ISHMAEL N. DARO
Sports Writer

Almost three months after the bizarre events of Thanksgiving night, Tiger Woods gave a press conference today to address the revelations of his extramarital affairs.

The press conference was held in a Florida golf club, attended by friends, family and members of the press. Although covered on television, the event was also broadcast on YouTube.

He started by admitting to the crowd gathered that he had disappointed them.

“Now, every one of you has good reason to be critical of me. I want to say to each of you, simply and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behaviour I engaged in.”

The golf superstar, known for his squeaky clean public persona and closely guarded private life, was thrust into the spotlight after an altercation on the night of Nov. 26 drew the attention of police and media. In a bizarre series of events, Woods reportedly had an argument with his wife, model Elin Nordegren, before leaving his home and crashing his vehicle.

Since then, numerous women have come forward to claim they had affairs with the golfer, including former porn actress Veronica Siwik-Daniels.

However, Woods limited his comments to those whom he felt he had disappointed, particularly his wife.

“I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did was not acceptable and I am the only person to blame.”
-Tiger Woods

“My real apology to her will not come in the form of words; it will come from my behaviour over time.”

However, Woods also stressed that his marriage would continue to be a private matter.

“What we say to each other will remain between the two of us,” he said.

Woods cited the work done through his charitable foundation and the “millions of kids” who had been helped through its various programs, apparently in an effort to remind the press that he was once famous for more than his sex life. “I have made you question who I am and how I could have done the things I did.”

Speaking slowly and deliberately, Woods also showed signs of emotion when defending his wife, who was reported to have attacked Woods with a golf club on Thanksgiving night.

“It angers me that people would fabricate a story like that”¦ There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage, ever.”

Woods revealed that he had been in therapy during some of the time between the car crash and now. He also invoked his lifelong Buddhism, saying he had actively practiced it from childhood until he “drifted away from it in recent years.”

The self-flagellation was relentless and lasted over 15 minutes. Perhaps wary of the current political climate in which much anger is directed at the rich and powerful, Woods was very clear that he had no special rights as a celebrity.

“I was wrong. I was foolish. I don’t get to play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me,” he said. “I brought this shame upon myself.”

There had been great expectations of this public apology, which everyone knew was coming sooner or later. It was clear that it had to be sincere and complete, otherwise Woods would have little chance of regaining the trust of his fans or his deep-pocketed sponsors.

Woods promised he would eventually return to golf but set no clear date. He ended the press conference by asking all those who once believed in him “to find room in your heart to believe in me again.”