Tiger Woods Apology Press Conference
Crisis Communication: Tiger Woods Scandal
Rashaad Thomas
UMUC
Crisis Communication: Tiger Woods Scandal November 29, 2009 was a day that changed the lives of Tiger Woods and everyone involved in his circle. What started out as a crash into a tree outside his home later turned into months of scandal that resulted in lost business partners and ultimately his marriage five years to Elin Nordegren. From that time on, Tiger was in a free fall as mistress after mistress stepped forward admitting to affairs with Woods. There was no communication from Woods’ camp until February 19, 2010. This day, he issued a press conference with those attending including his mother, issuing an apology to his fans, friends and business partners that have supported him over the years. Unfortunately, Woods delay was costly. According to a poll conducted from December 16-20 by CNN, Woods’ favorable rating fell from 60 percent in early December, to 34 percent at the time of the survey (Cable News Network [CNN], 2009, para. 2). After his apology, one of his biggest endorsers, Gatorade, ended their partnership with Woods. His delay also allowed tabloids to have a field day concerning multiple alleged affairs and plastering his image over many magazine covers. He also became daily fodder for radio stations as they played discovered voice mail messages that were left for alleged mistresses. This was clearly a man (or business) that was in crisis mode. This crisis became an issue that got worst for Tiger Woods the more he tried to control it. By not speaking on the issue, the public may have perceived his silence as arrogance. I believe the public controlled the crisis as they do when many celebrities are embroiled in scandal. As long as the public kept the perception going, There will be the low polls, and next could be reduced attendance at golfing events when he is in attendance.
Was this apology enough, or was it a little too late after having the
Rashaad Thomas
UMUC
Crisis Communication: Tiger Woods Scandal November 29, 2009 was a day that changed the lives of Tiger Woods and everyone involved in his circle. What started out as a crash into a tree outside his home later turned into months of scandal that resulted in lost business partners and ultimately his marriage five years to Elin Nordegren. From that time on, Tiger was in a free fall as mistress after mistress stepped forward admitting to affairs with Woods. There was no communication from Woods’ camp until February 19, 2010. This day, he issued a press conference with those attending including his mother, issuing an apology to his fans, friends and business partners that have supported him over the years. Unfortunately, Woods delay was costly. According to a poll conducted from December 16-20 by CNN, Woods’ favorable rating fell from 60 percent in early December, to 34 percent at the time of the survey (Cable News Network [CNN], 2009, para. 2). After his apology, one of his biggest endorsers, Gatorade, ended their partnership with Woods. His delay also allowed tabloids to have a field day concerning multiple alleged affairs and plastering his image over many magazine covers. He also became daily fodder for radio stations as they played discovered voice mail messages that were left for alleged mistresses. This was clearly a man (or business) that was in crisis mode. This crisis became an issue that got worst for Tiger Woods the more he tried to control it. By not speaking on the issue, the public may have perceived his silence as arrogance. I believe the public controlled the crisis as they do when many celebrities are embroiled in scandal. As long as the public kept the perception going, There will be the low polls, and next could be reduced attendance at golfing events when he is in attendance.
Was this apology enough, or was it a little too late after having the
References: Benoit, W. L. (1997). Image repair discourse and crisis communication. Public Relations Review, 23(2), 177. Retrieved from www.ou.edu Benoit, W. L. (2009, April 23). President Bush’s image repair discourse on Hurricane Katrina. Public Relations Review, 35(), 40-46. doi: 10.1016 Cable News Network. (2009). Poll: Tiger Woods’ popularity plummets after scandal. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2009-12-22/us/tiger.woods.poll_1_woods-crash-jaimee-grubbs-nightclub-hostess-rachel-uchitel?_s=PM:US Woods, T. (2010). Tiger Woods press conference transcript: Full text of apology /Interviewer: . NY Daily News, FL.