The near total implosion experienced by Tiger, Inc. these past 10 days, is almost unprecedented. "Almost", because, while not illegal, in many
ways, it’s analogous to the collapse of Bernie Madoff’s empire. As with
Bernie, people had “invested” in Tiger, cheering him on in his quest for
greatness, paying him to represent their brand, only to find that all of the
“equity” that had been carefully built up, was but a mirage.
Why does it matter? Of the ~$1 billion that Tiger is
purported to have made since being launched into the public consciousness in
1996, less than 10% of it has been earned swinging a club and sinking putts.
Ninety percent has been earned by Tiger, Inc., the sale and promotion of the
man and the myth.
So what of it?
It’s hard to imagine that those in the inner circle of
Tiger, Inc. weren’t aware of his high-risk behavior. Steve Williams,
he who puts a smackdown on photographers, has been by Tiger’s side since 1999.
I’m guessing that, during this time, he has spent at least 2000 nights on the
road with his boss. Clearly, Steve has bought into the “What goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas” mantra.
Mark
Steinberg, Tiger’s agent and head of IMG’s Golf Division, is probably more
responsible than anyone for 100% of Tiger, Inc. revenue. Is it possible that he
wasn’t aware of Tiger’s behavior, or were he, Steve and others afraid to
intervene and put their own livelihoods at risk? But if they were complicit,
they would have contributed to the fraud, and must share responsibility for the
fall of Tiger. As Solomon Burke sings in None of Us Are Free, “If you don’t say it’s wrong, then that says
it’s right”.
I understand that Tiger must surround himself by people who
he trusts implicitly, and clearly those near him can keep a confidence. But he
also needs to surround himself with people whom he can trust to keep him
grounded. People criticized Michael Vick for surrounding himself with his
friends from the ‘hood, who shared with him a tendency towards illegal and
high-risk behavior. People criticized Mike Tyson for surrounding himself with
an entourage that fed his massive ego. Why are those in Tiger, Inc., if they
were aware of his behavior, any different?
If I was Elin, I would feel betrayed, not only by my
husband, but by those in the inner circle who attended the wedding, ate at my table,
and played with my kids. Elin needs to assume the role of CEO of Tiger, Inc., although
it’s not clear that she has any desire to do so. She should completely
restructure Tiger, Inc., replacing everyone in the inner circle that has been part
of the failure in governance and rebuilding both her personal relationship and
the business anew.
“Sorry Steve, but somebody else needs to be on the bag
next season.”
“Sorry IMG, we’ll take it from here.”
She and Tiger should work directly with sponsors that have
been deceived and which, frankly, have now seen their brands tainted by
association. Tiger needs to worry about being a husband, a father and winning
majors and less about Tiger, Inc.
As much of a train wreck as John Daly appears to be, at least
he doesn’t pretend otherwise. He parks his motor home out front of Hooters,
chugs beer, poses for pictures and signs autographs. Seems that while he’s out
front, Tiger’s sneaking his girl out the back door. Jack Nicklaus, a heavy
smoker, refused to smoke on the golf course and hated seeing a picture of
himself with a cigarette. While he would admit to human failings, he understood
that he was a role model and adapted his behavior accordingly.
Why do we care about Tiger’s private life? I don’t, and
frankly have read things that I had no desire to ever know. This isn’t about Tiger’s private life,
it’s about deception and a massive breach of the public, paternal and marital trust.
Tiger may end up being the winningest golfer and even surpass Nicklaus as the golfer with the most major championships, but Tiger can no longer ever become the “greatest” golfer. Great is who you are, not what you’ve accomplished. Great is how your friends and family describe you when you are gone, not how many trophies are on the mantle. As much as he would like it to be different, the narrative about his life is forever tarnished. Can you imagine reading a Tiger obit someday that fails to describe this past week in detail?
As the Accenture ad says with Tiger standing in the deep
stuff, “It matters what you do next.”
Do right, Tiger.
That’s my .02!
Martin Suter
(martin.suter at iplicensing.net)
He's no longer a tiger...(drum roll, please)....he's a CHEETAH!
Posted by: Rog | January 12, 2010 at 01:56 AM
Finally an impression of the demise of Tiger that I can stomach.
I am with you, his life is his own to live but OMG was/is he, and were/are his handlers just freakin' stupid?!
I can take the dalliances (well the numbers are starting to get disgusting) the man is larger than life, chock a block full of testosterone and not the first athlete/human being to stray)
but did he really think these woman would keep their trysts to themselves?
Good Lord Tiger, as good as you may be off the course, you are a gold mine and now everyone is panning to get a piece of your fortune.
PS Did he really think they would delete the sexts and voice mails?
I don't think he and his family will survive this and one can only guess how long it will take him to show his face on the golf course. That is a tragedy... I love to watch the man play.
Posted by: BFF | December 09, 2009 at 09:32 AM
Hi Martin,
Fabulous post - very succinct. It gets to the heart of the matter beyond the merely salacious and ridiculous tabloid material out there on Tiger. Just amazing how Tiger allowed himself to come off the rails in such a manner.
Tiger Inc is down at least 50% in value, if you ask me - new endorsement offers by Ashley Maddison et al notwithstanding.
Posted by: Searchingworks | December 08, 2009 at 11:02 AM