This blog entry was posted on the Stanzel Communications Facebook page this morning, prior to the press conference by Tiger Woods after his practice round at Augusta.

In just a few minutes, Tiger Woods willl finally stand before an assembled group of reporters to take questions about the mess he’s created in his life. While there is much advice that Tiger should heed, I’d like to focus on one single point that might help him recover some remnants of his once untarnished image.

In his recent interviews with ESPN and the Golf Channel, Tiger maintained his posture that he was not going to discuss what happened on November 27 when he crashed his Escalade in the middle of the night. In response to Tom Rinaldi’s question, he said “Well, it’s all in the police report. Beyond that, everything’s between Elin and myself and that’s private.” Presumably, there may be legal reasons for Tiger to decline to discuss the specific events of that day. Additionally, Tiger wouldn’t indicate what problem had led him to enter treatment. “That’s a private matter as well,” he said.

Most Americans are forgiving people. While one can easily make a case that his gargantuan departures from acceptable behavior could never be fully pardoned, giving context to his “private matter” response would help.

How? Right now, Tiger doesn’t seem very human. His stiff press conference and tightly controlled five minute interviews didn’t give former fans much of a glimpse of who he was and if he was truly remorseful for his actions.

If Tiger was my client (he’s not), I’d recommend he explain why he wants to keep most of these issues private. Fully answering every single question from a Sports Illustrated reporter (let alone someone from TMZ) would be painful for him. But, wouldn’t it also be terribly hurtful to his wife (as of the time of this post), Elin? She’s apparently going to be in Sweden this week with her family. I imagine she won’t be able to escape news coverage and commentary about Tiger’s transgressions while she’s in her home country. So, Tiger could help Elin, and in the process serve his redemption cause, if he simply said:

“Here’s why I’m not going to fully answer these questions. It’s obvious that I’ve done some very awful things. I’ve hurt my wife terribly. That’s damage that can never be fully repaired and is something I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. Given that I’ve been in the public spotlight for many years, I understand why people have these questions. However, the more the details of my wrongdoing are laid bare for the world to see, the more pain Elin has to endure as the details are repeated. I’ve already caused far too much suffering for her, so I’m going to do every thing in my power to make things better for Elin in the weeks, months and years ahead.”

Then, just maybe, people would see him as more human. Will everyone cheer for him again? Certainly not. But, Americans love the story of a comeback and would understand his desire for some privacy off the greens of Augusta… if only he would tell them why that privacy is important.

What do you think?