On the 84th day, Tiger Woods finally spoke. He let the world know that he is sorry for what happened, that he will continue to get help for his addiction and that he will not be playing golf anytime soon. Tiger gave us what appeared to be a previously outlined statement from his PR team, finishing with a plea for people to "believe in me again." His first message was that of sorrow, but the 14-minute statement turned heated when Tiger spoke of rumors that his wife Elin had chased and/or hit him with a golf club:
"There is one issue I really want to discuss. Some people have speculated that Elin somehow hurt or attacked me on Thanksgiving night. It angers me that people would fabricate a story like that. Elin never hit me that night or any other night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage. Ever."Tiger's mom, Tim Finchem and fellow PGA Tour player and former Stanford teammate Notah Begay III were in attendance, but Elin was not. That didn't stop Tiger from speaking about her most of the time.
Tiger admitted that he is the only one to blame, admitting, "I was unfaithful." He also apologized to his family, friends and fans, and said he thought he played by different rules because of money and fame, but agrees that those "actions were wrong."
Tiger admitted "he has a long way to go," but he is taking steps in the right direction, and said that no matter what people want to know about his marriage, it is going to stay within the family. "Please leave my wife and kids alone," Tiger stated.
As for golf, Tiger said that he will return to golf one day, he just doesn't know when that day will be. He also didn't rule out returning in 2010, but no date was promised.
All in all it was the statement we expected -- preempted, selective and, in typical Tiger fashion, guarded. Nobody will ever know if Tiger has changed, but it sure sounds like he meant it.
Through Yahoo sports
