As startling as the revelations about Tiger Wood’s “transgressions” were, so is the announcement that he was voted the Athlete of the Decade. I’ve heard every argument pro and con relating to this new award, but then the news about one of his doctors, Anthony Galea, a doctor at the Institute of Sports Medicine & Wellness Centre in Toronto, being under criminal investigation and facing three charges in Canada, after police in the United States discovered drugs in his medical bag which can be considered performance-enhancing. The fact that this information made the news wire before the voting was complete, and yet the Associated Press still cast a majority 56 votes out of 142, to bestow this award on Tiger Woods.
The Associated Press justifies their choice based on Tiger winning 64 global tournaments, which included 12 majors. The argument is a valid one. His 56 PGA Tour victories in one decade, were more than anyone, except four of golf's greatest players, ever won in their careers. My argument is…how many of them were won using performance enhancing drugs? His record far exceeds what mortal men have been able to accomplish on the golf course, and just how was he able to play at a super human level when he had a chronic eye disorder…a roving eye for the ladies. The amount of time and energy he applied to his extracurricular activities and still play golf at the highest level, would have necessitated super human vitamins. The Associated Press discounting the rumors about performance-enhancing drugs puts them in the same category as the enablers who looked the other way, when the eye of the Tiger was eyeing the gallery for the next prey, instead of keeping his eye on the ball.
The one good lesson that will come of all of this, is that maybe sponsors won’t be so quick to anoint athletes, laying riches at their feet, until they find out what moral fiber they’re made of. It remains to be seen whether or not Tiger's exceptional play was the result of performance-enhancing drugs, but it stands to reason...any many who would cheat on his wife, the mother of his children, would probably cheat on the golf course.
The Associated Press justifies their choice based on Tiger winning 64 global tournaments, which included 12 majors. The argument is a valid one. His 56 PGA Tour victories in one decade, were more than anyone, except four of golf's greatest players, ever won in their careers. My argument is…how many of them were won using performance enhancing drugs? His record far exceeds what mortal men have been able to accomplish on the golf course, and just how was he able to play at a super human level when he had a chronic eye disorder…a roving eye for the ladies. The amount of time and energy he applied to his extracurricular activities and still play golf at the highest level, would have necessitated super human vitamins. The Associated Press discounting the rumors about performance-enhancing drugs puts them in the same category as the enablers who looked the other way, when the eye of the Tiger was eyeing the gallery for the next prey, instead of keeping his eye on the ball.
The one good lesson that will come of all of this, is that maybe sponsors won’t be so quick to anoint athletes, laying riches at their feet, until they find out what moral fiber they’re made of. It remains to be seen whether or not Tiger's exceptional play was the result of performance-enhancing drugs, but it stands to reason...any many who would cheat on his wife, the mother of his children, would probably cheat on the golf course.
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