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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Tiger Apologizes, Heads Back to Therapy
Aired February 19, 2010 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, Tiger Woods breaks his silence. From outrage to understanding, we are all over Tiger`s big announcement.
TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. I knew my actions were wrong. It`s hard to admit that I need help but I do. I am truly sorry.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tiger Woods comes clean, and he`s headed back to therapy. So are you buying his apology? Is he really a changed man, or is all this just image control and spin?
Plus what about the mistresses? A porn star who says she slept with Tiger wants a personal apology. Does she deserve one? We`ll talk to her high-powered attorney, Gloria Allred. She`s not forgiving Tiger. Are you?
ISSUES starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, it is the apology heard around the world. Tiger Woods finally confronted the sex scandal that has turned his life upside down. He has decided to fess up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did is not acceptable. And I am the only person to blame.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That was from his live appearance this morning at a Florida golf club. It was a highly-controlled sterile environment. Tiger took zero questions. He spoke before a small group of friends with his mom seated right in the front row. That`s a friendly audience. And Tiger`s wife Elin nowhere to be seen, but he referred to her over and over and over again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: My real apology to her will not come in the form of words. It will come from my behavior over time. We have a lot to discuss, and however, what we say to each other will remain between the two of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, here`s an interesting twist. Tiger`s alleged mistress, ex-porn star Joslyn James, one of the many, watched Tiger`s entire appearance on a screen in California. Afterward, Joslyn made this very emotional statement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSLYN JAMES, TIGER WOODS` ALLEGED MISTRESS: Tiger pursued me and over time I fell love with him. And he told me he loved me, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ll play more of that in a moment. Joslyn`s attorney, Gloria Allred, is my very special guest tonight. She also represents Rachel Uchitel, another one of Tiger`s alleged mistresses.
And now for some complete analysis, the rest of my fantastic panel: former prosecutor Vinny Politan, host of "In Session" on TruTV; Marvet Britto, P.R. and brand strategist; Dr. Reef Karim, addiction specialist and director of The Control Center in Beverly Hills; Buzz Bissinger, author of "Friday Night Lights" and "Vanity Fair" contributing editor; plus David Kaplan, senior editor of "People" magazine. But we start with Rafer Weigel, sports anchor for "MORNING EXPRESS WITH ROBIN MEADE."
Rafer, you`re there in Florida. Paint a picture of what went down today.
RAFER WEIGEL, SPORTS ANCHOR, "MORNING EXPRESS WITH ROBIN MEADE": Jane, it was the most anticipated prepared statement that I`ve certainly ever covered.
When Tiger Woods did finally come out, the hundreds of media that have descended down here even though we couldn`t get anywhere near him, you could not -- you didn`t hear a sound. You could hear a pin drop when he walked out.
A lot of people were sandwiched into that ballroom. I went in there real quickly and saw that basically nobody was making a sound. A lot of us were very skeptical about Woods giving this statement. You know, he`s -- he`s usually very close to the vest, but this was the most candid we had ever seen him.
And when he looked right into the camera, that -- that really arrested a lot of us. But then, unfortunately for him, the pool camera went down about eight minutes in. I don`t know if you remember that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, sure. Of course.
WEIGEL: Suddenly, he was looking in, and we didn`t see him looking into the camera. That might have worked against him.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s take a look at the wide shot. Let`s take a look at the wide shot. There`s mom and surrounded by two people who work for Tiger Woods. There`s Tiger Woods` tight shot. And then at a certain point, this shot goes down and then we get the wide shot only, and I think it will did rob it of its pathos a little bit, because you`re right, Rafer. He wanted to be making that eye contact with the audience.
And the two women on either side, everybody was "who are those two mystery women on either side of Tiger`s mom?" And one of them works for -- worked for Nike, now, works for Tiger Woods Design. And the other one on the left works for Tiger Woods Enterprises. So hired hands as it were.
Radar Online reporting that Tiger is not committing to staying in his marriage to Elin and that the ball is now in Elin`s court. Here`s what Tiger had to say about that today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: Elin and I have started the process of discussing the damage caused by my behavior. As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words. It will come from my behavior over time. We have a lot to discuss. However, what we say to each other will remain between the two of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: David Kaplan, "People" magazine, Tiger says this is between him and Elin. Do you buy that concept? And what do you know about the state of their relationship right now?
DAVID KAPLAN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Well, right now in the new issue of "People," we really go into what Elin is thinking. Sources tell "People" that the ball is really in Elin court right now in terms of whether or not they want to keep the marriage going. She still, of course is angry. She`s upset. They are undergoing counseling.
But she does want to keep the marriage intact for the sake of her children, because she herself is a product of divorce. So she really -- you know, it`s near and dear to her that they stay together.
However, they are really leading, you know, pretty separate lives. They right now are in separate homes about a block away from each other. However, Tiger does come and visit the kids. So they`re seeing each other. But in terms of long-term, she really hasn`t made up her mind yet.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Buzz Bissinger, what do you make of this contention that all of this is between him and Elin and that it`s none of our bee`s wax?
BUZZ BISSINGER, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "VANITY FAIR": You know, it is between he and Elin. Where I disagree just a little bit, I don`t -- I don`t think he should confide in the public all conversations he has with her. The problem I have with Tiger is he used Elin and he used his kids as props. After tournaments, kissed his wife, kissed the kids. He would be asked publicly what`s important in your life. "Well the most important things in my life are my wife and my kids."
And as we all know behind her back and the kids and whatever, you know, it wasn`t having just one affair but he was with 15 different women. I don`t know how many countless times. So there`s a real disingenuous to Tiger in this very carefully-crafted image that he used to make money, and today was part and parcel of it. No questions, reading off a statement. I think he tried to mean it, but it just didn`t come across as very convincing.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let`s hear what Gloria Allred has to say. One of Tiger`s alleged mistress, Joslyn James, held an emotional news conference right after Tiger`s. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES: I would be open to a telephone apology from Tiger, but I really feel that I deserve to look at him in person face to face in his eyes, because I didn`t deserve this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Joslyn, whose real name is Veronica, announced earlier this month she was twice impregnated by Tiger. She said the first pregnancy ended in miscarriage, the second in abortion.
Gloria Allred, you represent Joslyn, also known as Veronica. Did you get what you wanted from Tiger`s news conference?
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Well, no, because I think he owes an apology to my client Veronica, and he needs to make that a personal apology by telephone, better yet in person so that she can confirm that it really is sincere. Because he lied to her.
And by the way, he should have acknowledged her by name and their three-year-long intimate romantic relationship in his news conference. He acknowledged business partners, Jane. He acknowledged his fans. He acknowledged his family, which he should have acknowledged. But what about Veronica?
I mean, they had a very intense relationship for three years. He saw her several times each month for three years. He sent her over 1,000 texts. He told her just as recently as September, "The great thing is, we have a lifetime of this." And in October that she -- you please me more than anyone ever has or ever will. I`m not losing this."
He needs to apologize because he told her that he loved her, that he was only with her and his wife, that there was no one else.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.
ALLRED: She was totally and still is in love with him. He deserves to apologize.
VINNY POLITAN, "IN SESSION": You don`t actually, actually think...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Vinny Politan.
POLITAN: You don`t seriously, actually think that he would mention her during a press conference, do you? Come on, Gloria.
DR. REEF KARIM, PSYCHIATRIST AND ADDICTION SPECIALIST: Gloria, you have to understand how...
POLITAN: She got dumped.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hold on.
KARIM: How diction works. This is not about her. This is not about your client. This is about Tiger. This is about a guy who`s detached from the world emotionally that`s trying to learn, take a journey and learn all these things that most of us learned in our adolescence and early 20s that he`s now learning now. It`s not about your client. It`s about this guy`s health.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but there is something as an addiction specialist you know called wreckage. And...
KARIM: Wreckage, no, but Jane...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... we as alcoholics, I can say we create wreckage.
KARIM: Jane...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... and this woman is part of the wreckage.
POLITAN: This is more than wreckage. This is a 14-car pile-up. I mean...
KARIM: Guys, hold on.
POLITAN: ... all respect to Gloria. Gloria is representing two people that he was with, for goodness sake. There`s just too many to name. He only had 14 minutes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time.
ALLRED: OK. First of all, you know, I don`t just consider women wreckage. I do consider them human beings, but I know that the intent was to consider them human beings in a wreckage.
But let me just say I think that Tiger Woods needs not only sex rehab. He needs lying rehab. He needs betrayal rehab. And he needs a course on how to have honest communication with women.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Stay right where are you. All eyes now on Elin. She wasn`t at today`s news conference. It`s not a news conference. But will she stick by her hubby? Would you?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did is not acceptable. And I am the only person to blame.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: There are many people in this room and there are many people at home who believed in me. Today, I want to ask for your help. I ask you to find room in your heart to one day believe in me again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tiger Woods out of hiding, starting the long process of repairing his life. Was he sympathetic? Was he sincere? Did you see the pain and suffering in his eyes?
Phone lines lighting up. Skyler, Iowa, your question or thought.
CALLER: Oh, Jane, I think this is ridiculous that we`ve trained our American public to rely on sports figures to be role models. You know, be a dad. Be a mom. And don`t train our kids to be so engulfed in someone else`s personal business just because they`re an athlete.
I mean, these guys are just athletes. They`re not rocket scientists. They`re not Rhodes scholars, and they`re not going to change the world in any major way that`s going to carry on for centuries playing a game of golf.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Guess what? You bring me to my big issue tonight. Is Tiger Woods a symbol of our sick society? We have to turn everybody into products. It`s total nonsense.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Wait, wait.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Buy something that has Tiger`s name or face on it, is that going to really make you a better golfer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiger...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me finish, and then I`ll get that person`s response.
We live in a superficial materialistic society, and Tiger was just the ultimate example of that. He was a walking billboard. OK? Now, apparently he wants to get away from that. So let`s listen to what he says about that. Then I`ll get your response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: In therapy, I`ve learned the importance of looking at my spiritual life and keeping in balance with my professional life. I need to regain my balance and be centered so I can save the things that are most important to me: my marriage and my children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Buzz, my point is that human beings should not be brands. I mean, isn`t the this the story really about our culture, that we create phony baloney story lines about everything from people to products?
BISSINGER: No, no, no.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Just to keep Americans consuming.
BISSINGER: It`s not. It`s about money. Tiger made himself into a product. He crafted this image for one reason, as did Marc Steinberg and IMG, as did everyone around him: to make money, to get those endorsements. Although it`s been shown that those endorsements basically don`t work and very few people will buy a product because an athlete has endorsed it.
But he made himself -- he made himself into the product. He was the one presented himself time and time again: honesty, integrity, squeaky clean, love my wife, love my kids. That`s why I think people are upset. He doesn`t get married, who cares? Sleeps with 50 women, who cares?
POLITAN: Jane, exactly, Jane. The question is why was he speaking to us today?
BISSINGER: Exactly.
POLITAN: Why did he even hold this press conference? If it`s not about the image and if it`s not about the endorsements and everything else, why did he do it? Does this help his marriage somehow? I don`t think so.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what this is?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Marvet Britto, you`re the brand -- Marvet Britto is the brand expert. And I`ve just got to bring her in.
Don`t you think he is a metaphor for a societal sickness where everything is a brand? I mean, really for gosh sakes, what does Tiger Woods have to do with a watch? If I wear that watch, is it going to make me a better golfer? Of course, not. It`s all nonsense. The entire premise of the sponsorship deals that have made him the billion-dollar golfer is nonsense. It`s a con job on the American people.
MARVET BRITTO, P.R. AND BRANDING EXPERT: I agree that we`ve created this insatiable appetite with celebrities. And celebrities work because corporations are leveraging the equity that they have.
So for us to now, you know, make an issue with the fact that Tiger is doing what everyone else has done by virtue of leveraging his brand equity, I think that`s a little unfair. He made a mistake. He made a moral mistake, not a criminal mistake. So for that -- for us to sit and say that Tiger presented his family, no, he did not.
POLITAN: Yes, he did.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s hear the other side. Who said yes, he did?
(CROSSTALK)
BRITTO: Tiger was a great golfer and by virtue of being a great golfer, companies leveraged that. He never put his wife, nor did he ever put his children in ads.
POLITAN: Yes, he did.
BRITTO: Never once did he do that.
POLITAN: But in public he did. You`re completely wrong. On Sunday, they were there.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me see the panel.
BRITTO: We must be accurate in our communicating this information to the public. He never once and he said it today again, put his children or his wife in advertising. Never once did he do that.
POLITAN: He put them in the public though. In public.
BRITTO: No, his wife and his children supported him, as wife and children are supposed to support them.
(CROSSTALK)
POLITAN: ... being the two most important things in his life.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I can`t hear any of you. Hold it, hold it.
BRITTO: ... two different things. Look, when you speak and be in an ad it`s two different things. He never presented them as supporters of his endorsements, period.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I disagree with you, Marvet. He obviously profited off of being a family man.
POLITAN: Yes, he did.
BRITTO: We`re not saying he didn`t profit from that being part of his DNA but he never presented it. It`s no different than Michael Jordan`s family supporting him on the court. It`s no different than anyone`s family supporting them.
POLITAN: Of course it is different.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hold on a second. OK, Marvet, you`ve had your say. Dr. Reef Karim, I want to bring it back to the fact that he`s going into therapy.
Yes, he profited off of his family image. His image was completely different from his secret reality. He kept toxic secrets. But my point is, wasn`t he indoctrinated into this when he was a tot? Didn`t he -- wasn`t he golfing at 2 years of age? Didn`t his father train him to become this golf prodigy? He was indoctrinated into this lifestyle.
KARIM: Yes, he was. One of your other guests was, like, well, why he is talking now? He`s talking now because it`s a public disclosure. Normally -- we should talk treatment now. You know, enough of the branding. I know it`s a big part of it. I know the capitalism is a big part of it, the money`s a big part of it. But we`re losing sense of this is a person.
POLITAN: What`s he treating?
KARIM: This person has lost his identity from the age of 2, as you said, Jane, on. And he needs to learn this. And he made a public disclosure to the world.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hang in. We`re going to be back after the break with more debate, Tiger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in. I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn`t apply. I never thought about who I was hurting. Instead, I thought only about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries that a married couple should live by.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is Tiger a sex or love addict? Addiction specialist Dr. Reef Karim, he`s certainly talking like one, talking about how "The rules don`t apply to me." That`s addict thinking, talking about no boundaries. That`s addict thinking. Is he an addict?
KARIM: Still hard to say. I mean, he`s in treatment to find himself. Now whether that means he`s a sex addict or he`s love addict or he`s a player, still, either way we don`t know. The only people that know are the people at the rehab.
One thing is for sure, though. The step work, the 12 steps and him doing a moral inventory, a searching and fearless moral inventory, the fourth step, him making a list of people that he`s harmed and then making amends to them, the eighth and ninth step, are things he`s going to have to do.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wait a second. I`ve got to jump in there. You`re talking about making amends to people he has harmed. And Gloria Allred is saying one of the people he harmed was her client.
KARIM: Not right now. Not right now. Not now.
POLITAN: This whole thing is unbelievable.
KARIM: He needs to find himself and do his work. You don`t just go in 28 days, walk out, and all of a sudden you`re a changed person. That does not happen.
POLITAN: Why have a press conference now?
KARIM: He`s at the beginning of his journey.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Gloria, let`s let Gloria respond to that.
KARIM: No, I need to finish that.
ALLRED: I mean he says, hello.
KARIM: I do agree, if he wants to call Gloria`s client at some point in time, that`s fine. And that can be part of his eighth and ninth step, but he doesn`t need to do that right now. He needs to focus on himself right now.
POLITAN: Don`t tell your wife.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wait a second. I`ve got to go back to Buzz. I`ve got to go back to Buzz.
ALLRED: Can I say something?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
ALLRED: Yes. May I respond?
You know, this is a young woman. OK? She`s not like a used Coke can that some people throw out their window as they`re driving along and you can just like, "OK, let`s just forget about that." No, this is a human being that has feelings. And maybe there`s never a good time to say you`re sorry, but on the other hand, it`s always a good time to say you`re sorry.
KARIM: Gloria, when you understand the addiction world.
ALLRED: I know you`re concerned about his journey, his search for identity, all of that good stuff. I get that.
KARIM: Gloria -- Gloria, you don`t get the addiction rule. That`s the problem.
ALLRED: There`s a human being who`s suffering here.
KARIM: Agreed. But...
ALLRED: This woman is hurting.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Hold on. Listen, I want to go to Buzz because first he was like this. I thought maybe you were crying, Buzz.
BISSINGER: I wasn`t crying. I mean, you guys -- I can`t see any of you but you`re a complete bunch of wackos all of you.
Gloria, so I guess he should have said this. "Joslyn, I was unfaithful, I went back to my wife, but I promise I will keep all your porn movies forever." Is that what you expected him to say?
I understand she -- he got her pregnant twice, but she never told him. So he never knew? Her stepmother says that she`s a compulsive liar, was involved with lots of men. She ain`t going to get an apology. She got dumped.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wait. Go back to that. He has never denied that he had sex with her.
BISSINGER: So had he sex with a lot of people.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And several people said that he didn`t use protection. That`s a claim. I have no independent confirmation of that, obviously.
BISSINGER: You know what? She`s the 10 millionth person to get dumped.
ALLRED: You know, I`d like to respond to that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Right after the break, I`m going to go straight to you.
ALLRED: Good.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hang in. Debate, Tiger, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: My behavior doesn`t make it right for the media to follow my 2 1/2-year-old daughter to school and report the school`s location. They staked out my wife and they pursued my mom. Whatever my wrongdoings, for the sake of my family, please leave my wife and kids alone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: An angry Tiger Woods. It`s all a blame game. He`s attacking the media, and tonight, famed attorney Gloria Allred attacking him saying he owes her client former adult film star Joslyn James an apology.
You wanted to respond, Gloria.
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY FOR JOSLYN JAMES: Yes, I do. And whomever started off with the name calling, it`s always obvious to me when a man resorts to name calling particularly against women that they have no merit to their argument. So they just have to go ahead and try to throw verbal missiles and I just think that`s very -- stop interrupting me, please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was not name calling. It was the truth.
ALLRED: I didn`t interrupt you and it just shows -- it confirms the idea that I have that you have a lack of respect.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok guys. One at a time, seriously.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You drive me crazy. Go ahead.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Gloria first, then a response.
ALLRED: My client is a very sweet sensitive human being. She had every right to expect that Tiger Woods would be honest with her especially when she asked him if there was any other woman other than his wife and especially because he told her there was not. And especially because she was in love with him and he told her that he loved her.
Now, I am not of the Tiger camp, the groupies that some people are in that whatever Tiger says or does is just fine and forget the women or the woman that he has hurt. He`s hurt his wife, he`s hurt my client. And I think that that`s two people too much and it`s time for him if he wants meaningful and effective therapy, he`s got to acknowledge what he`s done wrong and apologize to the person he hurt.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Can I bring in David Caplan for a second? Can I bring in David Caplan?
David, obviously, this is very heated. What is going to happen next in this scandal? Looking at big picture?
Obviously, if he goes through his therapy and then slips again and is caught cheating again, that`s going to be an American tragedy. This is going to get vicious. But what do you -- are you surprised by the intensity of the emotion surrounding this?
DAVID CAPLAN, SENIOR EDITOR, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: No, I`m not surprised. Interesting, on people.com, we did a poll right after he did it. And actually only 47 percent of people really liked his speech; they said it was a nice mix of him addressing personal and professional issues. 43 percent actually found him too robotic.
It was surprising he did all these issues but it still didn`t resonate with a lot of people who watched it. In terms of what next is going to happen, the next thing people are waiting for obviously are the two of them going to stay together. But I really don`t think we`re going to see a resolution to that in the immediate future.
It`s really about him completing his therapy and when he will return to the golf course because even earlier this week, sources told "People" that he will return to the Tavistock Tournament to play in mid- March, to play a sort of a low key competition in Florida.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I have to ask you a follow up, David Caplan. We want to assume that they`re trying to work it out based on truthfulness and establishing trust. But couldn`t there be a lot of money involved? I mean we had heard that she had hired this high-powered divorce attorney Sorrell Trope. And now we hear she`s let him go. We`d heard talk about her renegotiating the pre-nup. I mean couldn`t this be about money?
CAPLAN: Absolutely. It definitely could be about money. In fact, I think in December or so "People" reported that is Elin did meet with a divorce attorney, a lawyer in California. So it`s definitely in the background. There`s a huge amount of money.
Of course, it goes beyond the normal sort of warm and fuzzy emotions of keeping the relationship together for the kids and stuff. He obviously is worth millions, has endorsement deals and she`s played a crucial part in sort of the Tiger Woods` brand.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Vinny Politan, maybe there`s cynicism on all sides. You know, water finds its own level.
VINNY POLITAN, HOST, "IN SESSION": I think there`s cynicism everywhere when it comes to this and what he said. And he was still very cold, so distant today, Jane. When he got up there and spoke, I didn`t feel like he was really reaching me and everybody else that was watching. He was robotic. He was cold, he was distant. And yet, there was still a touch of that Tiger arrogance.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But that`s his -- I think that`s his personality.
POLITAN: That`s it. That may be who he is.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: As an addict, I saw pain and suffering in his eyes. Isn`t that funny? I identified with him because I`m a recovering alcoholic and I looked at him and I saw something else. I saw a guy who`s been through hell. Again, it`s almost like commentary on the viewer as opposed to Tiger what, we took away from it.
Let me say this. Tiger`s been golfing since he was a toddler. He went professional when he was a teenager. Tiger says he`s worked so hard, he felt he deserved to have some fun. Listen to this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: 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 far -- I didn`t have to go far to find them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: My opinion about this is that he never got a chance to be a kid. He was preordained to be a professional golfer. He was golfing since the age of 2 and never developed an identity apart from being a golfer.
POLITAN: It`s like we`re talking about Michael Jackson again all of a sudden here, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s just like Michael Jackson.
POLITAN: It is but he said he didn`t have to go far. He had to go to the strip club to meet some of these women as well and he sought it out. Come on, it wasn`t like it was all being thrown at him.
I believe Gloria`s client on this part that he approached her and went after her. He sought it out, it`s not like it was flying and, "Oh, no, I can`t control it. What am I going to do, get away, please, no."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Jane.
MARVET BRITTO, PR AND BRAND SPECIALIST: But Jane, Jane --
ALLRED: Jane, he felt -- he said he felt entitled. He said he felt entitled. He still apparently feels he`s entitled to hurt someone and not apologize to them.
I teach my grandson if you hurt somebody, you better go right up and take responsibility for that. And acknowledge it and say you`re sorry. That`s the right thing and make amends any way you can.
BRITTO: Gloria, at what point is your client going to apologize to Elin? She willfully entered into a relationship --
(CROSSTALK)
BRITTO: -- willfully entered into a relationship with a married man. And all -- we`re talking about her getting an apology. She`s thrown an Oscar performance today -- an Oscar performance today with the tears. She should be apologizing, as well. It takes two to have a cheating relationship. And she was just as involved.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to apologize right now because I have to interrupt you all. Betty in Kentucky, your question or thought, ma`am.
BETTY, KENTUCKY (via telephone): well, this is the way I feel about it. Tiger -- I think Tiger was very sincere. He looked straight into the camera. And he told everybody to leave him alone and I do believe this is between him and his wife. They got to work it out.
I`ve been there before. And as long as people keep speaking, it`s going to get worse. He`s asking for them help. He don`t owe them women nothing. Like he said, they were there. They knew he was married.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, Dr. Reef Karim, I just find it so fascinating that everybody has such a different take. It really reflects more on the person with the opinion than it does Tiger. He`s like this person that we`re reading so much into.
What are your thoughts on that, that people have such wildly different reactions to the same comments, a 10 or 14-minute speech?
DR. REEF KARIM, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: Yes. It strikes a total moral difference in every one of us and where we stand from in our own upbringing, whether we`re male, we`re female, we`re old, we`re young, we`re into the sports world or not, we`re into branding or not .
Again, it comes down to is he a sex addict? If he is, then there`s a certain way that he`s treated. If he`s a player and if he`s truly a player, then there`s another way that he`s totally treated.
One thing I know and you made this really clear, he`s a detached guy emotionally. He`s robotic and I think he did about as good as he`s going to do at this point in time being a detached guy that, quite frankly, doesn`t seem to have a lot of emotion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have no idea.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Buzz, didn`t you interview him? Did he strike you as, "Well, this is just his personality, robotic."
BUZZ BISSINGER, "VANITY FAIR": I did not interview him. I interviewed writer who have been with him hundreds of times. We don`t know what he`s like emotionally. We have no idea. He did give an interview in 1997 with Charlie Pierce at GQ in which he was obscene is, profane, made homophobic jokes, lesbian jokes and racist jokes. And what happened is after that, that was the last time the media ever got to him.
So let`s be -- first of all, all this stuff is stupid. The question is, why did he have this press conference? It did him no good. What was the timing? Why was it held at PGA head quarters? There`s a reason.
The reason is, he`s trying to figure out two things. Can I keep my wife together and if I can`t, when do I get back on the golf course because in the end, Tiger winning a major tournament or winning a tournament, that`s going to be his redemption.
As for people having wild opinions, you know some people know what`s going on. Some people don`t. Some people only care that he`s a sports figure. Some people have no idea how much he did to craft this image. But in helping himself --
POLITAN: I agree, I think it`s all a return to the golf course.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. You`ve had your say. What, Gloria?
ALLRED: Well, I wanted to say that my client this morning said, "I never wanted to cause Elin, Sam or Charlie any pain. But I am not the sole cause. That Tiger pursued me and over time I fell in love with him and he told me he loved me. I`m sorry for my part for any of their pain, Elin, Sammy and Charlie."
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So she did apologize.
BRITTO: But you can`t help when you fall in love with him.
POLITAN: She did. Yes, I heard that this morning.
KARIM: Hey Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
KARIM: In regards to treatment there`s another interesting point here. In sex addiction treatment, you make a disclosure to your spouse. And that disclosure is about, you know, what you`ve done and who you`ve done it with. And it`s interesting because of the public opinion and because this was such a public case, it`s almost like he made a public disclosure to everybody as opposed to what he did with his wife probably at the rehab.
And that`s another interesting point to this.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely fascinating. And if he had to write it all down, I hope they had a lot of paper there at the rehab center.
Everybody stay right where you are.
Was this a sincere apology? Nobody can agree. Is Tiger really on his road to recovery or is this the same old manipulative Tiger with his PR spin machine pulling another one on us? What is going on?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAIMEE GRUBBS, ALLEGED MISTRESS OF TIGER WOODS: Very good at playing the person you want him to be. I think he`s very manipulative that way. I mean, there are so many sides to him that I didn`t know that I couldn`t even tell you the person he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: I have a lot to atone for. But there`s one issue I really want to discuss. Some people have speculated that Elin somehow hurt or attacked me on Thanksgiving night. It angers me that people would fabricate a story like that. Elin never hit me that night or any other night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage ever. Elin has shown enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise, not blame.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: There was speculation Elin had hit Tiger in the face with his own golf club. Tiger vehemently denied any domestic violence.
David Caplan, "People" magazine, I do love how he praised his wife but do you still buy their story from that night? Because there was speculation, that well, somebody had to smash the back windows of his SUV.
DAVID CAPLAN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: You know, it`s definitely a little suspect obviously because he was pretty adamant actually in saying there was no domestic violence, there is no violence that night yet the scene and there`s photographic evidence really of that car, the window.
It`s just still that particularly was one aspect actually of the -- of the sort of press conference of sorts that was a little bit very suspect. And that left a lot of people really scratching their heads thinking he wasn`t 150 percent genuine.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, well, Marvet Britto, it`s sort of galling that is he`s upset with people for, quote unquote, "fabricating stories" when that`s what he`s been doing over the last few years to his wife.
According to the "Daily Beast" (AUDIO GAP), he actually put Rachel Uchitel, also known as mistress number one on the phone with his wife right before Thanksgiving to try to convince (AUDIO GAP) that she was just a good buddy because the "National Enquirer" story was coming out and that`s really what started this whole thing that exploded.
BRITTO: Well, what we don`t know, Jane, right now is exactly what transpired between this man and his wife. You know, today Tiger made it clear that whatever will be said and done moving forward will stay private between them.
So we don`t know what Elin knew prior to the altercation, we really don`t know. It`s no surprise that -- that many husbands and wives have agreements, arrangements. So you know, it`s hard for to us to speculate and make allegations. That really -- we have to wait until Tiger and/or Elin speaks about that.
But to really pass judgment on this situation when we don`t know the truth -- I think what Tiger said in his statement today was very telling. He said that you can`t believe everything that`s been stated and that that altercation that`s been widely reported is fabricated.
VINNIE POLITAN, HOST, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: Well, why don`t we know -- we don`t know because he stonewalled the investigation. That`s why we don`t know because he didn`t answer questions --
BRITTO: Well, we don`t know, we also don`t know because --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at time.
BRITTO: -- he doesn`t owe us -- he doesn`t owe us any explanation.
POLITAN: Wait a minute. And when you drive recklessly, when you drive recklessly on the road and smash your car, you owe an investigation.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time.
BRITTO: This was an immoral act that this man created. It wasn`t criminal. This is between this man, his wife and his God.
POLITAN: I`m talking about the car wreck.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hold it. Now, ok, Marvet, I hear your story. Now Vinnie.
POLITAN: I`m talking about the car wreck, I`m talking about when this happens to your vehicle and you`re out on the road and you`re endangering other people who are outside. Potentially, thank goodness no one else got hurt. Yes, you owe something and you should succumb to an investigation which was stonewalled and the case was closed so we`ll never know what happened.
So don`t get mad at us when people put two and two together and try to equal four.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me just say this. I have to say this on a personal note. As a recovering alcoholic and God willing I`ll hit 15 years this April, I could say that I did things that I am very, very ashamed of when I was in my disease. And so it`s very hard for me to sit there and point the finger at somebody else for doing something when they`re into their disease.
Is it because I`m a recovering alcoholic, Dr. Reef Karim, that I might have more sympathy because I identify with the pain and the suffering that I saw in his eyes? It was almost like I was hearing somebody share about their experience what happened to them and how they`re planning on changing. And other people seemed tone deaf to that maybe because they don`t have that background of addiction and they haven`t done demoralizing incomprehensible things.
DR. REEF KARIM, PSYCHIATRIST AND ADDICTION SPECIALIST: Yes, I think that`s why this is so heated, this argument today.
And when you think about it, you come at it from an addiction standpoint. I come at it from an addiction standpoint. I treat sex addicts all the time. I see the wreckage of their families and their friends and their lives and everything that happens.
But we don`t know if he`s a sex addict. So you and I might look at him in one way and go, "oh I feel for this guy, I get what he`s going through, he will make it amends eventually, he will hopefully put his life together."
But on the flipside, you could have other people that work in branding or work in sports or work in whatever that see him as a total player who is just manipulating the entire system for his branding, for his corporate agreements, for whatever. And they might be right. That`s the hard part about this argument.
ALLRED: Jane --
BEHAR: Yes, go ahead, Gloria.
ALLRED: Jane, I don`t know if it`s true that he will make amends for example, to Veronica whom he hurt, ok. I don`t know if he cares. But he said it`s his behavior that`s going to count, not his words. Well, let`s see his behavior.
And yes, I can see where people who are covering alcoholics or addicts of another kind or you know, would identify with another person who is in treatment.
But what about the people that were hurt -- the person, in my case Veronica, who was hurt during the time that he was engaging in the behavior that he was engaging in? He`s got to do something about her and I know people are interested and corporate sponsors and business and all that.
But yes, women do matter as I said the other day (AUDIO GAP). She is one of victims. He needs to do something about her and he needs to do it soon.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Got it. I`m going to give ten seconds, the last ten seconds -- if you can raise your head --
BISSINGER: You know, the idea that rules don`t apply, they don`t apply to guys on Wall Street, actors, politicians, journalists, sports figures. You know, all these guys screw around. He was very manipulative about how he did it. He tried to hide it.
There was the whole issue when the "National Enquirer" found out and they gave him the cover of one of the golfing magazines. The focus should be why did he have this press conference? It did him no good whatsoever.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you got the last word, Buzz. And I hope that makes you a little bit happy.
Fantastic panel, thank you so much.
Coming up, a very special guest joins me; my mom celebrating her 94th birthday. You don`t want to miss this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: I`ve had a lot of time to think about what I`ve done. My failures have made me look at myself in a way I never wanted to before. It`s now up to me to make amends and that starts by never repeating the mistakes I`ve made. It`s up to me to start living a life of integrity.
I once heard and I believe it`s true, it`s not what you achieve in life that matters it`s what you overcome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight is a very special night. No, not because Tiger finally spoke. It`s because my mom, Anita, is joining me tonight as my very special guest. She is turning 94 this Sunday. Congratulations, mom.
ANITA VELEZ, MOTHER OF JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL: 49.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think that`s a pretty amazing milestone. Now, mom, you were born in 1916 when women didn`t even have the right to vote. You became a successful vaudeville performer and played the famous Palace Theater with your showbiz troop, Anita Velez Dancers. And you`ve stayed healthy and active all these years. In fact, you just wrote an opera that`s being produced in New York.
What is your secret to staying so fit and so sharp?
VELEZ: You know, I believe it`s nourishment. Because of my love for animals, it was very difficult for me to have anything else but vegetables and I loved them and fruits, I loved. I had a wonderful, wonderful growth just having that and I think that`s part of my secret.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Well, you`ve certainly instructed that as far as I`m concerned. I was raised vegetarian, thanks to you. And I really, really appreciate that. That`s one of the gifts that you`ve given me, mom, is to go through a day without harming any other creature and just eating fruits and vegetables.
Look at the results. Didn`t you say they used to make fun of you but you had the last laugh?
VELEZ: Always.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What is your life philosophy?
VELEZ: Well, I consider that I, for example, am not just I, but I am a web of relations with my family, with my friends, with my neighbors, with my co-collaborators, let`s say. And I think part of that is to keep it that way, not to think that you`re just you but that you belong to the world and everybody has their little world within themselves.
And I think I was happy in my world with my beautiful children and my family, my friends.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re looking at your fantastic showbiz career in all these old pictures of you when you were a dancer. You`ve been through so much. The First World War, Second World War, Vietnam and, yet, you have maintained your desire for peace throughout all of that, right?
VELEZ: Peace is a very important thing, but I think it has to -- humanity has to become the family of man and love each other and just have no more wars.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, yes.
VELEZ: I think it`s awful.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re on the same page with that. Happy birth day, mom.
VELEZ: Thank you, darling. A pleasure.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you, fabulous panels and super moms for joining me tonight.
You are watching ISSUES on HLN.
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