My good buddy R believes Tiger has crossed the line. “How in the h— could someone with that kind of intelligence and mental toughness not listen to the advice of his doctors? He could not win the Grand Slam this year anyway, he did not win the Masters at Augusta.” R has a good point but one that needs to be expanded upon.
Yesterday I wrote a piece which dealt with how athletes and warriors stand up to one another in history. Back in the day when Achilles was fighting at the front of his men he had no choice. He was honor bound to step forward and put his life on the line. Tiger Woods or any other athlete can make a choice whether to step up and put his career in jeopardy or withdraw to fight another day. Withdrawing to fight another day is not without precident as we all know. Look at the Civil War, World War II, Korea, VietNam. How often did our fighting men determine the best course of action was to withdraw, regroup, re-evaluate, and fight another day? Recently the thoroughbred race horse, Big Brown, pulled up in the final leg of the Triple Crown, and his jockey, wisely, let him slow to a pace that prevented a posssible injury rather than attempting to encourage the animal to race on to the finish line. The jockey realized it was smarter to allow the horse to race another day. That was intelligent thinking of the highest order.
No man or woman must ever think he or she is above the advice given him or her by the very professionals they employ to advise them. There’s no dishonor in withdrawing prior to or in the middle of a major battle. We have to know our limitations. It would be a pity if Tiger Woods has found his at the expense of his career. Imagine Tiger never being able to play up the level he’s achieved to date. It’s practically unfair to the rest of us. We look forward to our hero’s being there on the front lines, and performing at their best. Our hero’s must never let us down for the sake of another major victory. They could loose more respect that way than if they ran off the playing field in a huff.
Was Tiger’s decision to play knowing the extent of his injuries poor judgement? A mighty ego? Only time and his healing process will provide the final answer. We’ll just have to hope he heals as well as he plays.
Dan O. De Ment, Publisher
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