Tiger Woods' Full Apology Speech | New York Post Sports — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:12Good morning
2. 0:14and thank you for joining me.
3. 0:17Many of you in this room are my friends.
4. 0:22Many in this room know me.
5. 0:26Many of you have cheered for me.
6. 0:30or you worked with me or you supported
7. 0:33me.
8. 0:35Now,
9. 0:36every one of you has good reason to be
10. 0:39critical of me.
11. 0:42I want to say to each of you simply and
12. 0:45directly,
13. 0:50I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible
14. 0:54and selfish behavior I engaged in.
15. 0:59I know people want to find out
16. 1:02how I could be so selfish and so
17. 1:04foolish.
18. 1:06People want to know how I could have
19. 1:09done these things to my wife Elen
20. 1:13and to my children.
21. 1:17And while I have always tried to be a
22. 1:20private person, there are some things I
23. 1:23want to say.
24. 1:25Elen and I have started the process of
25. 1:28discussing the damage caused by my
26. 1:31behavior.
27. 1:33As Elen pointed out to me, my real
28. 1:36apology to her will not come in the form
29. 1:39of words.
30. 1:41It will come from my behavior over time.
31. 1:45We have a lot to discuss and however
32. 1:48what we say to each other will remain
33. 1:52between the two of us.
34. 1:55I am also aware of the pain my behavior
35. 1:59has caused to those of you in this room.
36. 2:03I have let you down
37. 2:06and I have let down my fans.
38. 2:09For many of you,
39. 2:12especially my friends,
40. 2:16my behavior has been a personal
41. 2:17disappointment
42. 2:20to those of you who work for me.
43. 2:24I have let you down personally
44. 2:27and professionally.
45. 2:30My behavior has caused considerable
46. 2:32worry to my business partners,
47. 2:36to everyone involved in my foundation,
48. 2:40including my staff, board of directors,
49. 2:43sponsors, and most importantly, the
50. 2:46young students we reach.
51. 2:49Our work is more important than ever. 13
52. 2:53years ago, my dad and I envisioned
53. 2:55helping young people achieve their
54. 2:57dreams through education.
55. 3:00This work remains unchanged and will
56. 3:03continue to grow. From the learning
57. 3:05center students in Southern California
58. 3:07to the Earlwood Scholars in Washington
59. 3:09DC,
60. 3:10millions of kids have changed their
61. 3:12lives and I am dedicated to making sure
62. 3:16that continues.
63. 3:19But still,
64. 3:21I know I have bitterly disappointed
65. 3:25all of you.
66. 3:28I have made you question who I am and
67. 3:31how I could have done the things I did.
68. 3:36I am embarrassed that I have put you in
69. 3:38this position.
70. 3:41for all that I have done.
71. 3:46I am so sorry.
72. 3:53I have a lot to atone for,
73. 3:57but there's one issue I really want to
74. 4:00discuss.
75. 4:02Some people have speculated that Elen
76. 4:04somehow hurt or attacked me on
77. 4:06Thanksgiving night.
78. 4:08It angers me that people would fabricate
79. 4:10a story like that. Elen never hit me
80. 4:14that night or any other night. There has
81. 4:17never been an episode of domestic
82. 4:19violence in our marriage ever.
83. 4:23Elen has shown enormous grace
84. 4:27and poise throughout this ordeal.
85. 4:34Elen deserves praise,
86. 4:37not blame.
87. 4:41The issue involved here was my repeated
88. 4:45irresponsible behavior. I was
89. 4:47unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated.
90. 4:52What I did is not acceptable.
91. 4:55And I am the only person to blame.
92. 4:59I stopped living by the core values that
93. 5:03I was taught to believe in.
94. 5:05I knew my actions were wrong, but I
95. 5:08convinced myself that normal rules
96. 5:10didn't apply.
97. 5:12I never thought about who I was hurting.
98. 5:16Instead,
99. 5:18I thought only about myself.
100. 5:22I ran straight through the boundaries
101. 5:24that a married couple should live by. I
102. 5:26thought I could get away with whatever I
103. 5:29wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard
104. 5:32my entire life and deserved to enjoy all
105. 5:36the temptations around me. I felt I was
106. 5:39entitled.
107. 5:41Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have
108. 5:44far. I didn't have to go far to find
109. 5:47them.
110. 5:49I was wrong. I was foolish. I don't get
111. 5:53to play by different rules. The same
112. 5:55boundaries that apply to everyone
113. 5:58apply to me.
114. 6:00I brought this shame on myself. I hurt
115. 6:04my wife, my kids,
116. 6:07my mother,
117. 6:09my wife's family,
118. 6:12my friends, my foundation, and kids all
119. 6:16around the world who admired me.
120. 6:20I've had a lot of time to think about
121. 6:21what I've done.
122. 6:24My failures
123. 6:26had me have made me look at myself in a
124. 6:30way I never wanted to before.
125. 6:35It's now up to me to make amends. And
126. 6:37that starts by never repeating the
127. 6:39mistakes I've made. It's up to me to
128. 6:42start living a life of integrity.
129. 6:46I once heard and I believe it's true.
130. 6:51It's not what you achieve in life that
131. 6:52matters.
132. 6:54It's what you overcome.
133. 6:57Achievements on the golf course are only
134. 7:00part of setting an example. Character
135. 7:04and decency
136. 7:06are what really count.
137. 7:09Parents used to point to me as a role
138. 7:12model for their kids.
139. 7:14I owe all those families a special
140. 7:17apology.
141. 7:19I want to say to them that I am truly
142. 7:23sorry.
143. 7:27It's hard to admit
144. 7:30that I need help,
145. 7:32but I do.
146. 7:34For 45 days, from the end of December to
147. 7:38early February, I was in inpatient
148. 7:41therapy receiving guidance for the
149. 7:44issues
150. 7:45I'm facing.
151. 7:48I have a long way to go, but I've taken
152. 7:51my first steps in the right direction.
153. 7:55As I proceed,
154. 7:57I understand people have questions. I
155. 8:01understand the press wants me to wants
156. 8:04to ask me for the details of the times I
157. 8:06was unfaithful. I understand people want
158. 8:10to know whether Elen and I will remain
159. 8:12together.
160. 8:14Please know that as far as I'm
161. 8:16concerned,
162. 8:19every one of these questions and answers
163. 8:23is a matter between Elen and me.
164. 8:27These are issues between a husband and a
165. 8:31wife.
166. 8:34Some people have made up things that
167. 8:35never happened. They said, "I use
168. 8:37performance-enhancing drugs." This is
169. 8:40completely and utterly false.
170. 8:44Some have written things about my
171. 8:45family. Despite the damage I have done,
172. 8:49I still believe it is right to shield my
173. 8:52family from the public spotlight. They
174. 8:55did not do these things. I did.
175. 9:00I have always tried to maintain a
176. 9:01private space for my wife and children.
177. 9:04They have been kept separate from my
178. 9:05sponsors, my my commercial endorsements.
179. 9:09When my children were born,
180. 9:11we only released photographs so they so
181. 9:15that the paparazzi could not chase them.
182. 9:18However,
183. 9:20my behavior doesn't make it right for
184. 9:23the media to follow my 2 and 1/2year-old
185. 9:25daughter to school and report the
186. 9:28school's location. They staked out my
187. 9:30wife and they pursued my mom. Whatever
188. 9:34my wrongdoings,
189. 9:36for the sake of my family,
190. 9:40please leave my wife and kids alone.
191. 9:47I recognize I have brought this on
192. 9:51myself
193. 9:53and I know above all I am the one who
194. 9:58needs to change.
195. 10:00I owe to my family to become a better
196. 10:02person. I owe to those closest to me to
197. 10:05become a better man.
198. 10:08That's where my focus will be.
199. 10:10I have a lot of work to do and I intend
200. 10:13to dedicate myself to doing it.
201. 10:17Part of following this path for me is
202. 10:20Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a
203. 10:23young age.
204. 10:25People probably don't realize it, but I
205. 10:28was raised a Buddhist and I actively
206. 10:30practiced my faith from childhood until
207. 10:33I drifted away from it in recent years.
208. 10:37Buddhism teaches that a craving for
209. 10:40things outside ourselves causes an
210. 10:43unhappy and pointless search for
211. 10:46security.
212. 10:48It teaches me to stop following every
213. 10:52impulse and to and to learn restraint.
214. 10:57Obviously,
215. 10:59I lost track of what I was taught.
216. 11:02[Applause]
217. 11:05As I move forward,
218. 11:08I will continue to receive help
219. 11:11because I've learned that's how people
220. 11:13really do change.
221. 11:16Starting tomorrow,
222. 11:18I will leave for more treatment and more
223. 11:21therapy.
224. 11:22I would like to thank my friends at
225. 11:24Accenture and the players in the field
226. 11:27this week for understanding why I'm
227. 11:29making this these remarks today.
228. 11:34In therapy, I've learned the importance
229. 11:37of looking at my spiritual life and
230. 11:40keeping in balance with my professional
231. 11:43life.
232. 11:44I need to regain my balance and be
233. 11:48centered so I can save the things that
234. 11:50are most important to me, my marriage
235. 11:54and my children.
236. 11:57That also means relying on others for
237. 11:58help. I've learned to seek support from
238. 12:01my peers in therapy and I hope someday
239. 12:05to return that support to others who are
240. 12:09seeking help.
241. 12:11I do plan to return to golf one day. I
242. 12:15just don't know when that day will be. I
243. 12:18don't rule out that it will be this
244. 12:21year. When I do return,
245. 12:24I need to make my behavior
246. 12:27more respectful of the game.
247. 12:31In recent weeks, I have received many
248. 12:33thousands of emails, letters, and phone
249. 12:36calls from people expressing good
250. 12:38wishes. To everyone who has reached out
251. 12:40to me and my family, thank you.
252. 12:45Your encouragement means the world to
253. 12:48Elen and me.
254. 12:51I want to thank the PGA Tour,
255. 12:54Commissioner Finchum,
256. 12:57and the players
257. 13:01for their patience and understanding
258. 13:04while I work on my private life.
259. 13:07I look forward to seeing my fellow
260. 13:09players on the course.
261. 13:12Finally,
262. 13:14there are many people in this room and
263. 13:17there are many people at home
264. 13:19who believed in me.
265. 13:23Today,
266. 13:25I want to ask for your help.
267. 13:29I ask you to find room in your heart
268. 13:35to one day
269. 13:38believe in me again.
270. 13:42Thank you.
271. 14:28[Applause]