Hypocrites, Grandstanders Pose As Tiger Tamers
By wchung | 06 Aug, 2026

The Tiger Circus has become magnet for hypocrites and grandstanders who have never been in his shoes.

In this image provided by Nike Inc., Tiger Woods appears in a Nike commercial to air starting Wednesday, April 7, 2010 on ESPN. In the stark, black-and-white ad, Woods looks directly into the camera without speaking while a recording of his late father is heard, speaking about taking responsibility. (AP Photo/Nike)

No question that Tiger’s recent life makes for some of the best entertainment on the crowded media market today. It’s all the more fun because no honest person can feel sorry for a young billionaire athlete caught carrying on multiple affairs as his beautiful wife stays home with two little kids. Sorry for her, yes. Sorry for Tiger Woods? Get real!

One of the more amusing sideshows to come out of this drama are the sanctimonious pronouncements of the hypocrites and grandstanders who want in on the media action. It makes me laugh when I see guys talking down their noses as though they’ve been in Tiger’s shoes but were too manly and moral to succumb to temptation. Like the head of Augusta National. I can’t recall his name, but the old fart took it upon himself to take Tiger to the woodshed before the start of the tournament.

Leaving aside the fact that Augusta National would probably lose several million in profits if Tiger had chosen not to compete, I find that kind of censuring ridiculous for many reasons.

First, Tiger Woods is an athlete, a species of entertainer. He makes his living keeping bored people entertained through vicarious stimulation. I’d say he’s been earning his keep these past few months! To talk as though Woods has betrayed a position of high moral authority is just Alice-in-Wonderland goofy. He didn’t ask anyone to see him as a hero or a pillar of the community. That’s a job for religious leaders, like those Catholic priests who molest little kids, not for a guy who plays golf for money.

Second, Tiger himself never opened himself up to this kind of attention by pretending to be morally superior. In fact, he essentially kept his head down and made his putts. He even went out of his way to keep his life private so as not to make it anyone’s business but his own.

The sanctimonious hypocrites, on the other hand, are guys who have consigned themselves to lives of hopeless boredom by consenting to toe the line in exchange for the crumbs of approval that society and various establishments toss to those who conform to their rules.

Let’s get real. A guy who makes millions playing a game better than anyone isn’t a hero. He hasn’t sacrificed anything to get there. He has spent his life doing exactly what he wanted to do and happened to be very very good at it. We can admire his golfing skills, but to hold him up as an example for anyone to emulate is simply blind kowtowing to success. And because he never was a hero, he is hardly a villain now that he is shown to have succumbed to the kind of temptation that just don’t befall sanctimonious old farts. He’s an entertainer who deserves a bonus for having truly outperformed these last few months!

If anything Tiger Woods deserves a few more new sponsors who can profit by the kind of media heat his recent life has generated. Maybe the company that makes the oversized SUV he was driving that fateful Thanksgiving. Or maybe a cell phone company with exceptionally good privacy settings. Better yet, a condom company. Now that’s where Tiger can really be of service to kids!

No question Tiger has added immeasurably to his value as a media franchise the past few months, what with his marriage drama, sex addiction therapy (nice touch!), and the whole contrition/rehabilitation-as-a-pillar-of-society drama. It will be fascinating to see the fireworks to come as Tiger proves that it’s hard to change your stripes — no matter how many millions in sponsorships or even family heartaches are riding on the outcome.