Tiger Woods Scandle and Sponsorship

Module 1 – Case

ETH301 - Ethics

Tiger Woods Scandal and Sponsorship

Tiger Woods is one of the few athletes that have lived up to the expectations and immense pressures of athletic greatness since a very young age. As a young boy he took to golf like a duckling to water, his amazing ability and personal drive had many golfers predicting his future dominance as an adult. His complete dominance of the game as a professional in his early 20’s was inspiring, and for the first time in the history of golf the PGA had found a player that reached every demographic. Skilled, handsome, multiethnic, energetic, and at the same time he was poised, humble, private, and had carefully sculpted what anyone would describe as a “clean-living” image. Humility coupled with his seemingly praiseworthy private life are attributes that made him the “consummate corporate pitchman, the world’s richest athlete for eight years running and the target of unending idolatry.”(Altman 2009).

For the purpose of this modules discussion we examine if Tiger’s actions off the golf course were reason enough for his corporate sponsors to pull his endorsement deals, and whether or not he should regain them since his public acknowledgement and apology. I think the best way to argue my point of view on the question is to first frame my stance on whether I believe, that society believes, that Tiger Woods transgressions outside of his marriage were wrong. There are many theories that fall under the definition of ‘normative ethics,’ and while I bet I could find someone that could argue for the position of adultery, for the purpose of this paper my stance is that adultery is an immoral act and is regarded as immoral and unethical by most folks by and large.

Companies that have signed endorsement contracts with Tiger Woods believe attaching their product to his public image and success will help them make more money. Tiger’s end of the bargain is to endorse the product, keep winning golf...