I’m far from being one to judge what anyone does with their personal life but I had to get something off of my chest with the latest TMZ-styled “sports” story involving Tiger Woods’ single-car accident over the Thanksgiving holiday. Regardless of whether the rumored affair “reported” by the National Enquirer has any validity, I have one thing to say to professional athletes: Don’t get married until you’re at least 40 years old. Has there been a precedent for a GM or an agent to put this stipulation in a player’s contract? I mean, 40, is relatively young for today’s athlete.
Let me get to my point before the message I’m trying to deliver is misconstrued.
We hear story after story after story about the lifestyles that professional athletes and rock stars alike lead behind the scenes. While I’m sure there are many falsehoods to what you may read in the New York Post or on TMZ.com, the overriding theme seems to be that the majority of professional athletes are not faithful to their significant others. From stories about Alex Rodriguez to Jason Kidd to Kobe Bryant, true or not, the common denominator remains the same: temptation.
Please don’t take what I’m saying as a blast against the sanctity of marriage. Marriage is a great thing. It’s simply not a great thing for today’s athlete in his 20’s or 30’s. The average American male is happy if a member of the opposite sex so much as strikes up a conversation with him at the local watering hole on a Friday night. For most of us, such a flirtation would simply lead to some bragging to our buddies the next day. But for even a middle-of-the-pack American athlete, these encounters occur on not just a regular basis, but at the grocery store, while walking down the street, while waiting for a taxi or taking the dog for a walk. Take the temptation the average American male has staring him in the face and multiply it by 1,000. That is the life of the American athlete, single or involved in a relationship.
Another thing, let’s keep in mind the era in which we live. Mickey Mantle was a notorious boozer and womanizer. He would have been on TMZ.com every day during his playing days, but he grew up in an era when a professional athlete could get away with things. I mean, Dr. J had a kid in the 70’s that no one found out about until the 1990’s…we would have known that girl’s middle name, who her mother was and what her favorite color was 15 minutes after she was born in 2009. Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez simply can’t keep anything in their personal lives “private”. While we can argue until we’re blue in the face about whether the media has crossed a line in going into players’ personal lives, privacy will never exist for the professional athlete again.
While the whole Tiger Woods story hasn’t come out yet, one thing seems to hold pretty true. There are very few A.C. Greens among modern athletes.
So, if you aren’t ready to be a one-woman guy, please don’t put on a facade and try be. You WILL get caught. While Wilt Chamberlain (a hero too many) embraced the lifestyle and didn’t try to hide anything, imagine if he had tried to. Imagine if Wilt was married with kids today and tried to hide his many nights on the town, how well would that have worked out? While there are a few athletes who can handle the temptations, most seemingly can’t. Wait until your playing days are over to tie the knot.
Just my opinion, but I’m sticking to it.
-Tim
Filed under: Golf, Hodgepodge | Tagged: Alex Rodriguez, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods
What if they want to reproduce to ensure that their name lives on? Do you recommend knocking up some chick with good genes?
Do you think that John Kruk got a lot of tail?
AC Green!!!! Incredible. He was a flat out virgin.
Tiger should have a mistress who is sexier than his wife. The girl he had the alleged affair with is average at best. She probably puts out with a vigor.
I heard Tiger’s mistress was on VH1’s Tool Academy (extremely trashy reality program), which means that she is skanky at best.
Derek Jeter just won SI’s man of the year…perhaps b/c he never had a wife to cheat on.
Great point about Jeter Pat…you know he’ll have a kid when he’s like 42 or 43 too. At that point he’ll probably be happily married. Reproducing so your name lives on is a non-issue for most guys. Guys can have kids (often) well into their 60′s. We’re not talking about a female’s biological clock here.
What’s the point of being married in your prime years if you enjoy the type of lifestyle most professional athletes do?
You’re simply asking for trouble.
Just look at what’s happening to Tiger, literally as we speak…all because he got married.
Girl after girl is coming out with story after story and one even has him on tape (on her phone) talking about their affair.
The squeaky clean Tiger Woods image is over when, if he had just waited until after his prime playing years were over to get married, he would have been fine.
wow…I never would have thought that Tiger was a baller. I thought he was Mr. Clean. The fact that multiple girls are coming out of the woodwork to say they have slept with him is stunning. I have always said that ballers should only have affairs with strippers and professional escorts. Who would people believe…Tiger Woods or some stripper looking for her five minutes of fame? You never cheat with a real person!!!! That is Rule #1. Tiger is going to lose tens of millions on endorsement deals. Please read my Tony Romo article from July, I told him to quite dating and just go lay pipe. There is plenty of time for Swiss Family Robinson when you fade from the public eye. Troy Aikman is another stud who got married after he retired.
Never thought Tiger was a baller? What do you think most 20-30 something year old billionaires do w/their time?
I’m willing to bet 95% of American Males with that type of profile are unable to avoid temptation in their prime years.
I can’t wait to hear Jim Nantz whispering these stories of betrayal next time Tiger is on the green.
le Tigre’s gallery at Augusta is going to be full of strippers.
In other news, John Daly has just been voted as Sportsman of the Year by Golf Magazine. I heard Gillette will also be using a combination of him, Charles Barkely and Bill Clinton in their new add campaign.
How can such a professional like Tiger come across as so amateur when it comes to…
A. All Tiger’s major sponsors are sticking by him, because they know that people will soon forget about this and even the people who still hate him will tune in to root against him.
B. My opinion of Tiger is unchanged by these recent events. I was always pretty indifferent towards him and the fact that he cheats on his wife really doesn’t sway me one way or another. I thought Bill Clinton was a very good president, so as long as his Oval Office BJers didn’t affect his presidential duties I didn’t really care.
C. Do you think John Stockton was a womanizer? He seemed like a stand up guy, but I’m not sure why he continued to wear the short shorts late in his career when longer shorts were available.
Great article. I agree 100%… The only challenge, as one commenter pointed out, is the issue of kids. Most men want kids at some point before the age of 40.
Additionally, even if you are not ready to be monogamous and are dating several women, most men do like the companionship of at least one special woman (the one that you take out in public and attend evens and family functions with). During the course of spending time with the one special woman… she almost always will force the marriage issue (even if she knows that you aren’t ready). As a result, you are left with one of two choices: either end the relationship and find a new woman (starting the clock over again); or get married before you are ready.
It’s not a simple issue.