My Analysis of Tiger's Statment

Okay, I finally got around to seeing Tiger's statement. All day meetings on Friday, dinner with friends that evening, Purdue basketball game Saturday (got to met former Purdue Coach Gene Keady- kids got their picture with him! He is a Purdue Legend.) , Church and Wedding plans for my daughter, who is going to be a flower girl in the spring on Sunday.

My thoughts on his speech:

Rehearsed, even the audience was rehearsed and told how to react (not to react). It was a weird group and the staging of the event made it seem like some sort of dinner theater introduction. It could have been done much better. I think back to announcements like this from others, it is better with the press in attendance and 'his' people standing behind him (showing their support) and have a supporter tell the press he is not taking questions as he is walking away.

Did he lie? nope.

Did he say that he was sorry, well yes. But he wasn't very emotional during these periods. We cannot be sure he is sorry for his actions, or sorry for being caught.

The gesture where he holds his hand over his heart was rehearsed and planned... and it is the incorrect gesture for the situation, should have pointed to himself and not placed his hand over his heart. As you know, placing the hand over the heart is usually a positive emotional gesture often done to show caring, compassion, "love," etc. and given his tone he was not any of those things...

He often swallows hard and pauses. The pauses are consistent (for about one second)with lowering of his head (eye blocking). When we pause in stressful situations it is to gain composure, we usually come out of the pause at slightly different intervals and with some sort of change in our facial expression (subtle or otherwise). He doesn't do this.

Because he is reading the statement we know it was prepared beforehand. The word choice is odd at certain times. This is what I think happened- he prepared the first draft of the statement and gave it to his "advisers" who changed some things, added other things, then more drafts, and more drafts... this is why he stumbles on some of the words- at this point I didn't really care to re-review where he stumbles and the words that he has problems with... it is likely in each and every section, near the stumble, it was an area where they debated on the message and/or word choice. This is significant if we cared enough to look further.

The hug between Tiger and his mom is a bit awkward. His mom pats his pack- this is usually done as a signal to each other to break the hug, but in this case the hug continues. Since this was also staged it comes off even more awkward. It would of been more caring for her to rub his back instead of what happened- patting, stopping, and again patting. Had the audience not been told exactly what to do, they would have risen when he hugged his mom- but they obviously were told to remain seated.

I have heard the response from the public is both positive and negative. I would speculate that those who had negative reactions to his statement would not be able to put it in exact words why they had a negative reaction- because they noticed some of the things I have mentioned above and at some level did not like that it was unnatural and out of Tiger's character to be so rigid and unemotional.

This is what I believe about his marriage and relationship based on what he said and what he didn't say. She is in complete control, and he is willing to make it work. Both personally and professionally he needs to come out of this storm. Since the relationship is tenuous at best, it would be much harder for her to "take him back" if the majority of public opinion towards Tiger remains to be negative six months from now.◦

My Analysis of Tiger's Statment