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Why Tiger's reported Ari Fleischer hire may not be a wise move

Mar 11, 2010, 10:00 AM EST

21 Comments

For all of you who wagered that Tiger Woods would make his return to golf at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 25, please collect your winnings. At least that’s according to today’s New York Post, which is reporting that Tiger is plotting a return to golf at that event. Here’s one thing you probably didn’t bet on, however: Advising Tiger on his every move over the past week or so has been Ari Fleischer, who you remember from such hits as the Mark McGwire steroid rehabilitation tour, and the Valerie Plame White House podium comedy jam. So if the Post report is true, Tiger is back in a big way; he’s not fooling around this time. Sorry, poor choice of words there.
But this may be one of the worst moves that Tiger has made so far.


Rather than a mandate on Tiger’s political leanings, a better explanation of the Fleischer hire is that Fleischer’s Sports Communications firm is a joint venture with IMG Sports & Entertainment, the firm that represents Woods. Still, is this a wise move? More on that after the necessary details:
MSNBC:

The Post reports “two sources in the golf community” say Ari Fleischer, now a sports PR consultant, has been meeting Woods in anticipation of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which starts March 25 at Bay Hill in Orlando.

“They were in his living room this week going over a strategy for how to handle Bay Hill in two weeks,” one source told The Post.

Meanwhile, Mark O’Meara, told the Golf Channel Wednesday that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Woods entered the Tavistock Cup in Orlando March 22-23 at Isleworth.

“It’s been a rough road the last three or four months in Tiger’s life and his family’s life,” O’Meara said on the network. “It’s a very difficult situation. Golf is what Tiger does, and possibly part of the healing process is to get back at it.”

So, getting back to golf? Good. Hiring Fleischer? Not so much. Fleischer’s efforts on behalf of his other high profile sports clients, such as McGwire, the Green Bay Packers, the BCS and Major League Baseball; and of course George W. Bush, have resulted in middling returns at best. Mainly he’s brought in only when things are so screwed up that no one can really fix them.
But this is totally fixable, and doesn’t require Fleischer at all. Tiger lives in a world where if your swing is off, you hire an expert to come in and repair it. If your Escalade is wrecked, you hire a mechanic to knock out the dent that’s shaped like a fire hydrant. But some problems only require a heaping dose of common sense: The only specialist that will help Tiger with his image right now is Tiger himself.
Tiger’s prescription for future success is simple, and doesn’t need any spin: Quit screwing around with cocktail waitresses and porn stars, buy flowers for Elin once a week and play golf like a man possessed. You didn’t kill anyone or start a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme, after all. Spin is your enemy, and always has been. You don’t need to put on a flight suit and tour an aircraft carrier. Just play golf and leave the Mission Accomplished banner at home.
***
[News.com.au]
Woods hires ex-Bush aide to prep for return in two weeks [New York Post]
Tiger reportedly plotting return at Palmer event [MSNBC]

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  1. DMV - Mar 11, 2010 at 12:20 PM

    Tiger employs so many other people to make decisions for him that he must be incapable of doing anything without asking for help first. Man up, Tiger, take control of your life and accept the responsibility.

  2. PING54 - Mar 11, 2010 at 1:19 PM

    Right on, DMV. Couldn’t have said it better! If Tiger would just be Tiger, except show a bit of humility, and just play golf, he would be fine. Such as when he fist bumped the dude last year at his turnament…perception goes a long way. And, YES, man up and and get out from behind the handlers!

  3. Deb - Mar 11, 2010 at 1:29 PM

    Who are you? It appears that everything you write about when it pertains to Africian-Americans and those of mixed hertiage, is quite negative. Where is your article on Big Ben or Charlie Sheen. One is alleged to be a two times rapist and the other a drug user, wife beater/threaten to kill husband. How do what TO and Tiger compare to these stories. BE FAIR

  4. Len - Mar 11, 2010 at 1:39 PM

    He should have hired Howard Stern instead…Wonder who Tiger is teaming up with in the Pro Am…Big Ben?

  5. Bill - Mar 11, 2010 at 2:30 PM

    Get over yourself… This is so far beyond a black/white/mixed thing that it isn’t funny but people still insist on crying about equal rights for public-eye screw-ups. Everyone (including columnists) are watching every move Tiger makes because he is most recognized athlete on the planet (more so that TO, Ben R and Vick put together)…and not because he’s black, but because he’s rediculously famous and talented and shocked everyone with his behaviour. I’m just anxious to see how this plays out and looking forward to seeing him get back to doing what he does (golf). I, for one, am tired of seeing this issue used as some sort of social/racial barometer instead of what it really is… A famous rich guy who got caught doing something he shouldn’t have been doing…that’s it…

  6. len - Mar 11, 2010 at 2:48 PM

    it was a shot at the republicans. it has nothing to do with color. it’s a political piece.

  7. jack - Mar 11, 2010 at 3:07 PM

    Who Really cares if and when Tiger comes back? Oh yea, the news media because they have nothing better to discuss.
    Look at the other talent on the Tour and leave this bum out of the SPOT LIGHT.

  8. dianne - Mar 11, 2010 at 3:26 PM

    Deb, who are you referring to as a two-time rapist? Surely not Ben Rothlisberger. I am a proud member of the Steeler Nation and never has Ben Rothlisberger been accused of rape? Just the facts, ms’am, just the facts. – STEELER NATION, STAND UP FOR YOUR QUARTERBACK !

  9. Jaime - Mar 11, 2010 at 7:42 PM

    I don’t understand why Tiger hired Fleischer I never cared for the dude. He and Bushes cronies messed the goverment I guess now he now thinks he can rip off Tiger.

  10. NCSailor - Mar 11, 2010 at 8:32 PM

    I have said it before and I will say it again. All TIGER has to do is win one and he will be forgiven win four and all will be forgotten. I love this country. It is totally designed for winners and above all else TIGER is a winner.

  11. JRM - Mar 11, 2010 at 11:56 PM

    Personally, it does not matter to me if Tiger ever plays golf again. He is a great golfer, maybe the best, but he is not God’s gift to the world of golf. If he does come back I hope he has a better attitude towards the game that has made his life pretty full.

  12. fmaster1 - Mar 12, 2010 at 3:48 AM

    Tiger has done what a lot of red-blooded American males only dream about… jet set around the world with a beautiful woman on his bed and a beautiful wife waiting at home. Beyond that being filthy rich and the best golfer to ever swing a club does not hurt him either. Oh yeah by the way I really feel for those men who have been faithful to their spouses over the years… don’t u for one night wish u were TW??

  13. Nissan - Mar 12, 2010 at 8:17 AM

    Dianne – Deb wrote that Ben is ALLEGED to be a two times rapist. That is true. To say that he has never been accused of rape is untrue. Charged with rape? I’m not sure. Convicted of rape? Never. But he has been accused.
    But look at O.J. He was charged with murder and found not guilty, yet people still believe he is guilty and even compare O.J.’s situation to Tiger’s…which kinda goes along with Deb’s whole point. Is there a bias? If a wide receiver does a dance in the end zone, he is “show boating”. If a NASCAR driver does donuts on the track after winning a race, he’s “blowing off steam”. If Tiger pumps his fist after making a putt, he’s over-reacting and being disrespectful to the game and to other players. If Phil does it, he’s “fired-up”.

  14. nissan - Mar 12, 2010 at 8:23 AM

    fmaster1 – What you have just said is what millions of guys are just scared to admit. Bottom line is that most of them can’t understand how a black guy from Cypress, CA ends up living the lifestyle they feel they are entitle to live because they believed all the “you’re an American white male and therefore superior to all others” crap that their parents and society fed them for years. Welcome to the New World Order, people. Ward and June Cleaver are no longer the status quo.

  15. Jed - Mar 12, 2010 at 10:25 AM

    fmaster1- People who make comments like you just did are pathetic. Not every man thinks this is a dream life- at least, not if they are decent and have morals. This may be your fantasy, but don’t speak for all men. Some of us respect our spouses and ourselves enough to stay faithful. I hope you aren’t married.
    Ref. to Tiger and his Team- they can spin all they want but I’m not buying it. Go play golf and don’t bother trying to tell us you are a decent guy.

  16. CalA - Mar 12, 2010 at 1:14 PM

    Ridiculous column. You may as well advise him to not hire a lawyer when someone sues. To reduce what Fleischer can do for him to “spin” dispays both ignorance and a media bias.

  17. bill - Mar 12, 2010 at 2:57 PM

    This is for EVERYONE !! Whats wrong with all of you. OK, TW messed around and maybe distroyed his marriage also. This is his PERSONNEL problems. how would like it if you did something you shouldn’t have done and the whole world beats the hell out of you for it. you would tell them to mind their own bussiness. The media rips him apart every chance they get…isn’t that bad enough? Let him get back to golf and his life….you people make me sick !!!

  18. Kimmer - Mar 12, 2010 at 4:08 PM

    Discussing racism is a hot topic. When was the last time you ever heard white people admit that racism exists? When was the last time you heard a black person say it doesn’t exist? With that type of social polarization, can people discuss racism without getting all lathered up? Nope. So new rule: Leave racism out of the discussion. Its not like we all actually believe it doesn’t exist. Its more like we just can’t talk about it without boiling over. Not too fun to leave such a hot topic like that out of the conversation, I know. But it might cause less stress and heart attacks to members of couch potato nation. Lets help put the fun back in dysfunction; Save the best stuff like racism for family hour, folks.

  19. Paul - Mar 12, 2010 at 4:16 PM

    Ari Fleischer?…..Ari Fleischer! Surely they could have found someone a lot more believable than this.
    Then again, if it is pure B.S. you are trying to shove down peoples throats, he has a proven track record!

  20. Rick Chandler - Mar 12, 2010 at 4:21 PM

    Sorry everyone, my hands are tied on this. Kimmer makes the rules.

  21. Lynne - Mar 12, 2010 at 6:20 PM

    You know, everyone screws up now and then. Some screw up worse than others. Some people flat ruin their lives…all by themselves. There is not a single one of us who hasn’t been there done that. But when all is said and done and you stand before your maker it will be what you did and what you learned from your mistakes that will be the deciding factor. We ALL go thru these learning curves, unfortunately Tiger has to go thru it in front of the entire world. It’s damned embarrassing for him. I hope we can allow this man to learn what he is suppose to learn from this and let him be. Just root for him when he plays golf and forget about judging him. I guarantee you nobody is judging Tiger harder than Tiger himself.

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