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It never fails. That person whose life seems so squeaky clean, so pristine, so perfectly held together at some point succumbs to a weakness or a unflattering dilemma, cracking that shell of faux perfection. Few high-profile athletes have managed to maintain an untainted image forever. Happily-married Kobe Bryant's pristine reputation was dragged through the mud when it came to light that he was knock-knocking on a young white woman's backdoor. And when golden dolphin Michael Phelps was caught smoking pot, well, the euphoric high from his triumph at the Olympics was snuffed out and Wheaties bailed on him.
The latest passenger on the Faulthood Express is none other than golf's multiracial prodigy, Tiger Woods. The National Enquirer has reportedly stirred things up in the Woods household, with reports of infidelity on the part of Tiger. It's not the first time the Enquirer has sent shock waves through a public figure's marriage: Their muck raking single-handedly undid the mythical image of family man and political hopeful John Edwards. Right behind the Enquirer is TMZ, who reports that Elin Nordegren, Tiger's wife of 5 years and mother of his two children, confronted him Thanksgiving night about his alleged affair. Around 2:00 am, Woods ran out of the house barefoot, with his lip busted and scratches on his face, got into his SUV and attempted to drive off. But he didn't get very far. Tiger crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree roughly 30 feet from his home. Neighbors called the police and Woods was knocked unconscious. After EMTs and police arrived on the scene, Tiger was transported to the hospital.
The story that Tiger and his team have told the media is that he got into a minor accident and his wife "courageously" came out and used the golf club to save Tiger from the wreck, dragging his unconscious body out of the vehicle. TMZ, and the rest of the world, allege that Tiger and his wife got into a domestic spat and that Elin scratched Tiger's face up and got physical with him, then pursued him outside the house with a golf club in hand and smashed the vehicle's window in anger, not out of heroics.
Engaging in pure speculation, let's assume TMZ is right and that Tiger is the victim of domestic violence at the hands of Swedish wife. And so far, a few of the behaviors of a typical domestic violence victim are there. There's the desperate attempts to sweep everything under the rug and claim the entire sordid affair as a "private matter." Then there's the odd portrayl of Elin as some sort of super heroine, sprinting out of the house with a nine iron, off to rescue her man. A veritable Wonder Woman. And the most common telltale sign, taking all the blame yourself. It's the sort of fairy tale that women make up in those Lifetime movies, "Oh, my husband's an amazing man. I just aggravated him. It's my fault, really."
If Elin really did lose her cool and get physical with Tiger, it is clear that Tiger will not step forward and serve as a face for domestic violence as Rihanna has. Unlike the pop singer, Tiger is not cooperating with any police investigations into the matter. The police have come to Woods' residence three times and each time they've been turned away. Now Tiger has lawyered up and is pleading with the public to just leave the whole matter alone. Tiger's refusal to cooperate with police is likely, in part, to prevent a Rihanna-like photo of his scratched and battered face from hitting the web. Even though many argued vehemently in the Chris Brown/Rihanna case that women shouldn't hit men, the ugly truth is that society still views men who get hit by their women as being somewhat effeminate or weak. And weakness doesn't sell Gatorade and Nikes.
With TMZ and other media outlets feverishly licking their chops, Tiger is now in a no-man's land. He is going to have a pull off a masterful PR game if he hopes to spin this in his favor, but even then, it's hard to see how Tiger, or his brand, will come out unscathed. If the Enquirer's allegations of infidelity are true, Tiger is yet another male role model who couldn't uphold the virtues of love, marriage and commitment. And regardless of whether he cheated or not, if his wife physically attacked him, she's a potential criminal who could face charges in court. A messy scandal of this kind is likely to scare off deep-pocketed sponsors for quite some time, and Tiger knows this. But there's no way out. That devastating wreck can't be undone.
