Ok, so, I’m late. I know the whole world already knows that, well, to put it nicely, Tiger Woods is a dog. I guess I just wanted to bask in my ignorance and believe that he was as great a father and husband as he was a golfer. And while his golfing and fathering skills may have not diminished, he sure had some ‘splaining to do to his wife Elin, for the many, ahem, sexual partners he cheated on her with over the years.
Like I said, I know I’m a little late, but, I just recently read the public apology he made in February, and boy did he borrow from the book of Cicero! He opened his speech with a little licentia, or “frankness of speech,” saying, “I want to say to each of you simply and directly: I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible, selfish behavior.”
He then went into commoratio, or, “dwelling on the point” by explaining, “I know people want to find out how I could be so selfish and so foolish. People want to know how I could have done these things to my wife Elin and to my children. And while I have always tried to be a private person, there are some things I want to say.” After this, he placed “emphasis” or significatio, on his current relationship with his wife, saying, “Elin and I have started the process of discussing the damage caused by my behavior. My real apology will not come in the form of words, but my behavior over time. We have a lot to discuss. What we say to each other will remain between the two of us.”
He then makes the bold, “mock surrender” or, permissio, telling his mother and the press, “I had a lot of time to think of what I have done. My failures have made me look at myself in a way I never wanted to before. I have a lot to atone for.”
But he comes back with definitio, or defining his actions, by saying, “The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behavior. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did is not acceptable – and I am the only person to blame. I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in. I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn’t apply. Instead, I thought only about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries a married couple should live by. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me.”
Finally, he “refines his idea” with expolitio and tells his fans and supporters his plan of action to return to their good graces, “I recognize I have brought this on myself. And I know above all, I am the one who needs to change. I owe it to my family to become a better person.”
Good luck, Tiger.
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