Tiger Woods, Your Squeaky Clean Image Is In Jeopardy!
You’re well respected in the sports community and one of the highest-paid athletes, but that could all possibly change —because of the car crash and some nasty allegations you’ve been cheating on your wife.
“This raises a real concern about what it could do to his pristine image,” Michael Levine, media expert and celeb publicist who has represented sports stars like Mike Tyson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, tells us.
“Whether or not [the reports of infidelity] are true, we live in a society where a question or rumor that goes unanswered for 24 hours automatically becomes true in some people’s mind,” says Levine. “This could be devastating [for his career].”
For the record, the alleged other woman, Rachel Uchitel, said she didn’t have an affair with the golf pro. And though he doesn’t specifically address the alleged cheating, Tiger said the “malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.”
So what’s a star like Tiger to do in a sticky situation like this? Go into crisis control.
“Most important is that you need to get to the truth and if the truth is on your side you need to expose it,” explains Levine. “If you’re arrogant, slow and blame others, people will hold onto that and not forgive you.”
Aside from fans, Tiger’s also got millions of dollars on the line.
Lucrative deals with Nike, Buick, Gillette and Tag Heuer “absolutely could be” in trouble, Levine explains. “Companies who hire you to get behind a product don’t want or look for controversy.”
We’ll have to wait and see how everything unfolds but looks like Tiger might have some more explaining to do to his wife, endorsers and the public!
— Eunice Oh
