He Came, He Spoke, He Conquered

by Luisita Lopez Torregrosa

Finally, after months of keeping the world waiting, gossiping and peeking into the dirtiest secrets of his life, Tiger Woods made his dramatic confession of sex and sin Friday.

There was at this moment of expiation a grand manner about him — from the moment he parted the dark blue curtains and entered a small, crowded room to read a prepared statement to the moment he left 20 minutes later. In between, he admitted his sexual affairs, confirmed that he has been in therapy, and said he would return to golf but did not set a date.

Striding into the room where his mother (but not his wife) and some 35 friends, relatives and supporters faced him seated in rows of fold-out metal chairs, Woods had the bearing of a king, a wounded king perhaps, but royalty still. His face, drawn and pudgier than usual, had written on it the grim task ahead of him, his long-awaited contrition.

He aced it.

 He came, he spoke, he conquered. He was properly somber, suitably low key, self-flagellating but unbowed. He didn’t miss a trick: he showed humility (though no groveling), anger, restraint, remorse. He even brought out his Buddhist upbringing and pledged to find balance between his spiritual life and his professional career. It was a winning performance.

Slowly, underlining every word, he said his behavior had been irresponsible. “I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable and I am the only person to blame.”

And so, for 15 minutes, Woods repeatedly apologized to his wife, Elin, his two children, family, staff, sponsors and fans, calling his behavior selfish and embarrassing, foolish and reckless. Click play below for the full video:

“I considered myself to be above normal rules,” he admitted. “I thought I could get away with anything . . . I felt I was entitled, thanks to money and fame. I was wrong.”

It’s a measure of such entitlement that he and his handlers orchestrated the scripted spectacle on Friday morning, hand-picking the guests, forbidding questions, procuring a room at the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse in Ponte Vedra, Fla., diverting attention from a golf tournament being played this week in Arizona.

Woods and Co. chose the time, the place, the audience, and even the camera that videotaped his speech. Most of the media was relegated to a hotel nearby, where they watched Woods on closed-circuit TV. But in a testament to Woods’s enduring stature in sports and popular culture, the networks and cable channels all showed his appearance live.

Woods, of course, played the good husband. He said “I’m sorry” or a variation of those words a dozen times. He praised Elin for her poise and grace throughout their ordeal, he made clear that they are talking but that no decision has been made about their marriage, and he repeated his refusal to reveal their private discussions.

At one point, raising his voice in anger, he said he wanted to set the record straight. First, he had not used performance-enhancing drugs and, second, Elin had not hit him with a golf club on the night of Nov. 27, 2009, when he wrecked his Cadillac Escalade S.U.V. in a neighbor’s yard, the accident that led to the explosion of revelations about his serial sexual affairs.

Toward the end of his statement, he said he was unsure when he would return to the golf tour but suggested it might be later this year and confirmed he had been undergoing in-patient therapy and would be returning to a clinic in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Saturday for further treatment and therapy.

Closing his statement, with the silence of the room bearing down, he said he hoped that someday “you will find room in your heart to believe in me again.” He stepped away from the microphone and embraced his mother for a long time.

Cue: Tears.