I’ll ask it again for the 8 billionth time, why are rich people still driving? Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Damon, now Tiger Woods? Why the heck are they doing these things? Read all about my feeling on that here: https://blindowlblogs.wixsite.com/blindowlblogs/post/rich-drunk-drivers
All that aside, let’s get to the issue at hand.
Tiger Woods is one of the greatest athletes ever. Some people will say, “he’s just a golfer.” As an athlete myself, there is nothing more mentally taxing than trying to perform when all eyes are on you. His mental toughness is unparalleled.
That being said, when the news broke two days ago about Tiger Woods being in a horrific car crash a few things came to mind.
The first, and probably most inappropriate, was whether or not he was alone in that car. Was there possibly a lady friend in the car? Was he “distracted” by something that sent him off the road? This was incorrect, but in the interest of honesty, was my first thought.
The next thought I had was a bit more appropriate.
Let’s go back to 2017. The news broke that in August of that year, the golfer was spotted parked on the side of the road in Jupiter, FL, passed out behind the wheel of his car. He was later arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. Within the next few days, the dashcam video came out, showing Tiger slurring words, stumbling and just looking completely wasted. But don’t take my word for it, watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nBc-Fswn44 Not for nothing, but the guy didn’t even know where he was.
Like a lot of others, I thought Tiger just had a few too many and decided to drive. Then I read that when given the breathalyzer, he blew an impressive .00. LIke many of you who watched that video, I thought that was impossible. Turns out that he was indeed under the influence, just alcohol wasn’t the culprit. Woods was under the influence of five prescription drugs, including some pretty impressive pain killers.
Not sure about y’all, but I have taken some pain killers in my time, and they can be mind altering. I could barely walk around my house, never mind operate a 2,000 pound death machine.
Tiger definitely had the appropriate paperwork for these pills. He has had a ton of back surgeries and was coming off another one at the time. But, being a relatively smart guy, he should’ve known he was in no condition to drive.
That brings us back to Tuesday afternoon when I was reading all the reports from Tiger’s latest accident. Let me preface this by saying I hope it isn’t true. And I also hope that Tiger makes a full recovery. With injuries like compound leg fractures and shattered ankles, things are very serious. Just ask Alex Smith about that.
There is an old phrase in psychology. That phrase is; the best predictor of future behavior, is relevant past behavior. Unfortunately for Tiger, has past driving issues and pain killer problems point the impartial observer that way until proven wrong. Now yesterday, the sheriff came out and said that Woods was “not drunk.” That was a good start in my opinion. But like in 2017, Tiger may have had some pills that altered his ability to drive.
Let me say it again, I hope Tiger makes a full recovery and can somehow go back to being the great golfer he was. And if I’m wrong in guessing that he may have had a few painkillers before driving. But, like I said, his history points the logical person to the opposite.