The Tiger Woods Situation

By now I'm sure you've heard of all the news surrounding Tiger Woods. Every major news source is covering it and offering their take, so we at Maroon PR thought we would offer ours as well, in
a unique way. Today Maroon PR President John Maroon and Maroon PR Associate Account Executive Stefen Lovelace traded emails to discuss the story and asked each other their opinions about how this story has been covered, and how Tiger Woods has responded. John was asked questions from a public relations standpoint, while Stefen, an ex-journalist, was asked from a media standpoint.

Below is the conversation.

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SL - The Tiger Woods situation has been a clear picture of what can happen during a 24-hour news cycle. Over the holiday, news outlets were running any and all updates, and the line between rumor and truth was very much being blurred.

Thus far, Tiger has watched every word that has come out of his camp, choosing to give periodic, carefully worded statements. The statements haven’t exactly been coming out quickly either, leaving the media, fans and the general public to ask questions about what really happened.

John, if you were Tiger’s publicist, how long would you have advised him after the Friday morning accident to release an official statement? And what things would you have him address in that initial statement?

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JM - From the outside this seems like a classic case where legal advice directly conflicts public relations advice, and the legal advice wins. I think that Tiger needs to speak to his fans through the media and not simply issue a statement. I certainly understand why you need to wait a day or so because you want to speak to your advisors, get a handle on the legal ramifications and think things through, however, it should have been done by Sunday (Nov. 29) at the latest.

Working off of a large assumption that this was a domestic disturbance the statement read by Tiger could have been something along the lines of …

“I understand and appreciate the curiosity behind the accident that occurred early Saturday morning. The argument was a direct result of an issue between Elin and I. We love each other very much, we have discussed it and we are committed to each other and are working through this problem. This is all that I will say about the matter and I hope that the media and my fans understand the need for Elin and I to handle this very privately. Thanks very much.”

That said, there are other factors that he must be considering and that very few people know such as:

* What does the woman (Rachel Uchitel) who hired attorney Gloria Allred want?

* Are he and Elin going to stay together?

* Will the Florida Highway Patrol attempt to charge him with a crime?

These are big questions that in large part could be driving his silence. However, as a man who has traded off a very clean image he has an obligation to face the cameras and say something. As a result of his silence he is allowing entities such as TMZ.com and The National Enquirer to drive the news and that is never a good thing. By going into hiding and issuing vague statements you are essentially telling the world that something larger occurred and you are losing control of the story.

Questions back to you as a former media member …

Does not having access to him taint the way you would cover the story?

Does his silence tell you that there is more to the story and force you to dig deeper and relay on the TMZ’s of the world?

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SL - That’s interesting, and I agree; with Tiger’s profile, he has to say something to the public. I certainly understand his request for privacy in this situation, but by saying nothing, he just leaves the door open for more speculation. Speculation tends to lead to inaccuracies and incorrect facts.

As a former reporter, not having access to Tiger would make writing this story difficult, but you have to still cover it. There are people out there who are upset that this is being covered so heavily, claiming this is non-news. I tend to agree that this isn’t the most noteworthy and important news to the general public (right now the story is little more than a car accident). The thing is Tiger Woods isn’t just your run-of-the-mill athlete. He’s arguable the most recognizable athlete and celebrity on the planet right now. He makes a lot more money in what he does away from the golf course (advertisements, commercials, endorsements, sponsorships) than what he does on it. When you agree to make millions of dollars based on a clean-cut image, then even a rumor of scandal and indiscretion is going to be a story, and is going to be covered as such.

Is that fair? No. Is it reality in our society? Absolutely.

His silence certainly is telling. At the same time, if there really is more to the story, I’m sure he wants to make sure he gets all of his facts right before saying anything on record. I find it odd though that he would wait this long with the way TMZ.com is running wild with this story. Now major sports shows and publications are citing TMZ’s reports when discussing the Tiger Woods story. Huh? I didn’t know TMZ.com was considered a legitimate news gathering website. I was surprised that most of these outlets didn’t do their own original reporting to get to the bottom of the story, rather than go with TMZ’s reports. But that goes back to the fact that Tiger won’t release any information. The longer he waits to speak to the media (and by speak, I mean actually answer questions, not release brief statements), the more the media will have to rely on unsubstantiated reports.

One more for you. Now that Tiger has waited this long, and so many stories are swirling, what’s Tiger’s best option? Should he just continue to wait now that it has taken this long; quickly release a detailed statement; throw a press conference or none of the above?

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JM - Good stuff Stef! I still believe that he should talk…again he doesn’t have to answer questions or go into great detail but he must acknowledge that something beyond a fender bender occurred. A formal press conference might be a bit much…perhaps issue a statement in his words, place a video on his website with him making the statement and then agree to read the statement to one national news gathering agency.