By Paul M. Banks
Right now the anti-Tiger Woods bandwagon is so overcapacity, it’s busted both it’s axles. But there is at least one man out there bucking the trend, and he’s no stranger to polarization himself.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles Lakers star forward Ron Artest publicly stood up for Tiger Woods, saying he has made the same kind of mistakes as Tiger in a 500 word blog post. I talked with him about his post on Tuesday night, just before his Lakers won at Chicago 96-87.
“It wasn’t written directly to him, it was indirectly something to read, for people that wanted to read something different, hopefully inspirational. Because I think he’s been a perfect model citizen for a long time, and he took into consideration being a role model to my kids since there was there at a time when I wasn’t a role model for my sons,” Artest told the media.
Artest wrote in his blog:
“You made a mistake and you admitted your infidelity. I have made the same mistakes. Before I got married to my wife, I had a baby with another young lady, after I already had two by my girlfriend who is now my wife…My wife is a much better wife than I am a husband. We still argue and disagree after being together 16 years. and I still cope with the fact that there are so many women out there and I choose to stay loyal to my wife…I cannot sit here and say the thought to have many women has never crossed my mind. If I were Jesus I could…I have been disturbed by this because there are many people who are happy that this bad news has come out.
There are a lot of sports announcers and regular reporters who are not perfect in their own homes, yet they want to bring you down. You have done so much for people, the sport of golf, and your family and you gave your wife a life that people can’t even dream of…A 33-year-old man who has been a model citizen with so much at stake. This is your first publicly known issue since you started your career, compared to my 50 or more publicly known issues and mistakes. You have been the perfect role model for me and my sons for longer than anyone I have known.”
You can read the entire blog here
Tonight, Artest further articulated the purpose and the message of his blog: “I think it was important that I extended my feelings and showed support, because he indirectly supported my youth programs that I do because he’s somebody to look up to. So with all that, I thought important to reassure anyone who read that how I made way more mistakes than Tiger.”
Finally, be sure to notice the closing message in Artest’s letter to Tiger’s fans.
“Also, if you are a sports announcer or regular everyday reporter or blogger please step up like Tiger and tell your wife or husband if you have any skeletons in your closet. Especially if you were one of the few attacking TIGER!!”