How Tiger Can Get His Groove Back

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) February 23, 2010 -- When I watched Tiger Woods give his Mea Culpa address, I said to myself, "This looks more like a presidential address than an athlete confessing to his sins." Don't we have more important things to cover than this? Isn't this just a sports story?

But the American public loves scandal, and the Tiger Woods story has all the ingredients. Sex, race, money, violence, fame -- the only thing it doesn't have is death. Although this seems like the mother of all PR disasters -- clean-cut golfer goes sex crazy with porn stars -- it really isn't that bad. There are no dead bodies, child sex abuse accusations or major financial misdeeds. (In many parts of the world, this wouldn't even be a story.)

Admit fault. The American public is very forgiving of a remorseful sinner. Tiger may be angry that people are prying into his personal life. He might also feel aggrieved that other athletes are getting a bye for similar behavior, but in puritanical America sex romps with porn stars are not cool. It doesn't make Corporate America happy either, because they don't want soccer moms picturing you having threesomes while they are buying Wheaties. The only way you can spin this story for the American public is to do a major interview where you admit that you have a problem, and are seeking treatment for it.
Stop the bleeding. Tiger can deal with questions about previous sex romps by simply saying, "I did many things in my past that I am not proud of, but now I want to concentrate on the future and a more responsible lifestyle." Period, end of conversation. This should stop any further dissection of past sexual escapades. Tiger needs to stay on point in interviews.

Turn a negative into a positive. Tiger could attach his name to causes such as Safe Sex awareness. He can say that he lead a wild lifestyle and now realizes how his irresponsible behavior put his health, and his wife's health, in jeopardy. Woods can also stress the importance of condom use and AIDS awareness.
Accept the losses and get back to playing. Tiger needs to realize that some sponsors are gone and probably won't come back. But America loves a winner. Tiger Woods is an athlete, first and foremost. He needs to get back to doing what he does best -- winning golf tournaments. If he gets back to collecting trophies, and driving up TV ratings, sponsors will take note. They'll remember that Woods' face moves products and puts butts in seats. If Charlie Sheen and Robert Downey Jr. can still get work, I don't see why Tiger can't.

Finally, Woods needs to decide what kind of lifestyle he wants to lead. Does he want to be an uber-playboy, like Alex Rodriguez and George Clooney? Or does he want to be Mr. Family Man, who does photo ops with his wife, babies and latest trophy. You can't do both. Pick one persona and stick with it. But no one loves a hypocrite -- just ask John Edwards and Eliot Spitzer.

Manny Otiko is the founder of Digital Media PR and "Ghetto Fabulous," an online comic strip.