http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=15100&select=26494
The Comebacker can not ignore the volume of response to the subject of whether Tiger Woods’ use of profanity on the golf course is acceptable or not.
Couple of points here: To those of you put off by Tiger’s outbursts, he’s recovering from surgery, you won’t have to hear him swearing for a while.
To those of you who excuse him those outbursts, I’ll give you this: Because Woods is never far from a camera and a mike when he’s playing, every word gets on the air. Believe me, there are other players on the PGA TOUR who can make Tiger sound like Mary Poppins.
Three things: Tiger’s a good guy. He’s a human being. And I wouldn’t want my daughter to hear bad language from any athlete if she was at a professional sporting event.
Finally, I repeat: This will all go away when Tiger’s daughter gets old enough to want to know why her father says the occasional bad word on the golf course.
Without further ado:
Anderson writes: “You people are such prudes, do you think no other golfers curse once in a while, it’s just that Tiger is on camera a lot so the odds of hearing a bad word are greater. Get off your high horses. Babe Ruth is treated like a god, yet he was a boozer and womanizer, Elvis a druggie. If a few bad words are going to ruin your kids, you're probably not doing a good job of parenting; they probably see and hear much worse at school anyway.”
Never really imagined Elvis Presley getting dragged into this column.
Kendall writes: “Thank goodness it's your job to sift through all this negativity about Tigers' knee, Tiger's language, various announcers’ comments, and whether or not golfers are ‘real’ athletes. As for me, I'm thinking that, at least for the rest of the year, the LPGA has lots of drama, skills galore…and, well… better looking players than the PGA! By the way... Kelly, Nick, You, Brandel, Frank, Feherty, Stephanie Sparks... what an amazing, talented crew. Oh, and Inga, too. And Oosty, and Kraig, and Steve and Casey, and Vince, and Rich... (Nice closing journals, Rich), Mike Ritz... (Who I think has the best job in golf... following the gals around), and Stina (Good God, is she single?)….anyways… as a 25 year radio broadcast vet, I can truly say you all do an awesome job! Keep it up!”
Thanks for the kind words. The crew appreciates it.
Shane writes: “Am I the only one that is astonished by how many golf fans come at Tiger for his cursing? Have they ever been on a golf course? The fact of the matter is that Tiger is the only golfer that has ALL of his shots broadcast on television. Of course you are not going to see the other guys curse when the only shots you see are the ones that are hit tight. Maybe people could think before they speak… too much to ask? I also want to say that the guy who said Tiger is not a good role model for children should go find the highest cliff overlooking the sharpest rocks and step off. Great work ethic, strong moral values, a charitable heart and a strong competitive drive. Yeah… he’s right, I’m sure the world would be better off with video game playing, self indulgent, lazy bums… as long as they don’t curse.”
Look out below.
William writes: “Tiger? -great game, great mind for the game, never quits, foul mouth. Phil?-great game, interesting mind for the game, sometimes quits before the tournament is over, good with people. Both seem to treasure their families-very good. For all of us, we are humans and need to work on a few things in our lives.”
We are the world.
Harold writes: “When someone writes that Tiger is no role model, maybe they should ask those thousands of kids that he has made it possible for them to become better persons. He has given back more than any pro golfer in the last 50 years or forever as far as that goes.”
We could do a lot worse than to have Tiger decide, one day, that he wants to run for public office.
Chad writes: “Not only is Tiger the best golfer ever; he’s also a great athlete. He demands perfection of himself. That explains why he gets so upset after a subpar shot. I would venture to say that 80% of professional golfers curse after a few bad shots. They just don’t get aired on T.V. I don’t think Tiger’s goal is to be a role model. It’s simply to win 19 majors and it will happen soon. Remember this is Tiger’s world and were just lucky enough to be living in it.”
Tiger’s got a lot to be thankful for as well.