2 Responses

1. jet levine Says:
   December 21st, 2009 at 11:57 am

   I’d like to raise a question and offer some thoughts about whether or not Tiger should have been named Athlete of the Decade by the Associated Press or PGA Player of the Year (unless this is a bad joke). His story is something I’ve found interesting. This is not a simplistic argument about how badly he disappointed Elin and his fans, but rather a consideration of what aspects of character should be considered as valuable as the athletic skill itself in making such determinations.

   There is precedent for looking wider than the hole in one or who got over the finish line first and how many times more than other players. For high school athletes, many schools deny a student the opportunity to be on the team unless his/her grades are adequate. There is precedent for saying that, before an athlete can “play”, compete, be in the game at all, the athlete must take care of their other responsibilities sufficiently. Granted, these are usually under-age students, but the point is that part of the reason we have codes of ethics, principles of the game, standards, is that one of our values with sport is that there are certain inchoate aspects of character that we want our children to emulate. I suspect there are others, more athletically inclined than me, who could give other, better examples.

   Yesterday I was at my teenager’s swim meet. I really don’t care if Michael Phelps smokes pot, for example, but I did notice that I thought about it and wondered what spiritual north star the swimmers on my child’s swim team choose now — do they see him as their ideal? when you are reaching for an athletic goal, having someone (internally) who is holding the flag to reach, can be part of the spiritual aspect of sport.

   If Tiger had used drugs or steroids sufficient to be detected, he would have hurt himself and the spirit of the sport itself and presumably would not have been allowed on the green. But during the period of time that he was having multiple sexual relationships, he was also having unprotected sex with his wife. She had two kids by him during the time period of his multiple affairs—by definition, at least two times there was no protection.

   She was uninformed of his multiple sex partners and, in the absence of information about his safe-sex practices, it seems likely that there is the potential that he could have exposed her to life-changing and life-threatening STDs. In my mind, this rises above the issues of betrayal of trust and humiliation. This seems potentially sufficient for multiple charges of criminal assault and battery, if not worse. Not many intelligent women looking out for their own sexual and mental health would knowingly sleep with ANY man who was sleeping around as much as he was. All we’ve heard is 13 women – would it surprise anyone to hear if it was more?

   I’ve had feelings of not wanting to see the reports of the text messages – a feeling that that was too much of an invasion of privacy. But, ironically, since endangerment of another’s life is involved, I think the public (and law enforcement authorities) might want to know about his safe sex practices in his affairs and whether he had unprotected intercourse and practices that a reasonable Elin or other woman might have deemed sufficient to refuse to have unprotected sex with him. She, arguably, could have been exposed to HPV (some strains can lead to cervical cancer). I am not aware of any test a guy can have to determine whether or not he has this, so a woman’s only measure of judgment, at times, is knowing her man’s sexual history as best as she can. She could contract herpes from him if he had it – the women he’s reported to have slept with did not seem like they were likely to have had a short list of sexual partners (though we really don’t know). Number of partners ups the risk. Elin would not have had cause to ask him to get tested before having unprotected sex if he misrepresented his level of ‘current’ exposure. Herpes could be life changing in terms of her physical comfort and her opportunity to have other sexual relationships (someday) without worry. And then there’s HIV. We know from Magic Johnson that famous, rich athletes are not immune to HIV.

   There are many more visible types of abuse or harm to another person that could have an arguably lesser impact (unless someone is threatening their life). If Tiger had beat Elin, it would have been very bad, could have left bruises or broken bones, but those could heal. Even her spirit could heal. But the sexual lies he repeatedly told her that led her to open her legs to open-ended risk, were like asking her to hold a gun to her head in a game of Russian roulette without any conversation about whether there was a possible bullet or bullets in the chambers. Does sexual compulsion make this abuse seen as any less harmful than the kinds of behavior that would make us gasp with horror? Does this legendary skill on the golf course, his endearing smile or the distracting beauty of the women he had sex with take away from the simple criminal fact that he may have endangered her life, over and over again, silently, quietly, privately, with no way to measure, detect or discern? What if he’d put a little arsenic in her tea each morning? Would we then condone his being recognized for his athleticism and turn a blind eye to his abuse and callous disregard for another’s life and health?

   I think sports recognition must be about more than how well he does on the golf course. Sport has to do with character. If he had murdered someone but done well on the golf course, would we still recognize him in this fashion? Where’s the line?

   I think that the Associated Press and the PGA might have taken a year off from recognizing any athlete and, instead, have convened a Tiger Woods Panel in sports and personal ethics to examine the question of whether and when should behavior off the green affect such recognition. Take a year off from issuing this award. Send a message to children and adults alike that sports are not like Vegas – if it happens, it doesn’t just stay elsewhere. It is in our minds and we need to reconcile the meaning and reality in a very serious way.

   Jet Levine

2. Amadu Says:
   December 31st, 2009 at 8:46 am

   Very strong comment about the unprotected sex part. This is a serious matter, that has to be looked into quite urgently.

   Funny that noone had even thought of that.

   Well pointed out.

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