Tiger Woods will break his silence Friday morning, more than 80 days after his infamous car crash that spiraled into a sex scandal.
Woods will apologize for his behavior at a news conference in front of a small hand-picked crowd that will not be allowed to ask questions, according to his agent Mark Steinberg.
But one group that was invited to the 11 a.m. (ET) news conference says it will not attend.
The Golf Writers Association says it will boycott the event even though the group was supposed to have three members there, said Jim Gray, a correspondent for the Golf Channel. The group was upset about the ban on reporters’ questions, Gray said.
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But despite the controlled atmosphere, Gray said many have been waiting to hear from Woods directly.
“I think it’s good that he’s finally having something to say instead of releasing another statement on his Web site,” he said.
Former sportscaster Pat O’Brien criticized the way Woods seemed to be controlling the news conference.
“He might as well have done this on YouTube,” O’Brien said Thursday on CNN’s Larry King Live. “But I do think that he’s got to subject himself to some sort of question and answer at some point, otherwise people are just going to — it’s already a disaster.”
“If you listened to sports talk radio today, he’s just getting ripped to shreds,” O’Brien added.
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Steinberg said the golfer feels many of the issues he is dealing with are private, but he still owes his fans an explanation.
“While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between him and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him. He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends, and that’s what he’s going to discuss,” Steinberg said.
On November 27, Woods crashed his black Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree just a few days after the National Enquirer reported he was having an affair with New York nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel. Uchitel has denied having an affair with Woods.
A day after he paid his $164 traffic ticket, Woods’ seemingly perfect world began to crumble under what would eventually become an avalanche of allegations of infidelity threatening his 5-year marriage to Elin Nordegren.
The couple have two children, 2-year-old Sam and 1-year-old Charlie, 1.
Woods issued an apology for “transgressions” that had let his family down, as several women reported they had affairs with the golfer. One woman, Jaimee Grubbs, allegedly had Woods on a voicemail asking her to take his name off her cell phone because “my wife went through my phone and may be calling you.”
Several of Woods’ major sponsors, including AT&T and Accenture, ended their business relationships with Woods following the crash and the exposure of his marriage troubles.
But other companies, including Nike and Gatorade, continue to sponsor Woods, who has taken a break from professional golf. Procter & Gamble’s Gillette said it would stop airing commercials featuring the golfer for a while.
