Media have a Tiger by the tail

Many people often mistakenly credit Shakespeare with penning that most wise advice around practising deception. However, it was actually Sir Walter Scott who wrote: Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive!
You get the impression that these seemingly innocuous words are something that golfing legend Tiger Woods – as have countless politicians and many other famous people have done over the years – will come to appreciate and understand. Especially as his time in the unfamiliar territory of an increasingly negative, media spotlight continues to shine.
One would have thought that if the champion golfer had not picked up on this mantra – then at least his PR advisors and media managers might have. But it seems to have passed right by Tiger’s plethora of image advisors – despite the no doubt substantial amount of charge rate they are stinging their famous client.
Woods recently withdrew from a tournament to benefit his charity foundation as he continued to lie (maybe in more ways than one) low after his recent car crash that has caused a media storm. In a statement, Woods said he would miss the Chevron World Challenge due to injuries suffered in the one-car accident near his Florida home last week.
Nothing unusual in his statement, except for the fact that usually the media savvy and accessible Woods only made it via his personal website. Adding fuel to the fire, he then also called off a press conference. Basically these two acts have ended any hope Woods and his spin doctors might have had that this would put an end to the flurry of media speculation surrounding the crash.
Yet one would not have to be the slickest pen in the PR pencil case to realise that interest around a 2.30 am car crash involving the world’s highest earning and most recognised sports star would go away without proper explanation.
Rumours have been rife since authorities discovered Woods dazed and on the ground, fading in and out of consciousness, and took him to a nearby hospital with facial cuts and bruises. All the while, he has refused to speak with police regarding the accident.
This had only added to the suspicion already circulating over the crash and the factors leading up to it. Then add in the gossip reports claiming Woods is having an affair with a pneumatic New York nightclub hostess, with more front than your average southerly squall. Who just so happened to be in staying at the same Australia at the same time Woods was competing there. She has now hired a well known celebrity lawyer to do all her talking – so things are only getting more intriguing.
So in the absence of more details, speculation has swirled about the accident. The most notable of which, involved Woods fleeing in the vehicle from an attack by his Swedish model wife, who used a golf club to smash in the rear windows of the vehicle as Woods tried to flee, causing him to lose control.
Meanwhile, Woods is not obliged to speak with police about the accident and he has chosen not to. Instead he sent an attorney who has provided the golf star's driver license information, proof of insurance and vehicle registration as required under Florida law.
Here’s a PR tip for you Tiger; when the media have a tiger by the tail they do never let go. Best to front up, man up and if need be, fess up.
Then the current media storm will blow over, with today’s news being used to wrap tomorrow’s fish and chips in!