I’ve seen and heard Tiger Woods’ mea culpa in full three times now. These few sentences from today’s statement he issued have raised my eyebrows (and probably my blood pressure).
“I ran straight through the boundaries that a married couple should live by. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn’t have to go far to find them.”
Are you kidding me?!?! Tiger thought he could get away mixing married life and fooling around. He enjoyed competing in the highest ranks of pro golf, raking in millions of dollars in the process, and he thought he’d be “allowed” to spend some of that money on extra-curricular activity (that’s putting it nicely, to say the least).
I don’t even want to begin to calculate how much money he spent on the other women (I don’t have the time; I’ll let someone else do that). All I’m going to say is that money could’ve been spent in better ways (improving neighborhoods, gifts for the Mrs., maybe even opening up golf camps for youth).
Tiger’s certainly not the first pro athlete to become unbelievably rich and run afoul of marital vows in the process. As long as pro athletes make those millions, “the temptations”, as Tiger called them, will always be there.
Doug’s Place Flashback: While May 28, 2005, proved to be the official start of a brief marriage (for the benefit of those of you seeing my blog for the first time, I’m widowed), Cindy and I took the vows we exchanged to heart. While not every day was a bed of roses, we loved each other deeply and stayed committed to each other until the marriage’s natural end.
Unfortunately, during our time together, at least five other marriages involving couples Cindy and I knew were hitting the skids and on their respective ways toward “the big D”. One of those situations was just so unbelievable, I can remember I didn’t sleep well one night. When Cindy got into bed with me, I remember holding her real close and saying to her, “I never want to lose you.” The feeling was mutual.
Memo to those of you in a marriage: Stay committed to it. Make sure any and all temptations are in your rear view mirror. Move forward, never backward. If you have money to burn, that’s the golden opportunity to brighten your spouse’s day with a surprise gift.