The Apology Heard Around the World

You would have thought that President Obama was preparing to announce a major policy initiative or that a natural disaster was about to make landfall along our coast. Every network broke into regular programming last Friday with a special report bulletin, all for the purpose of covering "The Tiger Woods Apology."

The speech was of interest to me both as a golfer and a writer. Tiger Woods means more to the game of golf than any other single player, so I am curious to know when we might see him participating in a major tournament again. I'm sure the broadcasters and advertisers are wondering the same thing!

To satisfy the writer in me, I decided to study the transcript of the speech after Tiger delivered it. He used the word "I" a lot, showing that he accepts the need to take personal responsibility for his poor choices. Just scanning through the speech, you can see that small but important word several times in each paragraph.

Tiger also acknowledged the many individuals and groups who have been affected by his behavior, from his wife to his business partners to the young kids who once saw him as a role model. People like to be recognized and have their feelings understood, and I believe this was one of the greatest strengths of the speech.

Did you watch Tiger deliver the remarks that he prepared for the assembled (and carefully selected) members of the media and the audience at home? Do you feel that his words and emotions were sincere, or was he just checking off a required step in the recovery process?

Whether you are coming at it from the perspective of a golf fan, a speech writer, or just someone who pays attention to current events, I want to read your thoughts.