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Welcome back to Playing Dirty Sports Scandals. I'm your host and barista extraordinaire, Jay Harris. Today I'm serving up the story of one of the most iconic athletes of all time, Tiger Woods. A name synonymous with epic achievement, Tiger woods revolutionized the sport of golf and became a cultural phenomenon. But just as prune and grapefruit fusion blends hit the big time before becoming a dark note in most people's recipe books, Tiger Wood's meteoric trajectory would be marred by scandal. Meh. Yeah. The heyday of prune and grapefruit blends is over for a reason. That's just Blech. But what was the reason Tiger Wood's star dimmed. From the outset, it seemed unimaginable that Tiger would miss his shot at consistent professional and personal greatness. Born as Eldrick Tont woods on December 30, 1975 in Cypress, California, Tiger quickly proved worthy of his ferocious nickname under the guidance of his driven father, Earl Woods. Earl was a retired US army officer and named his son after his friend, South Vietnamese Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, known as Tiger Fong. I never knew him as Tiger Fong, Tiger woods would later explain. My father would talk about him so much. He was Tiger one the first Tiger. It was important to Earl woods that his son live up to his namesake, and it became apparent early on that that this kid had the natural talent to do so. Earl recognized Tiger's athletic potential around the same time. Most new parents are thrilled to just see their little ones sitting up independently. When Tiger was 10 months old, I unstrapped him out of his high chair one day and he walked over and hit the ball, Earl would later recall in the HBO documentary Tiger. I said, oh my God, I've got something special. Earl wasn't wrong, and he was certainly determined to help his son fulfill his potential. Tiger's mother, Koltita woods, who goes by Tita, is originally from Thailand and made Earl's parental enthusiasm look tame. Tiger confessed to USA Today in 2017 that his mother, Tita, was the enforcer. My dad may have been in the special forces, tiger said, but I was never afraid of him. My mom's still here, and I'm still deathly afraid of her. She's a very tough, tough lady, very demanding. I love her so much, but she was tough. The combination of Earl and Tita as his parents, plus his incredible natural athleticism, made Tiger Woods a competitor out the gate at just 18 months old. Earl took Tiger to the practice range for the first time, where he emptied an entire bucket of balls using a cut down iron. Soon after, Tiger played his first hole, a par 4, 410 yard challenge where he recorded an 11. For you who were not golf aficionados, that is a remarkable feat for someone so young and for some of us who are not so young. By the time Tiger was two years old, he was already capturing significant media attention. Los Angeles sports anchor Jim Hill featured him in a segment declaring, this young man is going to be to golf what Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert are to tennis. Tiger was also on the Mike Douglas show where he wowed audiences by putting on an exhibition alongside comedian Bob Hope. At three years old, when most kids are first learning how to catch a ball and dress themselves, Tiger broke through 50 on nine holes for the first time, shooting a 48 on the destroyer Course at the Navy facility. To put this into perspective, it's an achievement that even golf legends like Jack Nicklaus didn't accomplish until they were much older. Earl and Tita had a full time force of nature on their hands with toddler Tiger, and they knew he needed professional guidance. Tiger's parents found him his first priority golf teacher, Rudy Duran, in 1980. Back then, Rudy was an assistant pro at Hartwell Golf Course, a collection of petite par threes in Long Beach, California. He ran a junior golf program for 100 kids. And when Tiger showed up as his youngest participant, Rudy didn't know what to expect. But it didn't take long for tiny Tiger to become Rudy Duran's biggest focus. The coach remembers being immediately impressed, saying he was blown away by Tiger's swing. And it wasn't just Tiger's skills that far exceeded his years. His fiercely competitive nature began to emerge as well. His mother Tita observed that he would, quote, show a bit of temper when he didn't make a par. And Rudy Duran told Golf.com how Tiger would be frustrated by his physical limitations at four and a half years old, turning to strategy to overcome his age related challenges. By the time he was five years old, Tiger woods had his first set of clubs properly fitted by Rudy Duran and he was ready to take his game to the next level. Tiger's accomplishments piled up. At age six, he played in a two hole exhibition with golf legend Sam Snead finishing just one stroke behind him. He then entered the Optimus Junior World 10 and under division in San Diego where he finished eighth out of a field of 150. At age eight, Tiger won his first out Optimus Junior World title. He would win it again at age nine. There was no doubt about it. Tiger woods was a bona fide golf prodigy before his 10th birthday. Everyone saw greatness written into his future. Even a Buddhist monk on a family trip to Thailand would tell Tita that her son was special. As Tiger grew, his talent grew with him. He dominated the junior golf circuit, winning the Optimist international junior championship six times. And at just 15 years old, he became the youngest ever US junior amateur champion. On the heels of this achievement, Tiger won three consecutive U.S. junior amateur titles, followed by three U.S. amateur titles, a feat no one had accomplished before. It felt as if there weren't enough awards yet created for Tiger woods to win. The teenager was simply unstoppable. Even the golf legend Byron Nelson, after seeing Tiger play, would gush to fellow legend Tom Watson. I've seen Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and you. I've seen them all, Tom. This young fellow has no weaknesses. These were proved to be loaded words in later years. But as Tiger bordered on adulthood, he seemed in his natural habitat on a pedestal. Unsurprisingly, Tiger woods was heavily recruited by colleges. He chose Stanford University, the 1994 NCAA champion, and enrolled there in the fall of 1994 under a golf scholarship. His first collegiate tournament was the 40th annual William H. Tucker Invitational, and just as everyone expected him to, he won. While Tiger only spent two years playing for Stanford before leaving college to turn pro, Tiger, he would describe it as one of the best times in his life, saying, I really enjoyed being stimulated by the students and professors. Some were geniuses and others were Olympic athletes. It's amazing how well rounded they are. That's what's so cool about it. You must soak up that experience. According to his Stanford friend Casey Martin, college really was an opportunity for Tiger to soak up normal, age appropriate activities. For the first, first time in his life, Casey told Golf Digest, I love Tiger. He's the greatest at his sport, maybe ever. But I'll never forget one time a bunch of us were having a grand time watching Tiger dance. You know, a guy that's so dominant, you've got to bring him down a little. You've got to look for his weaknesses and really expose it. I think we found it at Stanford. Dancing. It's a bad deal hanging. But while Tiger woods may have stood out in a bad way for his terrible dancing, he stood out in a positive way as a black trailblazer in golf. Golf is a predominantly white sport. Even today, the National Golf foundation reports that just 3% of all recreational golf players are black, and only 1.5% of competitive golfers are black. A handful of athletes have paved the way for Tigers dominance. Golfers like Charlie Siffert, Lee Elder and Calvin Peet. Charlie Siffert, often referred to as the Jackie Robinson of golf, broke the color barrier on the PGA Tour in 1961, enduring significant racism and prejudice to create opportunity for future generations. While Charlie would declare his endless love of golf, he would also say, I don't smoke, smile much, and I never laugh. If you'd been through what I've been through, you wouldn't be smiling either. Tiger woods would later make clear the impact Charlie's trailblazing had on his own life by naming his son after him. In fact, Tiger called Charlie Siffer the grandpa I never had and said that had Charlie not broken the PGA color barrier, he might never have played golf. My dad would have never picked up the game without Charlie as a role model, tiger explained. Similarly, Lee Elder became the first black golfer to play in the masters tournament in 1975. This was a momentous event that challenged the segregationist history of the sport and especially of Augusta National Golf Course. It was also an event riddled with fear for Lee, who put his personal safety on the line to participate. Leading up to the tournament, Lee received large amounts of hate mail, and during the week of the tournament, he rented two houses in town and kept moving between them to make his whereabouts difficult to nail down. It was very nerve wracking, lee would tell CNN later. I was shaking so badly I did not know if I was even going to be able to tee up the ball. But Lee persisted and laid yet another stepping stone for Calvin peet, who won 12 PGA Tour events in the 1980s. Calvin would be the most successful black golfer until Tiger woods came on the scene. Tiger woods rise to fame in the 1990s brought a new level of visibility and inclusivity to the sport. His impact was immediate and undeniable. By the time Tiger turned pro in 1996, the world was already watching closely. Within a year, he had won his first major championship at the 1997 Masters by a record breaking 12 strokes, becoming the youngest Masters champion in history. At just 21 years old, Tiger woods was not only following in the footsteps of Charlie Sifford, Lee Elder and Calvin Peat, he was transcending the sport, becoming a global icon and inspiring a new generation of golfers from diverse backgrounds. With his signature fist pump and incredible intensity, Tiger not only won tournaments, he captured the imagination of fans around the world. Over the next decade, Tiger became the fastest player to win 50 tournaments on the PGA Tour. And by 2001, he had completed what was to become known as the Tiger Slam. By holding all four major titles from the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, US Open and the Open Championship at the same time, this was an unprecedented achievement. His combination of power, precision and mental strength made him nearly unbeatable, and Tiger woods became a household name not just in golf, but in sports and popular culture at large. Lucrative endorsement deals with major brands like Nike and Titleist naturally flowed to Tiger, making him a very wealthy man while simultaneously bringing golf into the mainstream. Tiger woods was on top of the world. But as we've explored time and time again on playing dirty, meteoric rises come with tremendous pressure. The expectations placed on Tiger by his parents and the world were immense. As the victories piled up, so did the demands on his time, his body and his psyche. It would be the same relentless drive that pushed Tiger to the top of the golf world that would ultimately contribute to his dramatic and scandalous fall. On the evening of November 27, 2009, the sports world was rocked by breaking news that Tiger woods, the seemingly invincible golf icon, had been involved in a car accident outside his home in Windermere, Florida. What was initially reported to be a minor traffic incident was soon revealed to be something much more complex and sensational. Tiger woods, driving his Cadillac Escalade around 2:30am had struck a fire hydrant and a tree just a few yards from his driveway. How could this happen to such a controlled and disciplined athlete? It's difficult to imagine that the golfer who unleashed a 218 yard masterstroke from a pile of weight wet sand at the 2000 RBC Canadian Open would struggle to park. People didn't buy it. And as the hours and days passed, the narrative surrounding the incident began to shift as relentless questions poured in. Why had Tiger woods been leaving his home at such an odd hour? Why had Tiger's wife at the time, model Elin Nordegren, used a golf club to smash the back window of the vehicle to help her husband escape from a low impact crash? Why had Tiger sustained facial injuries? What was going on with golf's golden boy? In the days and weeks that followed, the carefully guarded facade of Tiger woods life began to unravel at an alarming rate. Reports started surfacing that the crash was not just a simple accident that had created $3,200 in residential property damage, but rather the culmination of a heated argument between Tiger and Elin. Tiger woods and Hila Nordegren seemed to be the couple who had it all. They Met during the 2001 British Open. Elin was working as a nanny for Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik's family, and Tiger quickly took notice, recognizing her as the true grand grand prize. According to Jesper's wife, Mia Parnevic, Elin had no interest in Tiger and he was okay with that. There was a big line of single golfers wanting to meet her. They were gaga over her. But Tiger woods never backed down from a challenge so he pulled out his famous long game to woo Elin, finally getting her to say yes to his proposal at the Shamwari game reserve in November 2003. On October 5, 2004, the couple married at the Sandy Lane Resort in Barbados. Tiger rented the entire complex for a week at a cost of almost $2 million in honor of the celebration. This included exclusive access to three golf courses and all 110 rooms. The wedding went great, a beaming Tiger woods said after the ceremony. It was a very special occasion. We just had a great time with all the families there. And then it seemed to the outside world that the great times kept right on rolling for Tiger and Elon. They lived in a 7,940 square foot multi million dollar mansion in a gated community. They welcomed two beautiful, healthy children, first a daughter, Sam Alexis woods, on June 18, 2007 and and then a son, Charlie Axel woods on February 8, 2009. It's great when you see people who've been married for 20, 30, 40 years and they're still in love. That's what I want for Elin and I, tiger told People magazine. It really seemed that Tiger woods was not just a phenomenal golfer, but also an incredible husband and father. But his car crash on November 27, 2009 exposed a double life. Journalists were quick to uncover that Tiger and Elin had had an argument the previous evening on Thanksgiving Day about his infidelity. Allegedly, Elin discovered romantic text messages between her husband and Rachel Yucatelle, the director of VIP operations for New York City's town nightclub Eagle. Elan called the number associated with the text and expecting to hear Tiger on the other end of the line, Rachel answered the phone saying something like, hey, babe. Not only was this confirmation of Tiger stepping out on her, but Elin apparently found communications with other mistresses on his phone. The man whom everyone thought could do no wrong, had apparently been playing very dirty. According to Tiger woods biographer James Patterson, Elon woke Tiger up and confronted him about his affairs. At this point, Tiger locked himself in the bathroom for a short time before rushing out of his house and into his Cadillac, where he crashed it just 150 yards away. The image of Tiger woods as a devoted family man and clean cut athlete was forever tarnished. As word got out, women lined up to claim they'd had affairs with the girl. Golf superstar Rachel Yucatel herself would say, I knew him to be cheating on his wife from the first time I met him, well before we got together. Facing mounting pressure and public outrage, Tiger woods broke his silence on December 2, 2009, releasing a statement on his website acknowledging that he had, quote, let his family down and expressing regret for his, quote, transgressions. He further announced that he would be taking an indefinite break from professional golf to focus on his family. It was a decision that shocked the sports world, especially since the media had been talking of how close Tiger woods was to beating the record of icon Jack Nicklaus, who'd won 18 major championships in his illustrious career. It had seemed inevitable that Tiger would overtake Jack. But now, on the heels of personal crisis, golf fans were left wondering if the most influential golfer of a generation would ever compete again. As we all know, scandalous sips always come with an aftertaste. There was no chance of the press stepping back to give Tiger and Elam privacy in their darkest days. And there was no doubt that the full story would eventually be spilled for public consumption. The New York Post soon reported that Tiger woods cheated with as many as 120 women behind his wife's back during their five year marriage, from diner waitress Mindy Lawton to porn star Holly Sampson, with whom he had sex the night of his bachelor party, to exotic dancer Corey Wriste. But it was the discovery of a one night stand with the 21 year old daughter of a neighbor that was the final straw for Elin Nordegren. The National Enquirer delved deeply into this particular betrayal, claiming that Elin decided to sign divorce papers after learning about Tiger's alleged fling with a neighbor's daughter, Rachel Coudray, whom he had reportedly known since she was just 14 years old. As the scandal continued to dominate headlines and Elin moved ever closer toward the exit, Tiger woods faced increasing pressure to address the unfolding situation more fully. So on February 19, 2010, Tiger held a highly publicized press conference at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse in Pontevedra Beach, Florida. It was his first public appearance since the scandal broke and millions tuned in to hear what he had to say. Here he faced the world's media and a select group of friends and family, including his mother, Tita, who sat stoically in the front row. During the 13 minute statement, Tiger admitted to his infidelity, stating, I was unfaithful, I had affairs, I cheated. He went on to express deep regret for his actions, saying, I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply. Tiger acknowledged that he had stopped living by the core values taught to him by his parents and and that his behavior was not acceptable. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled thanks to money and fame. I didn't have to go far to find them. While the apology was a pivotal moment in the scandal, it did little to stem the tide of public criticism and personal fallout for Tiger. He retreated to Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for sex rehab as his sponsors like Gillette, Gatorade and Accenture jumped ship. Accenture was the first to sever ties, announcing in December 2009 that Tiger woods was no longer the right representative for their brand. Gillette followed suit, stating that they would be phasing Tiger out of their marketing campaigns. Gatorade, which had already discontinued its Tiger Focus drink two days before the scandal broke, formally ended its relationship with the fallen golfer in early 2010. AT&T, another of Tiger woods high profile sponsors also dropped him, citing the need to protect their company's image. Nike was among the few companies that chose to stand by Tiger woods at his lowest point, though they too scaled back their use of him in advertising. The financial impact of these lost endorsements was staggering. It's been estimated that Tiger woods lost nearly $22 million in sponsorship deals in 2010 alone, a sharp decline from the $92 million he had earned in endorsements the previous year. The loss of income was a blow to Tiger, who had been the highest paid athlete in the world for several years running. But the financial hit paled in comparison to watching his life's work unravel. Tiger woods is a born competitor, and at this point he was facing the monumental challenge of returning to golf amid controversy and reclaiming his place in the sport he dominated for more than a decade. His absence from the game left a void that was keenly felt by fans and the golfing community at large. Tournaments that had once relied on Tiger woods to draw large crowds and television ratings suddenly found themselves struggling to generate a fraction of the interest. The PGA Tour, which had benefited enormously from Tiger woods star power, experienced a noticeable dip in viewership and attendance during his hiatus. Sean McManus, the president of CBS Sports and News, told the New York Times that golf could go on without Tiger woods, but not for long, without consequences. We've obviously done golf tournaments without Tiger before, sean explained. But we all know how much better they do when Tiger is playing well on the weekend. We'll adjust, but I guess a lot of the impact will depend on what Tiger's definition of the word indefinite is.