Tiger, apology, Buddhism

We make too much over sports heroes—we overpay and over-praise them, and put up with outrageous behavior—so it was good to see Tiger Woods’ apology last week. His main obligation is to his wife and his children, of course, not to us. Yet he *is* a role model, and sports is not merely entertainment, it is also how we demonstrate and teach values. It was appropriate for him to stand up and take responsibility, apologize to those he had wronged, and speak a little about how he planned to be different in the future. Many—many!—people have discussed the situation, in excruciating detail. It is clearly a sort of “Rorschach moment” onto which our individual and collective psyches have been projected.

Without wading further into many of those details, I will say that I am glad he spoke of his Buddhist heritage, and how we planned to find strength and guidance there. Obviously, I believe in the value of religious practice, so I am pleased to hear it affirmed in the public sphere. Moreover, I think it was good for the country to hear a positive example of a faith tradition other than our dominant Christian heritage.

I wish Mr. Woods, and his wife and family, the best as they work through this together.