Tiger Woods statement: "I thought I was entitled"

Tiger Woods shifted from near tears to near anger in a prepared public statement he read for cameras today, in which he admitted to irresponsible behaviour and extramarital affairs, said he has spent 45 days in rehab and admitted he brought the controversy on himself, but took issue with people who would "fabricate stories" about his wife beating him up.

WATCH THE LIVE VIDEO NEWS STATEMENT HERE

As national golf writers boycotted a press conference that didn't include any actual confering outside of Woods' pre-prepared statement, worldwide cameras were focused on Woods regardless as the one-time squeaky clean sporting hero of the decade confessed to betraying character and decency.

"Good morning, and thank you for joining me," he started. "Many of you in this room are my friends. Many of you in this room know me. Many of you have cheered for me, have worked with me, always supported me. Now, every one of you has good reason to be critical of me. I want to say to each on of you simply and directly I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behaviour I engaged in. I know people want to find out how i could be so selfish and foolish."

Woods read his words at the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, which is the base of the Professional Golf Association.  Standing at a podium with no visible signs of physical facial damage, Woods read his statement with his mother sitting directly in front of him for thirteen and a half minutes.  He denied strongly that his wife had attacked him on the night his career went haywire, stating with noticeable ire, "On that or any other night, there has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage. Elin has shown enormous grace and poise through this ordeal... Elin deserves praise. Not blame."

Woods took full responsibility for his many philanderings, saying he will never repeat the mistakes he's made.  "I had affairs and I cheated. What I did was not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame."  
"I knew my actions were wrong but I convinced myself that the normal rules didn't apply. I never thought about who I was hurting. Instead, I only thought about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries that a normal married couple should live by. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt that I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them."  "I was wrong. I was foolish. I don't get to play by different rules."

Woods apologized in no uncertain terms to anyone and everyone who might have felt let down by the more than a dozen affairs he is alleged to have had, saying, "My failures have made me look at myself in a way i never wanted to before. It's now up to me to make amends, and that starts with never repeating the mistakes that I've made."  "My real apology to [wife Elin] will not come in the form of words, it will come from my behaviour over time. However, what we say to each other will remain between us. "  Woods didn't discuss the future of his marriage, other than to say, "I understand people want to know whether Elin and I will remain together. Please know that as far as I'm concerned, every one of these questions and answers is between Elin and me."

"Parents used to point to me as a role model for their kids," he said. "I owe all those families a special apology. I want to say to them that I am truly sorry."  Woods said he had let down his friends, employers and had caused "considerable worry" to his business partners. He also admitted that he had spent 45 days in rehab for his alleged sex addiction.  "These are issues between a husband and his wife," he said, railing against continued questions.  Woods denied using performance enhancing drugs and alleged the media fabricated stories and stalked his family.  "[My family] did not do these things. I did."

"When my children were born we only released photographs so that the paparazzi would not chase them. However, my behaviour does not make it right for the media to follow my 2 1/2-year-old daughter, to school and report its location," he seethed. "They staked out my wife and they followed my mom."  "Please leave my wife and kids alone," he said.   Woods stopped short of showing weakness by crying or stammering, but for a quiet sniffle at the very end, showing an inner strength golf fans will recognize as being one that helped him become the best golfer in the world.

"I recognize I have brought this on myself and I know, above all, I am the one who needs to change. I owe it to my family to become a better person. I owe it to those close to me to become a better man. I have a lot of work to do."  Woods discussed his Buddhist faith and talked of how it teaches a craving for things outside ourselves creates an unhappy search for happiness and security.   "It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught. As I move forward, I will continue to receive help."  "In therapy I've learned the importance of looking at my spiritual life," he continued. 

Woods said he needs to learn how to be respectful and responsible when he returns to golf.  "I do plan to return to golf someday, I just don't know when it will be." 

Woods finished with a plea for time to make good on his failings, saying, "I ask you to find room in your heart to one day believe in me again. Thank you."  He then hugged and kissed gathered friends and family and left without another word.  According to a report in the New York Times, the board of directors for the Golf Writers Association of America — which comprises 950 golf writers, editors and broadcasters — voted overwhelmingly to boycott the press conference Woods held at 11 a.m. (ET) Friday.

His public appearance was the first since the superstar golfer's spectacular fall from grace three months ago, triggered by a middle-of-the-night car accident, the genesis of which appeared to be a discovery by his wife, Elin Nordegren, of text messages from another woman. Over the ensuing weeks, up to fourteen women either came forward with revelations of affairs with Woods or were linked with the golfer by those supposedly in the know.

[ Source:  Vancouver Sun ]