As I have watched the Tiger Woods drama unfold, I am convinced that there were better ways to handle the situation. When I clicked on the Yahoo! Sports tab, then clicked Golf, the first seven articles were about some facet of the Tiger story. I wonder how much of this drama could have been avoided if he would have issued a statement at the beginning. There have been many stories published by PR and image consultants telling Tiger to tell his story and be done with it. One said, "Men and women have been forgiven by their public for misbehavior or misstepping, and even philandering.” I have seen this made true multiple times when celebrities or athletes have committed crimes or acts that the majority of society deems morally and ethically wrong. In a few months, no one remembers.
Another PR professional suggested that Tiger not withdraw from the tournament, but rather use it as an opportunity to channel all the media attention. This reminded me of our crisis communication discussion. In my mind, playing in the tournament could help Tiger put an extremely negative situation behind him quicker. Issuing a statement would also help everyone stop speculating and gossiping faster. I don’t blame people for wanting to keep their personal lives private. Unfortunately, celebrities and high profile people don’t have that luxury. Therefore, I think they should listen to their PR and image consultants, and realize that people won’t stop talking until they get the story they want. In the meantime, I will be interested to see what other stories surface, and how Woods handles the growing mess surrounding him.
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