Tiger Woods broke his public silence regarding his extramarital affairs by saying he was “sorry” for his irresponsible and selfish behavior. He admitted and apologized for disappointing his fans and causing them pain. “I have a lot to atone for,” he said.
This apology was expected and widely called for. Many have been debating whether or not he owed any explanation or apology to fans. ESPN’s syndicated Mike & Mike in the Morning, took a fascinating angle on why the public wanted Tiger to say he was sorry for his personal failings and indiscretions. Their conversation really got me thinking about celebrity failure and our desire for information.
Here is what Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic had to say:
Greenberg: [The American public] now expects that someone in Tiger Woods’ situation has to open up everything in himself and explain it to the satisfaction of every single person in the world. That’s the world we live in now because so many people chose to do that for their own personal gain. … I keep hearing people say that he needs to apologize. What exactly is he apologizing for? If Tiger Woods walked up to you in the street and said, “Hi Fred, I am sorry” what would you expect him to be saying he’s sorry for?
Golic: Do you think people really want an apology or do they want The National Enquirer stuff.
Greenberg: Here’s what they want: They want Tiger to hold up a picture of each individual woman we’ve seen on the covers of the tabloids and explain what really happened with each one.
Golic: Everybody is saying “apology this, apology that” but what they really want is the dirt. … They want to hear him explain his situation. Was everyone happy when the baseball players got up there in press conferences and said they were sorry [for using steroids]? No, they wanted to hear the details. ... If you get up there and say you’re sorry, the general public will be going, “That’s it? An apology? Give me more than that!”
It seems like our culture hungers and feeds on scandal. I wonder why we feel that we need an apology, or “details”. What drives that in us?
I think what people want is an apology for him not living up to their expectations of perfection, for him not being the perfect guy he has presented to everyone. People think they deserve an apology because they idolized him and he didn't come through for them. Two verses come to mind: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
ReplyDeleteI couln't agree more.
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