This is an article from SI I found about Tiger’s apology.

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1966679,00.html?eref=sihp

So Tiger finally came out and gave a 13-minute apology after a long time of silence. Basically all I’m going to talk about is 1. Was he sincere? 2. What this means for his brand.

When any celebrity gives an apology there are always certain patterns I see. A spouse or family member there to show support, a sorrowful look, and a robotic list of “I’m sorry… I’ve disappointed…I need to get better…It’s hard… Please keep my family out of this…” Therefore it’s hard to determine if an apology is sincere or not. On the one hand it shows Tiger taking full responsibility, understanding, and apologizing for his actions. But on the other, it’s exactly what anyone in that situation would do, sorry or not. So it’s hard to tell. Therefore, I think this, like any apology, will have mixed reactions. His loyal fans will say it was sincere and want to move on, but his critics will talk about the robotic-ness of it all and how he’s become a terrible role model. Whether or not he’s truly sorry, we won’t know until he’s back.

That brings us to the question of what will happen to his brand? It will definitely be different. I can see Tiger reaching out to the fans more, being involved in more charitable events, and even representing different ads. On the one hand, companies like Nike and Gillette make a lot of money by sponsoring Tiger. So when he comes back, they might continue that sponsorship. But if the fans don’t believe in Tiger anymore, the sponsors aren’t going to want to support him either. Sponsoring someone who commits adultery doesn’t exactly make the company image look good either. That’s why I think Tiger will really have to craft his image into something new if he wants to come back and be accepted. People may say he’s the greatest golfer ever, leave his personal life out of it and let him move forward. But that’s not how it works. We’re a society obsessed with gossip, we have access to abundant information in the media 24/7, and sports fans love personal. That’s why we follow stars. That’s why stars are so important in sports. We love to hear the back-story of famous athletes who come from hard times, overcome adversity, and succeed. We love athletes who give us something different. We always want to know more than just what we see on the field. Sure, we love to see truly great players, but personal is such a big part of sports, too. People don’t want to be behind someone who isn’t sorry for their “transgressions.” That’s why whatever Tiger does now is so critical to his return and critical to his overall brand.