Why didn’t PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem discipline Tiger Woods for conduct unbecoming?
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended 2-time Super Bowl Champion Ben Roethlisberger for off-field incidents involving 2 women who accused him of raping them. In both cases, no criminal charges were brought, however. The suspension lasts 6 games and will cost Big Ben over $2 million. The suspension was applauded by the Rooney family, the owners of the Steelers who even considered trading their franchise QB.
Goodell’s swift suspension of Big Ben begs the question: why didn’t the PGA Tour Commissioner discipline, or even criticize, Tiger Woods for his sexual affairs with various women — perhaps as many as 12 women, if not more — including apparently ex-porn star Joslyn James, who says she had liaisons with Tiger Woods at the 2009 BMW Championship outside of Chicago. By all appearances, some of Tiger Woods’s sexual trysts occurred on site during PGA and other golf tour events. Remember the Rachel Uchitel affair was broken after National Enquirer found out Tiger’s buddy was arranging to fly her out to an Australia golf tournament — in what appears to have been a booty call.
Having ex-porn stars and Vegas VIP lounge cocktail waitresses hanging around PGA Tour events can’t be good for the family image that it hopes to project. We have nothing against ex-porn stars, but we’re just saying.
Finchem didn’t even give Woods a slap on the wrist, instead he gave him a pat on the back for apologizing: “He clearly has taken the first, very visible step in the road to that return. So all of that pleases us a great deal.”
Back in Dec. 2009, Hank Gola of the NY Daily News called for Finchem to suspend Woods. That would have been a bold move, one that no doubt would have hurt the PGA Tour in the pocketbook.
But here’s what The Golf Blog wants Tim Finchem to answer: Why didn’t you at least criticize (or possibly fine) Tiger Woods for tarnishing the family friendly image of the PGA Tour by associating with and apparently bringing in, at least on one occasion, ex-porn stars and VIP Las Vegas lounge cocktail waitresses at PGA events? (A suspension would have hurt TV ratings for the PGA Tour, so we know, Mr. Finchem, you were not brave enough to do that. We’ll cut you some slack there. A suspension might have been financially detrimental to the PGA Tour, but what about some other form of discipline?)
Why did it take Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne to be the 1st one from the golfing establishment (other than Tom Watson–click here for Watson’s chastisement of Tiger) to criticize Tiger Woods publicly for what Woods did? Click here to watch the video of Payne scolding Tiger like a school boy for bringing scandal to the PGA.
We thinks it’s time for someone to scold Tim Finchem for failing to protect the integrity and family-friendly image of the PGA Tour. The image of the PGA Tour is worse after the Tiger Woods sex scandal, not better. And, at the Masters, Tiger failed to clean up his on-course behavior as he promised he would. Mr. Finchem, what say you?
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