Don't Think Tiger Woods Owes the Public Anything? Think Again

There are quite a few people out there who truly believe that Tiger Woods does not owe the public anything.

He doesn’t owe the public an explanation on what went down on Thanksgiving night.

He doesn’t owe the public an explanation on the state of his marriage.

He doesn’t owe the public an explanation on why he went into hiding for the past three months.

And he doesn’t owe the public an explanation on why he was visited several times by a Canadian doctor with links to HGH distribution.

Well, if that is your opinion, you are 100% correct.

Tiger doesn’t owe us anything.

However, he does if he ever wants to get paid again, and no one knows that better than Tiger Woods.

Why else would he go through the trouble of releasing photos that were meant to look candid but were actually part of a pre-planned photo shoot?

Why else would he make a public statement that was beamed out to every news station on the face of the planet?

If Woods felt that he didn’t owe the public anything or that he didn’t need to rebuild his public image, why go through a week long PR campaign (as he did last week)?  

The answer to that question is quite simple: Sponsors pay Woods because of the way in which he is perceived by the public.

Woods was the perfect corporate spokesman because he was perceived as a good, decent family man, as well as a tremendous golfer.

Pre-fire hydrant Woods was the type of guy that all kids wanted to be like, and whom parents didn't mind their kids idolizing—minus the cursing and club throwing, of course.

A fire hydrant and a few “transgressions” later and all those companies that used to pay Woods big bucks solely because of this public image had a massive liability on their hands.

Words such as “respect”, “admiration”, and “idolization”, which used to be closely associated with Woods and made him such a lucrative asset to any company or brand, had all but disintegrated.

That is why Woods owes the public an explanation, and why he is VERY concerned with rebuilding his public image.

Whether or not his sponsors, peers, or business partners care about his private life or accept his apology is completely irrelevant.

The CEO of Gatorade could very well believe every single word Woods said during his statement last week, but it ultimately makes no difference at all what the CEO of Gatorade thinks of Woods.

Woods is paid to promote their product to the general public, and the second he looses the respect of the public and becomes a liability rather than an asset to the brand, he becomes worthless—and we all know what happens to “employees” who become worthless.  

So, what does that mean?

Well, it means that although Woods doesn’t owe the public anything, the public ultimately pays his bills.

More than 90 percent of Woods yearly income comes from his endorsement deals.  

So, yes, of course Woods has every right to keep his private life private and never answer a single question about this whole scandal.

Most of us would want to do just that if we were in his situation.

However, if he exercises that right, those who ultimately pay his bills—the general public—may just cut him off for good.

Don’t think that Tiger Woods owes the public anything?

Well, based on his recent actions, Tiger Woods seems to be of a different opinion.  Now he just needs to find some way of coming across as a sincere human being rather than Terminator Series 800/Model 101.