World

Tiger Woods Statement: Issues Apology For "Transgressions"

by Yuliya Talmazan | December 2, 2009 at 08:55 am

1341 views | 18 Recommendations | 3 comments

U.S. golf player Tiger Woods broke his silence today and released an online public apology statement to his family, in which he admitted to "transgressions" and "not being true to his values." Woods started off saying he has let his family down, claiming he was not true to the behavior his family deserves. He reiterated that some of the reports about his car accident, physical violence and "the intimate details of [his] personal life" have been "false and malicious." Woods also said he wants to deal with this matter in privacy.

His website released the statement under "Tiger comments on current events," avoiding words like "affair" and "cheating." The kind of vocabulary that Woods's statement resorted to were words like "transgressions" and "personal sins."

Today's statement came soon after the exposure of Woods's voicemail message that he left for his alleged mistress Jaimee Grubbs, in which he asks Grubbs to change her name in her phone saying, "my wife went through my phone... and may be calling you." The audio of the voicemail message has been released, but no official response about the authenticity of the message followed.

Woods had a car accident last Friday, November 27, when he crashed his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and than into a tree. He allegedly suffered face lacerations in the accident. But, there were reports speculating that Tiger Woods's wife Elin Nordegren found out about Woods's alleged affair and was the one who caused his face injuries. She also allegedly chased after Woods's vehicle with a golf club, causing Woods to crash his car.

Here is the full text of Tiger Woods's statement:

I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.

Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.

But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don't share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one's own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions.

Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it's difficult.

I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.