Companies Who Dropped Tiger Woods

¶ … companies who dropped Tiger Woods take him back There is an unwritten expectation which humanity has for all persons in all situations wherein what is right and wrong is clearly perceived. This can be called 'normative ethics' and companies are bound to have ethics as much as individuals do. In most cases, human beings value ethics in all realms and like to see it in the media, sport and any field that is the foundation of human excellence.

That there ought to be some norms and code of conduct for the performers and participants based on morality is indisputable. (Sosa; Villanueva, 2007) the ethical considerations in sports and life in general are for ensuring the level playing field, which provides for all people to achieve according to their ability is the sin qua non.

In that context we have to see if Tiger Woods were not the victim of racism himself, and though he has proved the racists wrong, there is an institutional racism, which is not conductive to creating the level playing field. (Dale; Smith; Norlin; Chess, 2006) The argument in favor of Tiger Woods then is that he retains an unblemished record as far as golf is concerned. Woods had not cheated on the golf course.

There is the opinion that the public would perhaps have forgotten that and he may make a comeback. Many athletes who cheated with steroids are now back in the game. The public seems to forgive such misdemeanors.

However if he was not blame worthy so far as the game was concerned, will it be right to exclude him from the support of the sponsors, merely because a shortcoming was noticed in a private affair? The affairs alleged to have occurred have no bearing on the game and his style or efficiency. As a sport person then he is still untainted and the scandal is a part of his personal life.

Therefore, the question of the ethics of the sponsors being in the way of a sponsorship is not maintainable because the sponsor is for the game, and is far removed from the private lives of the individual. He was seen as the ideal African-American athlete who broke through the race and class dominated sport and projected an ideal for his fellows to follow. (PGA Sports Daily, 2009) Companies like Accenture Consulting have dropped Woods. It is a question if at&T will sponsor him in the 2012 U.S. Olympic effort.

The media is to blame more than the man himself. The question is whether the public has a right, more so the media to make wrongful propaganda into a celebrity's family life. Gossip and statistics seem to be the only tool of the media now. Since the media is protected by the freedom of the press and the right to malign anybody without bothering to verify the fallout, media publicity is not the criteria with which the person must be assessed.

(Ethics news line, 2009) There is a souring of relationship between sports journalists and professional athletes. In the case of Woods, journalists wanted Tiger to present his side of the story. Woods seems to have gone direct to the public and his admirers and shared information with the public via his site rather than journalists.

On the other hand not getting him the journalists have tried to make the most out of Woods' unfortunate escapades and which he admits is a singular private matter, the people will see through that the media hype is just a vicious game played for profit than ethics. (Cooke, 2010) Thus by the thumb rule of ethics nothing is unethical in allowing Woods to continue his game and sponsoring it. The opposite arguments relate to the way the public perceived him and if this would hinder further support.

Tiger Woods declared an indefinite break from golf after his "infidelity" had caused a public scandal. The scandal grew with many women claiming that they had affairs with the star. Before the scandal Tiger Woods had a sellable image of hundreds of millions of dollars in endorsements. (Ethics news line, 2009) the scandal made Tiger Woods lose the No. 1 ranking on the Businessweek.com Power 100. Thus the truth is that Woods is no longer America's most powerful athlete.

This has not limited his earning power, which is at $70 million, and most of it comes from endorsements. (Stonington, 2011) In the case of Tiger Woods, he seems to have been the personal role model for many people and as such considered him upright in his private life.

Then could he come back? (PGA Sports Daily, 2009) Will the sponsors take the risk? Sport marketing is a very tough proposition and while Tiger Woods is a hot favorite because of his golfing success and like wise Schumacher could be a star in any racing event, the endorsement by these sport personalities have been a great asset in sport marketing and in using their good will for selling and advertising brands.