Tiger Woods: Sponsorship and Endorsements
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“My behavior has caused considerable worry to my business partners,” Woods said. “For all that I have done, I am so sorry.” Those are some of the words of Eldrick “Tiger” Woods during his apology to his family, friends, sponsors and the nation as a whole. Many people in the world may agree with the quote “actions speak louder than words;” on the other hand, so many will feel that an apology is sincere and forgive the person who is apologizing. There is no right or wrong answer to this dilemma; it is what a person feels that makes it the correct choice. Tiger Woods made a mistake in his personal life, should he be crucified in his professional realm? To each his own; some may agree with my assessment and some will not.
Tiger Woods is the most celebrated professional golfer in the history of the sport to date. He holds numerous records in the sport, by statistical comparisons no one is even close to him. Tiger has the record for most PGA Tour wins in the following categories: Prior to 25th birthday (24 wins); between the ages of 20 to 29 (34 wins); after 25 starts (6 wins); after 75 starts (17 wins); after 100 starts (28 wins). He also holds the PGA tour records for being the youngest player to be rank number one in the world. Tiger became the number one ranked golfer in the world at the age of 21; the previous record holder was 29 years old (The Golf Expert.com, 2007) Mr. Woods has the record for the most prize money total in one year by a golfer ($9,188,321). He has won three Masters Golf tournaments, and he ranks third behind Jack Nicklaus (6 wins) and Arnold Palmer (4 wins) (The Golf Expert.com, 2007).
Tiger Woods should be treated today the same as before his sex scandal. He was granted his contract with his sponsors from the fact that he was the number one golfer in the world for 620 weeks (Officialworldranking, 2010). He is still the number one golfer in the world so he should still have his same sponsors as before. Whether you like it or not, Tiger is the most prestigious golf player in the world. If you asked the average person in the world to name a golfer, Tiger Woods would probably be the first name that is mention. According to a survey conducted by research firm NPD, one-third of the consumers feelings towards Tiger Woods had decline significantly, but only ten percent said that they would stop buying the products he endorsed (Baden, 2010).
I believe if this sex scandal had happened in the 1980s it may have had a more detrimental outcome to Tigers career. After the world has seen President Bill Clinton, Kobe Bryant, Fantasia and David Lettermans sexual escapades played out for everyone to see on television, our society is not shocked by Tiger Woods. Sex is more acceptable today than ever before; every time you turn on the television or open a website there is something about a celebrity sex scandal. Regardless, if