Hank Haney's Arrogance and Ignorance On Display in Tell-All Tiger Woods Book

Hank Haney couldn't have gotten any luckier: Two days before the release of his tell-all book about Tiger Woods, the golf legend won his first PGA Tour event in 30 months.

Now, the attention afforded to Haney's public display of utter self-indulgence will be even more extreme.

As he embarks on a press tour promoting the book, The Big Miss, Haney began his day at ESPN on Monday, telling Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic that his book isn't about his client's private life but is instead about golf.

Which would make sense if the book didn't intend to capitalize on Woods' personal indiscretions, which nearly destroyed his career in 2009.

Haney attempts to justify his work of "nonfiction" by insisting that he only wrote about golf-related incidents in his client's life—like, for example, the time Woods allegedly tore his ACL playing weekend war games with military members, when Woods insisted he sustained the injury running.

It is worth noting that Haney freely admits in the book that he never had in-depth, personal discussions with Woods.

The problem here isn't (necessarily) the content of the book; it is the intent. Haney served as Woods' coach and instructor, and with that position came an implicit understanding of loyalty. As in, "I trust that someday, when I am one of the most recognizable faces in the world and my life is in shambles, you won't use my life to make money off a tell-all book."

It would be a little bit easier to swallow if Haney just admitted that his intentions were inexcusable—because really, what good could possibly come of this book?—but by insisting that he did nothing wrong in penning a tell-all about his most famous client, it raises the disturbing notion that Haney might really be serious. He truly thinks he did nothing wrong.

This isn't Jersey Shore; this is the PGA Tour. It's supposed to be civilized. Coaches aren't supposed to betray their clients by selling personal stories about their lives, golf-related or otherwise.

Haney's defense?

He told ESPN's Mike & Mike in the Morning show, "They were my memories, too," and "I wanted to share my experiences."

But wait. This is, after all, the same guy who went on TV and compared Charles Barkley's golf swing to Helen Keller trying to read. Maybe expecting some class was a little too much to hope for.