The full statement from his website, Tiger comments on current events:
I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.
Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.
But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don’t share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.
Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it’s difficult.
I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.
Jaimie Grubbs has released a voicemail she claims has the voice of Tiger Woods on it. Meanwhile, Kalika Moquin has surfaced as the third woman other than Rachel Uchitel that Tiger Woods allegedly had an affair with, placing his statement of “transgressions” (plural) into a new light and makes me wonder about Elin Nordegren and that golf club.
Mashable’s Adam Ostrow says it’s a sad day:
While we’ve come to expect a certain level of transparency from companies, brands and even public figures thanks to social media, it’s not our God-given right to know what Tiger does in his personal life, as many seemed to think it was in the days following his accident.
Of course, as the world’s first billion-dollar athlete, Tiger could conceivably be deemed a company and brand, but nonetheless, as a man, it’s his right to remain private and accept the consequences, whether they’re lost endorsements or unforgiving fans. That right was seemingly stripped away from him by the “we deserve to know everything about everything” culture we now live in.
As a sports fan, a social media connoisseur and a man, today is a sad day
Even as I post this, I completely agree.