On Feb. 19, Tiger Woods broke his three-month silence with a long-awaited 14-minute televised apology. I watched, cringing, as Woods read woodenly from a prepared statement, saying things like he thought since he had “worked so hard” he was “entitled” to “enjoy the temptations” all around him that fame and fortune had brought. He mentioned thinking he didn’t have to live within normal marital boundaries, apparently including being faithful. I don’t know who wrote this speech, but those things made him sound really arrogant.

I also felt for his mother, who sat there looking at the ground like she’d rather be anywhere else but in that room. When Woods stated that he wanted the paparazzi to leave his family and children alone, I wanted to laugh. He brought this on himself and his family. The whole thing seemed impeccably scripted, carefully worded (though I would have left out the “entitlement” part) and extremely insincere.

There seems to be a gender divide in reactions to the apology. Most women are not happy with it, and most men seem to be fine with it. According to CBS News, some college-aged female golfers were asked how they felt about it. They all said that it was “shocking” and that they felt terribly sad for his wife, who must be brokenhearted.

In an article from the Providence Journal, men at a barbershop and women at a nail salon were surveyed about the apology. The men said it was fine with them, because “men just cheat sometimes.” They also expressed that once Tiger started winning again, all would be forgiven. In my experience, that is how most men are viewing the situation.

The women asked about it said things like he had only apologized to keep his sponsors, and that he should have more self control in his personal life. Most women do not think his wife, Elin, will remain with Tiger because he is unable to change.

Writers on ESPN.com claimed that Tiger’s apology should be “good enough” for the public, even if it seemed staged or not emotional enough. But is it the public whom Tiger should really be concerned about? What about his wife and family? It seems to me that Tiger doesn’t owe the public, other players, or others an apology more than his wife. Perhaps this all should have been kept private.

My friend Allison said she thought Tiger seemed like a teenager who apologized just because he got caught. From the point of view of a non-sports fan (and a woman), this is pretty much what I think, too.

Is sex addiction a real addiction, similar to alcoholism and drug addiction? I’m not sure. It seems a little hard to imagine that Tiger really does have a sex addiction after the statements he made during this apology. I think the man was just having fun, personally. Too bad he didn’t think of all the people that fun would end up hurting.

Tiger should have stayed single, and he would have been a stud. Now he’s just an embarrassment, and it doesn’t matter how many tournaments he wins, he can never possibly win back his wife’s heart. It was noted on ESPN that Tiger wasn’t even wearing his wedding ring during this apology, and his wife was noticeably absent. That says it all.

Christi Aldridge is a senior strategic communication major from Hillsboro.