Author of “The Godfather,” Mario Puzo, and co-architect of one of the best movie trilogies of the same name, once said that the patriarchal mobster, Vincent Corleone, was meant to be “respected but not idolized.”
Athletes can sometimes fall into the same category. They can be incredibly gifted at their respective sports but off the field or court – they can be truly terrible people that shatter’s their public perception, especially amongst young fans that idolize them.
Tiger Woods just won The Masters over the weekend and he was hailed as some amazing person but why would they do that when everyone knows he’s just a jerk?
Then came yearly surgeries on his leg and back, which developed into a pain killer addiction where he was arrested in August 2017 for driving under the influence. The toxicology revealed he had five different drugs in his system. It was the undeniable rock bottom of one of the greatest American icons. There’s no way he’ll return to glory, right?
Woods proved all the haters and critics wrong. And to be fair, Woods also never thought he would win another Major.
But while everyone is celebrating this incredible redemption, it seems as though most Americans have a short memory, forgetting that Woods is an absolute jerk that shouldn’t be commended as much as he was on Sunday.
You want to know just how much of a jerk Tiger Woods is? In a 512-page book written by Armen Keteyian and Jeff Benedict entitled “Tiger Woods,” they give a slew of detailed observations and stories about it.
One of the excerpts reads, “Tiger’s inability to show gratitude, apologize or express appreciation was rooted in his warped upbringing,” the authors write. “His mother pampered him like a prince, and his father rarely uttered the words thank you or I’m sorry. Tiger learned early and often that his needs were all that mattered. His unapologetically self-centered attitude was critical to his success in golf, but it had an utterly devastating impact on the way people perceived him.”
Also, in the book, Woods was described as “obnoxious” when he played a round with former President Bill Clinton in 2006. Woods cracked senseless gross jokes to Bill like, “I can’t wait to talk about p—sy.”
The irony being that he said this when they were supposed to bury the hatchet from an incident which stemmed years ago that caused a falling out between the former president and the golfing great.
A witness of this golfing round said, “[Woods] was really obnoxious It was so clear to me that day who Tiger really was. I’ve never seen the president more put off by a person than that experience.”
Also, one of his Palm Beach neighbors once gave an interview following Thanksgiving 2009, saying “He’s a jerk. He’s not real. He’s not true. The person that you know is just a crafted image.”
Last year, when he was in contention for the Valspar Championship where he ultimately finished in 2nd place, Woods was seen pushing children out of his way with astounding disrespect.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of stories out there about Woods being a jerk and suddenly he’s hailed as this hero? Maybe you can respect that Tiger Woods won another Major, but we should never idolize him.