Tiger Woods
"I have let my family down, and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect."
It's an apology, but not an admission. After golfer Tiger Woods' bizarre Nov. 27 car accident outside his home in the gated Isleworth community in Windermere, Fla., rumors swirled that the crash stemmed from marital discord between Woods and wife Elin Nordegren. Woods is alleged to have had affairs with club hostess Rachel Uchitel and cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs. While Uchitel denied the rumors (though she later hired high-powered attorney Gloria Allred for representation), Grubbs said Tiger had been seeing her on the side since 2007, even leaking a voicemail she alleges was left by Woods. In response, Woods issued a carefully worded apology that admits nothing, only his regret that he "let [his] family down." Indeed, most of the statement is devoted to excoriating the media for creating the firestorm that now surrounds him and his family. "Personal sins should not require press releases, and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions," Woods said. An admirable sentiment, but Woods' apology is likely only fuel for the fire.