Who was it that cast the first stone at Tiger Woods? Of course that person had, has, and will always have the squeaky clean reputation that everyone wants to discuss about Tiger's image. In actuality, no one knows who threw the first stone and certainly no one cares now that Tiger has fallen from grace because he is "the imperfect athlete." No one cares because it's better for the focus to be on Tiger than the spotlight on him or her - who threw that first proverbial stone.
And just how much Haterade did the rest of us consume so that we too could throw some stones and spend our lives analyzing Tiger's and Elin's lives. How many jokes did we laugh at and create knowing if we were the target of such ridicule that we would have quit our jobs the first day the news broke on us. As a journalism major in college, I was taught first and foremost objectivity in reporting news, determining what is news, and then the "public's right to know" when it comes to celebrities as if celebrities (because they are successful and doing things we will never do) deserve no privacy. The public today - constantly trying to live the life of the rich and famous because they know they will never be rich and famous -- has a right to mind its own business and stop going being hypocritical crabs in a bucket. John Q. Public can't be like Tiger so John Q. Public takes a sip or two of Haterade, and waits for Tiger to fall from grace so that it can be said "Tiger wasn't all that.....he wasn't perfect after all." As if you and I are.
So now his endorsements and commercials and income are affected. That's okay. In an effort to streamline my household budget, I needed not to buy anymore Gatorade anyway. It was a decision I had made long before the Tiger Woods news broke. My not buying Gatorade has nothing to do with the Pepsi Company pulling its Woods commercials.
Tiger's admitted some things and some things he has kept private. He knows now that there is no such thing as "innocent until proven guilty." He knows that fans are fair-weathered friends and when the going gets tough fake friends and financial backers will get going.
What is most sad for me is that Black media did not have the fortitude to stand by a man in need of support. Rather than tell jokes for weeks about Tiger (which had to have impacted his relationship with his family), some like the Tom Joyner Morning Show ordered case after case of Haterade and tried to profit from Tiger's losses. Willie Lynch knew this day would come. So of course he invested his money in crab buckets just to see how many of us 198 years later (since 1712) would still be trying to pull one another down.
As for me it simply means skipping the Gatorade on aisle number 3, changing my preset button from the Tom Joyner Morning Show, and praying some serious prayers that Tiger's day in court is yet to come. Indeed everyone around the world (the stone throwers and the bystanders) had some knowledge of Tiger Woods. The real question is what does Tiger know about God and faith because it is God who knows the future and the one who ultimately does damage control.
Regina Vincent Clark, Ed.D.
