Week 3 Blog Article Tammy Kennedy- Ms T
Unfortunately, in my world as an arts and cultural advocate, who really is just getting my feet wet in the sports industry, Tiger Woods drama was the biggest play in sports for 2009. Being the number one man in sports and one of the highest paid athletes in the world his personal drama took over the media for weeks. The fact that his wife is also a celebrity in her own right added to the frenzy. The game of golf which typically is a squeaky clean sport had a blemish and Tiger’s sexual exploits added flames to the fire. From Elin running him into a tree to all the different women he was having affairs with, it was like a made for television movie. This could not be happening to golf’s golden boy. The public loves sensationalism and violence and sex make a good story even better.
I think the situation could have been handled quite differently especially from a public relations perspective. The number one rule for damage control is to squash a
bad image story. You must speak up immediately. Someone from Tiger’s camp could have advised him to face the music and deal with it. Rather than letting the situation get nastier as weeks went on and then having a press conference several months later. He is not the first nor will he be the last super athlete that has marital problems. I also thought that everyone knew that these mega stars are oftentimes very promiscuous whether they seek it or it just finds them. It is a part of their world, sort of like rock stars.
The reason I believe the story was the biggest sports play is mainly because of the popularity of Tiger. The type of money that golf stars make in comparison to other athletes is significant and the length of time it took for the story to go away, at least in the eyes of the public. The 100+ million dollar endorsement deals lost probably are the biggest business plays of the entire situation.
CNBC the Biggest Plays in Sports Business
These 2 articles support my opinion.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/tiger_to_suffer_ashEvFQnFsG4EKGuaCCDML
1.Tiger loses endorsement deals
2.Who will dump Tiger Woods? List of endorsements lost and kept.
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