Woods’ Behavior Questionable

Lately it seems as if Tiger Woods is regressing in two ways: his game and maturity.

Tiger Woods claims to keep his personal life and work separate, but is the stress of life showing through in his game?  Two weeks ago he failed to make the cut at the British Open; he played a six-hole stretch 7-over-par and missed by a shot.  This is the first time in three years that Woods did not make the cut at an event like this. He expressed his outrage by slamming and throwing his club – somewhat like a spoiled child.  Is this how a professional athlete, looked up to by all ages, should act?

Woods slammed and threw his club; he has done things like this more than once. Why should his sponsors tolerate this?  Does Nike believe this is acceptable role-model behavior?  Children all over the world admire and love Tiger Woods. His fans watch him on TV and play him in video games.  What answers do parents have when their children ask “Mommy, why does Tiger beat his golf club into the ground?”  Will parents will have to un-teach their children what Woods already taught them about anger management? We see enough aggression in our schools as it is.  If Woods behavior keeps up, might we have children on the playground beating the ground and/or each other after losing a game of T-ball?

Fans expect more professionalism than Woods has displayed lately.  There is more to the life of being a famous athlete than just the game.  He is married and has two children. No matter how hard he tries to keep them out of the spotlight, they still are.  Just recently The Dubliner magazine of Ireland published a nude photo of who was supposed to be Woods’ wife and said that she was "in a variety of sweaty poses on porn sites across the web."  Even though he was not the only American athlete mentioned in the magazine he still made an announcement defending his wife.