Speculation and conjecture have surrounded last week’s circumstances of Tiger Wood’s accident. In no way will I join the pundants in this endeavor. However, I’m painfully aware of the fact that people don’t hypothesize on things unless there’s an action or behavior to substantiate it.
For three years, I worked at a ski resort in Ketchum, Idaho as a ticket checker on the bottom of the mountain. My job was to provide not only security for the profitability of the company, but also the enjoyment of the thousands of skiers that visited every year. When people are on vacation, they are far more friendly and flirty than they would ever be at home. As such, I honed my flirty skills everyday all in the name of entertainment and public service.
However, one day, several of the local girls began to tease me as a being a “player” and therefore, had opinions of me that weren’t really true. The truth was, I didn’t even date anyone during my three years at Sun Valley Ski Resort. But the truth doesn’t matter if the perception is supported.
For the sake of conversation, I’m going to totally give Tiger the benefit of the doubt. Let’s say he’s completely innocent of any affairs or extracurricular activities. The current accusations could only be evidenced if people had seen him alone with another woman, or extra-friendly with one often enough. In other words, if he would have kept certain boundaries, no one would be able to have these suspicions.
If Tiger woke up that next morning and wondered how in the world anyone could have concocted the stories they did, he’d have no one else to blame but himself, deny all he wants. Somehow, he positioned himself in such a way as to make the stories of adultery believable, whether true or not, just like I positioned myself to be perceived as a player at the ski resort.
Now let’s go to the other side of the equation. There’s corroboration from an alleged girlfriend that claims she spilled the beans because she became jealous of Tiger having additional girlfriends besides herself (am I the only one to find that little nugget unbelievably pathetic and mind-boggling?). Then, as the days unfold, more and more women are coming out to confess their sexual interludes with the golf guru.
So I ask, why would a guy with a beautiful wife, successful career, grossly-profitable endorsements and limitless possibilities of future fiscal opportunity even get involved in extra-curricular romantic endeavors?
Here’s a guy with everything, and he’s sabotaging his family. Unfortunately, people do it ALL THE TIME… call it risk, adventure, boredom, coping mechanisms, addictions, or whatever. In the end, it makes you wonder why.
For much of my life, I knew I had good intentions. But then there’s several stories I could tell that leave me defensless. I did some things that really didn’t make any sense, caused me guillt and grief, and ultimately brought sabatoge to areas of my life.
That flirting I did at the ski resort was external and obvious. However, I have many other stories I could tell you that were secret, internal and hidden. Interestingly enough, EVERYTHING we do in secret will eventually reveal itself in our lives in one way or another. We all struggle with character issues, poor choices and mistakes. But it’s what we do to bring those things into the light, to get help, accountability, even counseling that determines the end results.
