The Tiger Woods Scandal

            Eldrick Tont Woods (better known to the world as Tiger Woods) was born in 1975.  He is a golfer whose achievements, to date, rank him amongst the most successful golfers of all time.  In his last recorded year of play, he earned some $110 million from winnings and endorsement deals.  His achievements are too numerous to list here suffice it to say he has the most PGA Tour wins amongst active players.  Though in late 2009 everyone forgot about the calm cool, and collected golfer and tooke notice of the unfaithful broken image before then. 

            As the sordid details came out from some 12 different women he is alleged to have had affairs with the speculation mounted and, save for a planned press conference where he took no questions, he has given little response to the aforementioned allegations.  The whole thing came to light when on November 25th, 2009 the tabloid The National Inquirer reported Woods had had an accident outside his home shortly after leaving in his SUV at 2:30 in the morning.  He did little to help himself when he refused to speak with authorities further compounded rumor and scuttlebutt.  Soon after Woods came out and announced he’d take part in no further tournaments for that year.  He then released two separate statements where, in both, he admitted to being infidel and offering an apology.  Then, a woman who claimed she had had a 2 and a half year affair with Woods produced text messages and voice mails cementing her claims. 

            Seeing no way out, Woods offered a televised planned speech on February 19th, 2010.  In part, he said “He admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife. He said he used to believe he was entitled to do whatever he wanted to do, and that, due to his success, normal rules did not apply to him. He said he realizes now that he was wrong to have had extramarital affairs, and apologized for the hurt his behavior caused to his family, friends, fans, and business partners. Woods stated he had strayed from Buddhism, his trained faith since childhood, and that he would work to re-embrace his faith in the future. Woods also stated he had been in a therapy program for 45 days, and would be returning there soon.”[1]  Taking him at his word, he was mesmerized by the money and the fame that professional golf brought with it.  He thought himself above reproach and able to have liaisons with whomever he chose. 

            Freud tells us that sex is a powerful factor in our psychology.  Tiger Woods was addicted to sex wherever and with whomever he could get it from.  The fact he slept with no less than 12 different women confirms this fact.  His appetite for sex was unquenchable.  The only thing separating him us a normal person addicted to sex is that his money made it easier to find.

            According to Freud, the id is the unconscious part of our psyche: Impulsive. Instinctual.  Narcissism, by its nature, includes a limited tolerance for limits.  After awhile of living at the edge of what one may consider limiting the mind begins to wonder and the line crossing begins.  Compound that with being away from his marital bed and having legions of women throw themselves at you by the simple fact of who you are and you have a recipe for  a little id padding.  When faced with this situation, you begin thinking ” ‘I should be able to do what I want to do.” This leads to thoughts of a  grandiose manner: “I can do whatever I want to do because I’m special.”  Those thought are backed up with thinking yourself untouchable by normal human limits.

[1] “Tiger Woods apologises to wife Elin for affairs”. London: BBC Sport. February 19, 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/8521060.stm. Retrieved 2010-02-23.