In-SPIRE

Hooray for Tiger Woods! He stood like a man in front of a microphone and apologized to his wife, mother, children, friends, business associates, fans, and everyone who has been affected by his acts of ‘transgression’. It takes a real man to say, “I am sorry.” Tiger Woods did that and more. He accepted full responsibility for his behavior and made no excuses for his conduct.

There are people who complained he did not appear sincere. Some say his thirteen and a half minute scripted statement was simply an act to restore his public image.

Tiger Woods did more than apologize for his mistakes; he explained the subsequent action he has taken to address his personal problem with sex addiction. He went into therapy and announced he would return to therapy and do what was necessary to help him not repeat his past habits.

Apologies are not easy. It takes courage to face a room filled with cameras and media personalities and admit you were wrong; to say you were responsible for hurting lives, including the mother of your children.

Stepping away from Tiger Woods, it is not lost on many of us that having sexual affairs outside marriage is neither unusual nor uncommon. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find an innocent man with fame, money, time, means, and opportunities who has not transgressed. Politicians, religious leaders, sportscasters, professional athletes, corporate heads, celebrities, and almost anyone who has power, charisma, or the ability to influence others have succumbed to temptations and flirtations.

Further, if our society were not so gullible and saturated with tabloid journalism, we would not be so informed about the private affairs of public personalities. At least in the case of Tiger Woods, there have not been any reports of felonious or criminal activity. Nobody has accused him of rape, kidnapping, murder, extortion, sexual harassment, pedophilia, molestation, or any other ill-treatment against the will of another human being.

He hurt himself, his family, his circle of friends and associates, along with people who held him in high esteem.

His incredible ability to hit a small white ball around green fields on the world’s most challenging golf courses afforded him too much time away from his family and more money than one person can spend. He plays golf better than everybody else on the planet, but now he must find his way out of the traps of life.

When Tiger Woods walked into the room of the Professional Golf Association and addressed his audience, he did something many men have never done. He apologized.

White men who held Black women in bondage and repeatedly raped them and sired their children without offering freedom or compensation to adequately support or protect their dark skinned offspring or their enslaved mothers, never expressed apology or appreciation. They never said, “I am sorry.”

Powerful politicians and business leaders who used women to further their careers or hawk their wares never thought it necessary to explain what they did or why they did it to anyone. They felt entitled to perform without conscious or rehabilitation.

There are men who leave home with wife, children, and family behind to travel across town, around the country, or to other nations where they indulge in human trafficking, child sexual abuse, and unlawful polygamy without revealing to the unsuspecting folk waiting for their return any word about their unsavory predilections.

Lest we forget, private parties are held in seclusion for ‘upstanding citizens’ who slip away to ‘relax’ and ‘enjoy themselves’ in swanky surroundings for ‘intimate encounters and privileges’ with hired personnel who are arranged to make sure satisfaction is guaranteed. There is no expectation apologies will be offered.

Perhaps Tiger Woods apologized to save his marriage. Maybe he attempted to reclaim public honor. Whatever the reason for his high profile appearance, he achieved the rare distinction of being a man who stands shoulder to shoulder with the few who are willing to expose themselves as completely vulnerable and open to further criticism.

He absolutely demonstrated it takes a real man to say, “I am sorry.” That is something very much lacking among the shadowed lives of too many public figures and plain, common people who continue to sneak around, break hearts, and destroy human souls. They really are sorry, but they will never say it.

-Rev. Dr. Art Cribbs