Tiger Woods.....what we have learned from his misfortune

I’m as shocked as the next person on the apparent facts around the Tiger Woods infidelity. Yes, I’m shocked at Tiger, but I’m also shocked at the public’s perception of guilt, and how they’re coming down on the guy. You would have had to been in a coma if you missed the rantings and vicious rhetoric from the male and female talking heads on T.V. , radio and the press.

They’re not quite calling for his “head” but what they’re all saying is he deserves to be hurt financially by his “transgressions”. This raised an interesting thought….and I would love to hear the response to my question from the same shrill voices calling for his heart being pulled out through his wallet. What if the roles were reversed?

What if his very attractive wife had an affair? Here’s this young vivacious woman, alone for great periods of time, with access to Nanny’s, what if she had some “transgressions”? Perhaps public opinion would change, although I’m sure there will still be those blaming Tiger for her “cheating”, but more to the point, lets talk about the law.

Hang on to your seat for this one. If Elin cheated, it wouldn’t make a difference in her ability to claim child support, spousal support, and the stated prenuptial amount in property division. She would get the same amount. You think the same talking heads, the same outraged callers, the same talk show hosts would be screaming about how unfair it would be for Tiger to have to pay out to a cheating wife? This is the reality folks.

What if Tiger had acted like his wife did and taken a golf club to her? Let me answer this for you. Tiger would have been taken to jail in handcuffs and ankle chains, fingerprinted, and charged with assault, and locked up. Even if Elin didn’t press charges, some Florida prosecutor would have gotten on his high horse and pontificated about men abusing their wives and pressed charges.

Let’s follow the money in this episode. Tiger had a prenuptial agreement which limited his property distribution to his wife in the event of separation. Our understanding is, she is demanding that for her to stay in the marriage, she wants to renegotiate the prenuptial agreement. I’m sorry, it’s hard for me to not be cynical about this. To me this sounds like a prostitute that says “if you want me to spend the whole night, it’s going to cost you more”. Not exactly the same but close enough for me to see the parallel.

I would have had respect for the lady had she done one of two things. Either just leave the marriage, or not have “demanded” more money in the form of a ultimatum to Tiger. Anything else is either blackmail, gold digging, prostitution, or extortion. Take your pick. This is not what honest spouses do in a loving relationship. Yet public opinion and the media seem to be shouting from the roof tops……….”you go girl”……….”take him to the cleaners”………….”you deserve it, because he’s a dog”.

I honestly don’t know which is worse, cheating or extortion! I know what the female talking heads are going to say. “She’s only extorting because he was cheating. Somehow if the “y” chromosome is involved, it’s his fault any way you slice it, whether it be in a court of law or in the court of public opinion.

What we don’t know is anything about their marriage. Is cheating ever justified? If a woman cheats is it justified? For all we know, they may have been living a sexless marriage. Is it okay to cheat if you’re living in a sexless marriage? Was she “hucking” and nagging him to the point where they couldn’t be in the same bed together? Would this have made a difference?

In our Gold Digger nation, none of the above makes any difference, including who cheated on who. Tiger pays, and he pays a lot, regardless of what happened, what lead to what, or how things came about.

The other thing we know is the numbers being thrown around. We heard numbers like 80 million dollars for another two years added on to the prenuptial agreement. In our Gold Digger Nation, this might make sense for Tiger. Yes, the payout based on child support guidelines, whether the prenuptial should be thrown out or not, spousal support, might just add up to 40 million per annum. 80 million might just be a better deal for Tiger than having to deal with the family law courts and their outrageous wealth transfers.

Which leads me to my next section, why did Tiger get married? I believe Tiger got married for all the right reasons except for what was right for him. I believe he felt society expected him to get married, his parents would want him to get married, and it seemed like everyone else was either getting married or was married. This is a very common scenario for men of his age.
In reality, Tiger found out that “marriage” was not for him. It certainly looked like a great match, the Swedish model/nanny and the world’s best golfer. The reality, the marriage didn’t work or either one of them shouldn’t have married.

My advice to Tiger, although he’s not asking for it, I would end the marriage. The reality is that you knew it was a mistake a while ago. It’s not going to get better, it’s going to get worse. You clearly enjoy women and I mean to emphasize the plurality of the word. She’ll never trust you and you’ll be paying for your “transgressions”for eternity.

The reality is she’s just figuring out the best time to leave you anyways. Bottom line, you won’t be happy at all. You’re going to pay regardless, the question is going to be how much. Fortunately for you, you can make this up in no time. Most guys don’t have the opportunity to pick themselves off the proverbial “mat”.

Tiger, I’m still your fan. It’s none of our business what happened in your marriage. It takes two to tango as they say. You’ve been portrayed as an incredible dog of a villain, and your wife is the helpless little victim. Nothing is going to change that. That’s what living in a Gold Digger Nation means. To them I say, #$%$%^^& you!

My advice, keep on smacking that white ball, end your marriage, and party like it’s 2099!