"Congratulations, Tiger. You've done it. You've achieved the media equivalent of hitting the fire hydrant."
/USA Today's Christine Brennan notes that a certain five-year anniversary is coming up and says for those "who have covered Tiger Woods for nearly two decades, Jenkins' piece rings very true."
And she's mystified why Woods would shine a light on something not getting much attention.
Woods' tirade is not the length of a tweet, or even a paragraph. Rather, it's a nearly 600-word pout, self-absorbed and clueless, starting out with the hope that none of us has read the fake Q-and-A – but ensuring that all of us now will.
Congratulations, Tiger. You've done it. You've achieved the media equivalent of hitting the fire hydrant. I cannot wait to see what you're planning for the 10th anniversary in November 2019.
The four-page spread that Tiger just had to tell us all about appears three pages from the very back of the golf magazine's December issue, which is just about as buried as a sports article can ever be. It was certain to go unread by 99 percent of the population – including me. I get Golf Digest and I hadn't noticed the headline, nor had I cracked open that issue, until Tiger told me to.
Bob Harig follows up with a more detailed piece on the saga and features this response from Tiger spokesman Glenn Greenspan on going public in such a big way with their views about the story.
"We understood that we would possibly draw more attention to the piece, but there are times you have to take a stand," said Glenn Greenspan, vice president of communications for Woods' ETW Corporation. "Malicious attacks and the abandonment of any journalistic standards sometimes forces that. People also forget that the magazines are already in circulation. What about them? Those won't be ignored."
I really don't know what he's talking about, but I'm sure like the decision to remind everyone to read the story, it worked in his mind.
James Corrigan in the Telegraph:
I'm sure they do encourage him, but it is not because of any voluntary behaviour on Woods's behalf. In the same magazine, Johnny Manziel, the Cleveland quarter-back, tells a story of when he was nine and Woods cruelly turned him down for an autograph. In a deserted car-park at the Dubai Desert Classic a few years ago, I watched Woods wave off a few children waiting with their pens and caps when there was nobody else, apart from myself and, of course, Steinberg, within 50 yards. When it comes to crowd interaction he is right up there with Howard Hughes.
Fair enough, that is his right. But then, it is Jenkins's right to send him up as a fallen icon. Woods's response was pathetic, the self-pitying cries of an arrogant and yes, ignorant billionaire. You couldn't have made it up, even if you tried.
Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing wonders if this is the beginning of athletes taking to The Players Tribune to respond to criticism.
What’s unique in this regard is Woods coming to Jeter’s website to issue a public response. Woods could have easily used his own website or Twitter page or numerous other platforms to accomplish his goal here, but he chose to go to The Players’ Tribune. The site promises that the Woods column is only the beginning of hearing from more players fighting back against the media, saying “This is the first in a series of columns we’re calling ‘Straight Up.’ It’s a place where athletes can offer their side on something that has been written or said about them.”
The Woods-Jenkins feud is going to reverberate throughout the sport as it pits the Tiger Woods of golf media versus… well, the Tiger Woods of golf. But there may be even bigger implications if The Players’ Tribune is going to be a consistent source for athletes to sound off against members of the press and fight fire with fire in the future.
Rick Reilly, whose new book is titled Tiger Meet My Sister: And Other Things I Probably Shouldn't Have Said, chimed in too. Succinctly.
Hey @TigerWoods, please hate my book next!
— Rick Reilly (@ReillyRick) November 18, 2014
**Deadspin's Tom Ley says Dan Jenkins "shouldn't have made up quotes from an obviously fake Tiger Woods. He should have let the real Tiger speak for himself. Like so."
What follows is not for the faint of heart.
As for The Players Tribune website, the decision to publish there may have been influenced by Excel Sports Management's role in the founding of the site. Excel, is of course, Tiger's agency. Excel's CMO from a press release announcing one of the site's partnerships.
"Partners + Napier NYC came to us in the very beginning. They immediately crystallized our mission, giving us a line and creative idea that is guiding all of our brand activity," said Jaymee Messler, CMO of Excel Sports Management and one of the founding partners of The Players' Tribune. "We could not be more fortunate to have them on our team as we continue to grow and develop."