The Writings of Eric E. Jenkins

Submitted for your approval…picture this: The National Enquirer article alleging that Tiger Woods was involved in an adulterous affair never comes out. Now, there is no story about Tiger Woods doing anything wrong and his reputation in intact. Tiger gets involved in a single car accident while he is leaving his home. His wife states that she attempted to free him by smashing the back window of his SUV with a golf club and that she instructed the neighbors to call 911, but not to say who was involved in the accident. The police arrive on the scene and discover everything the way that it was when Tiger was discovered following the accident. Now, without the Enquirer piece, would the police be investigating the situation any further than a single car accident? And would we even care about Tiger Woods beyond his exploits on the golf course? The answer to both of those questions is a resounding “NO!”

Tiger Woods has never given the press any cause to question him, except for his occasional tantrums and swearing on the golf course. But, if you were worth one billion dollars, and every golf stroke was worth more than the entire payroll of the Los Angeles Clippers, you would curse too if something went wrong. Beyond that, Tiger has been a model citizen, even in the face of overwhelming racism (Fuzzy Zoeller’s comments) and constant criticism about his game, despite the fact that even in a down year; he wins more money than the rest of the PGA tour.

Suddenly, however, we are supposed to care about whether or not Tiger Woods has had an affair with a reputed party girl, just because The National Enquirer said so. Bear in mind, this is the National Enquirer, the enterprise that has been sued more times than Girls Gone Wild. True, the Enquirer gets it right sometimes, but they have also been very wrong in the past, and now we are supposed to believe that Tiger is having an affair because they said so. So what if he is? If you prick him, does he not bleed? If you interrupt him at work, will he not curse you out? Seems human to me.

The problem though, is not the fact that Tiger might or might not be having, or might or might not have had an affair with a woman or women known or unknown, because since he is a celebrity, this type of thing will make news. The problem is the fact that the man was involved in a car accident, and the press seems more interested in whether or not he is cheating on his wife than the extent of his injuries. This is the society that we live in ladies and gentlemen.

Actor checks into rehab. Big news. Same actor donates money to charity. Not so much. Golfer cheating on his wife. Lead story. Golfer has single car accident leaving home. Yawn. Now, don’t get me wrong, a celebrity cheating on their spouse is interesting, but I don’t, and no one else should, watch golf to find out if Tiger is cheating on his wife, just like we should be able to separate Michael Jackson the man from Michael Jackson the entertainer.

I received a ton of letters when I wrote that Chris Benoit the wrestler and Chris Benoit the man who allegedly killed his wife and son before killing himself were two different people (Chris Benoit – Separating Fact from Fiction - http://tinyurl.com/ydrmjdt), but the truth is that when I am being entertained, I can separate the entertainer from their personal politics or personal demons, unless those politics or demons interfere with their performance or my entertainment. If Floyd Mayweather came out and said that he could not fight against Philippine fighters because he doesn’t like them, then this interferes with my entertainment, because the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight might never happen. If Tony Romo came out and said that he threw mostly to Jason Whiten instead of Roy Williams or Terrell Owens because he doesn’t like black receivers, then this would also be a problem. Michael Jackson never wrote songs about child molesting and Tiger Woods does not stroll the back nine wearing a shirt that reads “Be a Tiger, Cheat on your wife”.

I know that as a writer/journalist, I am supposed to care, and in the course of researching a story, I do. But, just because it was alleged by the National Enquirer, I cannot bring myself to care more about his affair than about his health after a car accident. Maybe I’m in the minority, or just maybe, I hope that if I am ever involved in an accident, I can get medical attention, and that no one will read my credit report or reviews of my radio show just to make the story juicier than it is.