Commentary

Tiger drawing unfair amount of ire

Tiger Woods has been the subject of backlash following his sordid extramarital affairs, leaving other athletes’ more serious transgressions largely overlooked. | U.S. Navy/Wikimedia Commons

When most people get caught in a bout of marital infidelity, it doesn’t make the front page of The National Enquirer.

Tiger Woods, however, is not like most people.

The world’s most prominent athlete has spent the past several months doing damage control and attempting to rehabilitate his image following the nation’s biggest sex scandal since Monica Lewinsky was an intern at the White House.

Since allegations of his adultery first surfaced Nov. 25, Woods’ once-private life has been placed under a proverbial microscope, scrutinized by everyone with a microphone and a soapbox.

Woods held a press conference Friday to address his indiscretions. Every major sports media outlet in the country was watching.

It’s understandable that any news organization would want to dedicate so much attention to such a salacious story — sex and scandal always sell.

The level of vitriol espoused not only by members of the press but by fellow athletes and fans has certainly been palpable.

But at the end of the day, all Woods did was cheat on his wife. People who are getting worked up and self-righteous about his private life need to take a step back and realize that, in the grand scheme of things, it isn’t much of a news story.

The 24-hour coverage Woods has received is amazing, especially when examined in proportion to the attention the media gives to stories that have actual substance.

On March 14, NFL wide receiver Donté Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian with his Bentley coupe while driving under the influence of alcohol.

Police administered a sobriety test and determined that Stallworth’s blood alcohol content was well over the legal limit, and he was charged with DUI manslaughter.

After pleading guilty, Stallworth received a 30-day jail sentence and was ordered to serve 1,000 hours of community service.

Now, if you thought that someone being sentenced to serve a mere 30 days in jail for manslaughter was rich, that isn’t even the best part: Stallworth was released after serving 24 days.

To put this into perspective, a DUI manslaughter charge in the state of Florida carries a maximum punishment of $10,000 in fines and 15 years in prison.

Stallworth served for three-and-a-half weeks.

Where is the constant media coverage of this injustice? Why is nobody gnashing their teeth over this crime?

If it had been Donté Stallworthington who was driving drunk behind the wheel of a Toyota hatchback that struck and killed someone, I guarantee he would have been sentenced to more than a month behind bars.

For some reason, however, no one in the media seems to care.

To say the lack of coverage this event received is an injustice doesn’t paint an accurate enough picture.

The media’s primary job — its responsibility — is to provide watchdog journalism to the people, not tabloid fodder. Woods’ affair making more headlines than Stallworth’s manslaughter is inexcusable.

Since a majority of the press obviously wants to slum around in the journalistic gutter, it would seem consumers have no choice but to give in and accept the situation.

But look at the bright side: the non-stop coverage of Reggie Bush’s and Kim Kardashian’s break up will be fantastic.

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