role models and fallen idols

Tiger. Tiger. Tiger. Another American hero built to mythical proportion only to be taken down in shame. It's a familiar pattern. A once in a generation athlete dwarfs his competitors. His singular focus, drive to succeed and performance in the clutch personifies everything a blue chip company wants to be identified with. Tiger Woods has all those attributes, he just happens to have one little flaw that everyone conveniently ignored. 

In 1993 Charles Barkley made a controversial TV commercial where he proclaimed he was not a role model. Kids shouldn't look up to him because he is an exceptional basketball player. They should look up to parents and teachers. It stirred an interesting debate in our culture about athletes as corporate spokesmen.  

In Barkley's case he never proclaimed to be anything other than what he was. He was opinionated and abrasive albeit entertaining. No one questioned his ability but they did question his marketability. It was the price he paid for his honesty.

As I see it with Tiger, it wasn't his actions that were unforgivable it was the hypocrisy. I wasn't outraged by the the sordid details of his lifestyle. Who am I to judge? If Tiger wasn't married and was banging bar maids three at a time would we really care? It didn't hurt Joe Namath. Or if we found out that he loved his wife and kids but had a less than traditional arrangement, would it bother us. Maybe? But it would bother quite a few of his corporate sponsors so they crafted an image that work for them. 

The corporate branding world found the golden goose. He was a half black and half asian boy dominating an elitist white man's game. He was serious and well spoken. In shape and focused. He was a the perfect corporate role model. Feed his fancies. Keep him happy. And, hope no one ever finds out the truth. 

Phil Knight, Nike Chairman, said this week, we did a background check on Tiger and he "came out clean" but "there's always a risk". Call me crazy but I find it hard to believe that Nike or any of his major backers were completely unaware of his behavior. If anything they enabled it. They were all heavily vested in perpetrating the falseness of his image. Tiger is the rare athlete that is bigger than the sport. Now, they have to pay the price, no one more so than the PGA.  

Truth is I hope this blows over soon. I love watching the guy play golf. That's the only reason to admire him. And it always was.