Lie of the Tiger: Tiger Woods Announces "Indefinite Break" From Golf After Infidelity (December 11, 2009)

Three years ago today, golf legend Tiger Woods released his second public statement in the wake of allegations of adultery.  The statement can be found here.  Woods offers an apology and asks for forgiveness before announces his hiatus from the sport:  "After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person."  Of course, this relatively brief apologia was just the second of numerous attempts by Woods to address the shocking scandal surrounding his personal life.  Rather than offering my usual dissection of the golfer's efforts (and because I'm smack in the middle of final exams and grading) I will use the occasion as an opportunity to plug a great new anthology about the image repair efforts of famous athletes.  Repairing the Athlete's Image:  Studies in Sports Image Restoration, edited by Joseph R. Blaney, Lance R. Lippert, and J. Scott Smith, and published by Lexington Books, offers more than 20 different case studies of the image repair efforts of top athletes from all of the major sports, including William Benoit's treatment of the Tiger Woods case, as well as other scholars' take on Mark McGwire, Serena Williams, Michael Vick, Bobby Knight, Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant, and many others.  I even chip in my own analysis of Marion Jones's apologia interview with Oprah Winfrey.  Check it out at Amazon.com here.