Friday, February 19, 2010

Finding Redemption

Beyond golf, beyond Nike, beyond so many other endorsements and commercial opportunities lost, there stood before the world a man today hoping for a second chance with his wife and family.

Tiger Woods gave his speech today and it was a good one. For people who said it was too controlled, too unemotional, look at the speaker. Tiger Woods is not an outwardly emotional man. Today he was just a real guy apologizing to the world and to his family for incredibly bad behavior.

Tiger Woods seems like he ventured into golf like a super man and into life like a 14 year old boy amongst a lot of girls who said ‘yes,’ way too quickly. He was totally in control of the sporting aspect of his life, and demonstrated the restraint of a middle school boy in another part of his life. The superman and the boy crashed into each other and it was ugly.

Many people are upset because he didn’t answer questions. Good for him. Those answers are between he and Elin, he and his therapist. People want to know more because there is a voyeuristic ghoulishness to so many of us. Tell us the gory, sexy details!!! So do many clamor and Tiger ignored them. Good for him.

Good for defending his wife and children and mother. Good for his mother who, as disgusted as she was, stayed there for her son, and embraced him lovingly at the end.

And, good for Elin for not being there. What they have to grapple with is meant for behind closed doors. Her body language and facial expressions would have been analyzed for the next decade. Her dignity is more important than our analysis.

Tiger Woods did something admirable. He apologized. He said he was sorry and he didn’t follow it up with, “But....” When people stick that ‘but’ into apologies, those apologies turn into rationalizations. Tiger did not rationalize but more confessed.

He is a man hoping to find redemption. The first step was apologizing. He did the first step well. The next step is living the apology. Finding redemption begins with words, and is lived by living those words.

I hope and pray he is able to.

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