Sports Buzz

With great power comes great responsibility.

The validity and truth behind that statement for a professional athlete comes in many different varieties in today's society. The premise is quite simple: The more success and fame an athlete accumulates over his career, the more the public and media want to know about his life. 

All a person has to do these days is flip on the television or get online for there to be, it seems, some new scandal or tragedy going on in the sports world. The latest and greatest, of course, is Tiger Woods. The events that transpired around Woods recently caused an absolute implosion in the sports world: Sex, drugs and rock n' roll combined with an iconic athlete, whose legacy will eventually lead to the immortal gates of the hall of fame, took everyone for a ride. People drive by a car accident with the same train of thought which renders them nearly helpless to look away. The worse the accident is, the more we want to stare at it.

Presumably the best golfer to ever pick up a set of clubs, Woods' journey led him to levels of success that most athletes only dream about. His work ethic and talent brought him fame, fortune and wealth of the highest and most astonishing levels. Tiger revolutionized the sport of golf forever and, thus far, has had a career that pumped life back into a sport that was beginning to fall to the wayside during the mid 1990's.

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word "golf" is Tiger Woods. Period.

If history is any indicator of the future, the road to redemption for a professional athlete is long and narrow. Some redeem and prosper while others fall away.

Former athletes such as Major League Baseball player Pete Rose, who was banned from baseball completely for accusations of gambling on games he played and coached in for the Cincinnati Reds, provide an excellent example how difficult the path can be to regain credibility as a heroic athlete.

There is only one athlete, I would argue, that has proven this type of uphill battle can be accomplished and that balance can be restored: Kobe Bryant. Bryant found himself in similar sexual misconduct and legal conflict back in 2003 when he was charged with sexual assault on a women, an incident that occurred in the high country within the western Colorado town of Eagle.

Nearly seven years since the incident transpired, Kobe is by far more popular than ever, and has seen some of the best success of his career since allegations first flooded through the small mountain town. Kobe recovered because he allowed his actions on the court to dictate his change as a man and player.

It seems that when one is placed in that kind of situation, words tend to have no meaning; confirming, at the same time, that actions speak louder than words.

Tiger Woods is going to have to follow a similar path if he ever wants to reclaim the hearts of millions and dominate the game of golf again. He needs to assess whatever changes need to be made, and get back to playing competitive golf. Patience and tolerance are what will make his pathway either gradually better or gradually worse. For a man who maintained the pursuit of perfection in the game of golf, Tiger needs to focus on progress if he is going to rebound from the plunging spiral of devastation he finds himself in today.