I'm not a huge follower of golf, or any sports really, but as most American's I am aware of the triumphs of Tiger Woods. His excellent sportsmanship has made him not only a celebrity but a millionaire (some report he is a billionaire).
Tiger Woods is in a new phase of celebrity - scandal. Tiger has admitted to cheating on his wife multiple times and tomorrow intends to deliver a statement where he will take no questions from the limited amount of reporters.
It's not because Tiger has done something many powerful men - both famous and not - haven't done, which is cheat on his wife, but its because his star mold was based on the "wholesome family man.". His infidelity completely negates that in the eyes of fan-dom. Fans and the media are now forced put him in a different category.
The controversy is because people don't know what box to put him in now. Who is the new "Tiger Woods"? How will he be marketed now? Is he going to be the new bad-boy of golf instead of the prodigy? Can he possibly reclaim his branding as "the family man?" If in his speech tomorrow, he explains that he is a 'sex addict' or he had to 'grow up too fast' and thus never got to really date or be a bachleor before he married; will we then look at him as "poor Tiger, the troubled talent?" Or will he just an athlete with exception skill? Better yet, can he just be considered human.
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The Tiger Woods story is enjoyable to many. He did base his image upon his wholesomeness + his excellent play, so it seems like fair game to tear him down for his marital sins. You are probably right that he will never recover - Kobe Bryant didn't really have the same family image that Tiger did, though part of his image was the alternative to the street basketball stars like Allen Iverson - and after his arrest and trial he managed to recover his badge of excellence enough to make Nike commercials. Tiger probably will too.
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