It seems as if Tiger has fallen on the sword and is trying to keep his car crash story under wraps. However, like a shot from the bunker, it's going to be hard to get up and out:
WINDERMERE, Fla. (AP) - Tiger Woods says the car crash that sent him to the hospital is his fault and has become embarrassing to him and his family, but he plans to keep it a private matter.In a statement posted Sunday on his Web site about an hour before he was meet with troopers, Woods says his wife, Elin, acted "courageously" when she saw that he was hurt. He says any other assertion is "absolutely false."
Woods says he understands there is curiosity about the accident. He says the "malicious" rumors circulating about him and his family are irresponsible.
The world's No. 1 golfer says he has cuts and bruising and is "pretty sore."
The communications strategy seems to be mums the word. Tiger has all but said with his non-statement that something went wrong, it is his fault and he is apologetic for the media swarm. His camp is playing this as a non issue. However, the media will remain curious due to the nature of how this unfolded. Why did it take two days for him and his wife to talk to police? My guess is that they were getting their ducks in a row and planning how they wanted to handle the situation from a PR standpoint.
In my professional opinion, this is going to back fire on Tiger. Unless he is that resiliant and is able to keep the media swarm at bay, the true story will come out and his non-communications PR strategy will backfire.
Again, I'll be watching this story from a PR standpoint and will continue to post my thoughts as it plays out.
What are your thoughts on how the PR side of things have unfolded or not, in this case.