these same people are happy, beaming and free of acne. They also, as it seems, have received a complete makeover during the period of time that they have been using Proactiv. This is the part that I have a problem with. As is the case with many ‘before and after pictures’ (regardless of the company) the ‘after pictures’ show that people’s hair have been dyed, they have new haircuts, and their make-up is done flawlessly.
In my opinion, this make-over quality of ‘after pictures’ undermines the use of ‘before and after pictures’ as evidence for the effectiveness of the product. Viewers are not uncritical, especially when purchasing a product that promises so much upon purchase. By making the person over, the company is sending out the message that their product is not effective enough to let the real results stand on their own. Instead, the companies must resort to using a marketing tactic of making the users more attractive (according to socio-cultural standards) in order to sell their product.
Being addicted to Perezhilton.com has been keeping me fairly updated on the whole Tiger Woods frenzy since the beginning. It’s sad to see that a man who has been considered by many as THE iconic athlete of our generation is also (excuse my French) a lying, cheating, asshole! I was surprised that after his affairs (note the plural) were exposed how much of the media attention went not only to him but his wife. Just looking at her I wonder why he ever cheated, she’s gorgeous! I guess when you’re a billionaire, having a (notice the singular) supermodel wife isn’t enough. In regards to his public apology, I guess it was a good thing since some savvy golfers and younglings might have considered him to be their idol, and well, no one wants to look up to him now. He is not only misrepresenting athletes but also African American men. Shame shame shame. Additionally, rumours are spreading that his wife is considering staying with him and working on their marriage. This isn’t a one night deal drunk at a bar kind of slip, this is multiple affairs with multiple women. Now SHE is misrepresenting blonds, because no one is that stupid lol!
The Tiger Woods ‘scandal’ was extremely overplayed and in my opinion it had no reason to have such coverage. I think it really ties back to the conversation we had last class concerning athletes and role models. Tiger Woods, like other athletes, have been brought into the public eye not for their morals or values, but strictly for theit athletic ability. I unerstand how people can envy a pro athlete’s abilities, but to be disappointed that they are’t a perfect human being and have affairs like many other men and women in the world is i find, a bit ridiculous. Genevieve said in her post that he is an iconic ATHLETE. I think that is something pepole often forget…His morals had no part in making him famous. As long as his athletic ability continues, people who are fans of TIger Woods should be satisfied. His personal life isn’t really relevant in my opinion.
The Tiger Woods scandal was the center of the news for weeks. It is still one of the main scandals portrayed in magazines and such. In my opinion I think that this scandal was completely blown out of proportion. There are plenty of individuals who are portrayed in the media who have had affairs; however, the media decided to make Tiger Woods look like the first man to break his marital vows. In other words what I am saying is that he did not owe the public anything. I feel like his apology was more an attempt to get his public support back and since the media was making him look like a “sex addict” he wanted to look like the man he used to be. In this situation the only people that deserved and needed an apology were the individuals directed involved in Tiger Woods life. Sure the public is why Tiger Woods is rich and famous, however, are they directly affected by the mistakes he made in his private life? NO they are not directly affected, therefore they do not need, and they do not deserve a public apology, which in my eyes seems ridiculous. I mean I am not a Tiger Woods fan, but if one of my favorite actresses cheated on their husbands I would not want an apology, people make mistakes it happens, and it is none of my business! In this case Tiger Woods is a famous athlete, which like Erin said does not have anything to do with his morals or his personal life. So who cares? His fans should be able to move on from this “saga” and be happy he is still an amazing golfer!