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Tiger Woods Suffered Significant Orthopedic Injuries In Car Crash; CNN Reality Check: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) Can't Quit Baseless Conspiracies; Lawmakers To Grill Postmaster General On Mail Delays. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired February 24, 2021 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:33:28]
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Golf great Tiger Woods is quote "awake, responsive, and recovering" after emergency surgery following that rollover car crash near Los Angeles.
Doctors say Woods suffered significant injuries to his right leg and ankle. They were able to stabilize the leg by inserting a rod, screw, and pins.
Authorities say Woods was going downhill on a winding road when he lost control of his SUV, crossing the median, crashing into a curb, and then rolling over multiple times. The first officer to arrive on the scene says Woods is lucky to be alive.
Tiger Woods has had, of course, a legendary career and one that's included many struggles off the golf course.
CNN's Randi Kaye has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is one of the greatest golfers of all time and perhaps, one of the greatest athletes, too.
It all started before Tiger Woods even turned two when his father began teaching him the game of golf. Around that time in 1978, Tiger putted with comedian Bob Hope on "THE MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW."
Tiger Woods first turned professional in 1996 at the age of 20. Less than a year later, he was number-one in the world. In all, he has won 15 major golf tournaments, trailing only Jack Nicklaus, who has 18. He was also the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam and is expected to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame this year.
[07:35:00]
Tiger's fame kept him in the headlines but not all of it was positive. His squeaky-clean image took a hit in 2009 when his SUV struck a fire hydrant outside his Florida home. A neighbor called 911.
911 OPERATOR: OK, now, are they trapped inside of the vehicle?
CALLER: No, they're laying on the ground now.
KAYE (voice-over): This wife at the time had taken a golf club to the SUV's back window. She said it was to free him.
Rumors began to swirl that Tiger had been unfaithful. Before the couple decided to divorce, Tiger tried to cover up the affair, leaving this voicemail for the Las Vegas waitress he'd been seeing.
TIGER WOODS, 15-TIME MAJOR WINNER: Hey, it's Tiger. I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went into my phone and may be calling you.
KAYE (voice-over): Tiger later apologized for his infidelity.
Years later, back pain sidelined Tiger, forcing the golf champ to undergo multiple back surgeries.
In 2017, police found Tiger asleep at the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz on a Florida road. His car was still running. Tiger's speech was slurred, the police report said, and pain pills were in his system.
The golf great would later say he didn't know how strong the medication was following surgery. He pled guilty to reckless driving and took full responsibility for his actions.
Tiger fought his way back, going on to win his first major in 11 years, the 2019 Masters Championship.
WOODS: There's a time where I didn't think that would ever happen again until this last procedure, which was fantastic. So I get a chance to do it. I don't know how long I'm going to do it for, so I'm just going to enjoy it every step of the way.
KAYE (voice-over): But his back pain returned, leading him to yet another surgery last month.
He was feeling good enough, though, to go golfing with basketball great Dwyane Wade on Monday. This video shows them joking around just a day before the crash.
DWYANE WADE, THREE-TIME NBA CHAMPION: Right here, man, I've got Tiger. Thank you for teaching me something.
KAYE (voice-over): As Tiger Woods fights to recover in the hospital, family, friends, and fans can only hope there are more good times ahead.
Randi Kaye, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And joining me now is Curt Sampson. He's a sports biographer and a former golf pro. Curt has written two books about Tiger Woods -- most recently, "Roaring Back: The Fall and Rise of Tiger Woods." And, Curt, thanks so much for being with us this morning. A fan of your work.
Listen, before we get into where this fits into Tiger Woods' life, I know the golf world and the orbit of Tiger Woods is a relatively small-knit community. I'm just curious what, if anything, you are hearing this morning.
CURT SAMPSON, GOLF BIOGRAPHER, AUTHOR, "ROARING BACK: THE FALL AND RISE OF TIGER WOODS" AND "CHASING TIGER" (via Skype): Nothing in particular. No chatter other than the news that you're providing.
I just keep being struck by the parallel to Ben Hogan, Tiger's golf hero -- the only guy who he said who owned his golf swing the way Tiger does.
At age 36, I guess it was, Ben Hogan had a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus and he mangled his left leg and broke bones on his left side. Here's Tiger at age 45 busting up his body on the right side. A totally different circumstance in the crashes, but a weird parallel. I guess I'm obsessed with it because I also wrote a book about Ben Hogan.
BERMAN: Look, Ben Hogan was able to come back, right, and win again.
SAMPSON: He was.
BERMAN: He was also younger.
We don't know what Tiger Woods --
SAMPSON: Yes.
BERMAN: -- what will happen with Tiger Woods. We can only hope that he walks again well and is able to be a father and lead a fruitful life. Golf may be secondary to that.
Where do you think --
SAMPSON: It's true.
BERMAN: Where do you think this fits in to the arch of Tiger Woods' life? When we look back, in some ways, the fairytale ending to the career would have been the Masters win, number 15, in 2019.
SAMPSON: Yes.
BERMAN: So where does this fit, do you think?
SAMPSON: Yes, I've been thinking about this, John. There's a chance there could be another fairytale ending given this guy's amazing ability to rehab from injury and surgery. Maybe after a long rehab he walks again, hits balls again, plays at a high level again, and we've got another grand finale to this incredible career this man has had.
BERMAN: Yes. You know, it may be that the fairytale ending is just to be comfortable and happy --
SAMPSON: Yes.
BERMAN: -- and pain-free -- as pain-free as he can be. Look, if he wasn't pain-free before with the 10 back and leg surgeries combined --
SAMPSON: Yes.
BERMAN: You note something really interesting and I want you to go to into this because in 2009-2010, I covered extensively what was going on in Tiger Woods' life -- the tumult, the scandals, the apologies.
[07:40:00]
And I spent some time on the golf tour and one of the things that was notable was the reverence that everyone on the tour had for Tiger. There was not an unkind word for Tiger Woods on the tour, even with everything that had happened, and everyone was rooting for his return.
Now, part of that might have been business considerations. He made a lot of people a lot of money, including other golfers. He increased the interest there.
SAMPSON: So true, yes.
BERMAN: But he also was widely liked.
What did you find as you were researching your books?
SAMPSON: The identical thing. As you mentioned, I wrote a book about Tiger in 2002 called "Chasing Tiger," which was about the sort of helpless, hopeless attempts by the other guys to keep up with him. And then again, this recent book "Roaring Back."
It's the same -- it's the same thing. Never is heard a discouraging word about Tiger when you interview his peers. They do have the utmost respect for him. And as you mentioned, he's buttered their bread. The money has skyrocketed since the advent of Tiger.
I think personally, when Tiger's relaxed, when there are no cameras, when there -- there's less pressure that way, he can be a very engaging man. When he -- when he turns cold and sullen, often, is when he's dealing with someone like me. And that's maybe not just me, it's the other guys, too. The other journalists, I should say.
BERMAN: Well, you're doing your job.
SAMPSON: Yes.
BERMAN: Look, there seems to have been less of the cold and sullen in the last couple of years. It does seem --
SAMPSON: Certainly (ph).
BERMAN: -- that he had found a certain peace and joy in his life. What have you seen? SAMPSON: The same. It was almost a transformation, it seemed, when Tiger won the 2018 Tour Championship in Atlanta, and there was this outpouring of love for him.
And then this -- the wonderful reunion on the -- on the final green when his kids ran out and they embraced. And the -- it wasn't fained. The love was real. The connection with his kids made him seem a little less -- a little bit more like us, I think, and not this exalted figure that you just couldn't figure out. Here, after all, was a dad -- a parent like so many of us.
And then, that just teed up the drama of the next major, the Masters in 2019, which he won, which my book is about. I've never seen anything like it. The -- it was probably the most popular win I've ever seen. I'm sure it is.
BERMAN: Curt Sampson, thanks for being with us and providing this perspective. I know you, like the rest of us, are just hoping that as a father and human he can recover soon in that hospital in Los Angeles. Thank you.
SAMPSON: Thanks, John.
BERMAN: So, just how many senators are still pushing the lies and conspiracies about the Capitol insurrection? A reality check, next.
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[07:47:35]
BERMAN: The first congressional hearing into the Capitol insurrection revealed just how many Republican senators are still peddling lies about the siege.
John Avlon with a reality check.
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.
Look, January sixth is one of those days that gets worse the more perspective we have on it. Yesterday's Senate hearing was the beginning of getting more answers about how our Capitol was overrun by a violent mob trying to overturn an election based on the big lie.
But hyperpartisan denial is a hell of a drug. It can cause you to see things that weren't there, ignoring the obvious, while always jonesing for another confirmation biased quick fix.
Just listen to Sen. Ron Johnson who spent almost five minutes suggesting this was a false flag attack by cleverly disguised leftists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): He describes four different types of people -- plainclothes militants, agent provocateurs, fake Trump protesters, and then disciplined uniformed column of attackers. I think these are the people that probably planned this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: This is pathetic. The FBI has stated there is no evidence of an Antifa involvement in the attack, while we know the rioters have repeatedly said they were doing what Trump told them -- in addition to members of the pro-Trump paramilitary groups who have been arrested, and the flags, and the signs.
But we've come to expect no less from Johnson, who seems to reach for partisan conspiracy theories when confronted with uncomfortable facts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: This didn't seem like an armed insurrection to me. I mean, armed -- when you think -- when you hear armed, don't you think of firearms?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Since he's just asking a question, here's the former Capitol Police chief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN SUND, FORMER CAPITOL POLICE CHIEF: I witnessed insurgence, beating police officers with fists, pipes, sticks, bats, metal barricades, and flagpoles. These criminals came prepared for war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: And that's not counting the rioter found with a handgun and 25 rounds or the man with what a judge called a small armory, including three guns and 11 Molotov cocktails.
The news isn't that Johnson is wrong. That's just table stakes at this point. It's that in the face of evidence he fans the flames of disinformation, and all that has an effect.
Get this. A recent USA Today-Suffolk University poll shows that 58 percent of Trump voters believe that the assault on the Capitol was a quote "mostly Antifa-inspired attack that only involved a few Trump supporters."
[07:50:02]
And Trump's handmaids, like Johnson, are responsible for this continued embrace of unreality. Even Ted Cruz is now calling this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): The terrorist attack that unfolded on the Capitol.
(END VIDEO CLIP) AVLON: Yes, that Ted Cruz, who tried to delay the electoral vote count after the attack, is now admitting it was terrorism -- at least when he wasn't playing with his phone during the hearing.
But a lot of right-wing deflections are biting the dust as more information arrives.
For example, Cruz's comrade Josh Hawley tried to establish a toehold on that conservative conspiracy theory that Nancy Pelosi delayed the National Guard deployment. No dice.
TEXT: "You weren't waiting at any point from congressional leadership? You weren't waiting for them at any point? There was no delay in getting National Guard requests?"
AVLON: But even for a guy whose lawyers have argued that he's not expected to tell the truth, this one (INAUDIBLE).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST, "TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT": There's no evidence that white supremacists were responsible for what happened on January sixth. That's a lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: OK, because when Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked "Would you agree that this attack involved white supremacists and extremist groups" all the officials testifying answered yes.
And that's your reality check.
CAMEROTA: John, the question is will they believe first-person sources -- witnesses -- those chiefs of police -- or will they continue to go to right-wing blogs?
AVLON: Right-wing blogs.
CAMEROTA: That's it. Thank you very much for all of that.
So, the U.S. Postmaster General in the hot seat today on Capitol Hill amid widespread mail delays and rising calls for him to resign. So, what to expect, next.
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[07:55:41]
CAMEROTA: This morning, lawmakers set to grill the U.S. Postmaster about extensive mail delays, especially around the election, and renewed calls to remove him from that top job.
CNN's Kristen Holmes is live in Washington with more. What do we expect, Kristen?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, this hearing is slated to talk about this much-needed Postal Service reform, so anticipate lots of questions about those lengthy mail delays and how Louis DeJoy intends to fix them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have some mail ready to go out.
HOLMES (voice-over): With mail piled up during the election and slow deliveries over the holidays, calls for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to step down, and plenty of frustration.
JONATHAN COHEN, COHEN'S COLLECTIBLES: I have a package going to Kansas. It's been 42 days and it still hasn't reached its destination.
HOLMES (voice-over): But today, DeJoy will make the case on Capitol Hill that he's the best person to lead the Postal Service as lawmakers look at ways to fix it. Nationwide complaints continue over delayed mail, including medicine, housing payments, and credit card bills.
A holdover from Trump, DeJoy came under fire before the election for changes to the Postal Service that critics say slowed down delivery.
MARK DIMONDSTEIN, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION: The Postmaster General certainly needs to be held accountable. It's not all his fault -- he inherited some of the problems -- but he is the captain of the ship and the ship is in stormy seas. And we need to get it righted quickly and he needs to be held accountable.
HOLMES (voice-over): But, DeJoy has yet to release his forthcoming 10-year plan to overhaul the Postal Service. One source tells CNN that changing first-class mail delivery is under consideration, a move experts say could further slow down mail but help financially.
In a series of letters to the White House, lawmakers have urged Biden to remove and replace Postal Service leadership. Biden can't fire DeJoy, but the Postal Board of Governors can.
Tuesday, the American Postal Workers Union ramping up the pressure, calling on the administration to quickly fill the vacancies on the board.
DIMONDSTEIN: We're urging the president to act swiftly, to fill the vacancies with strong, pro-postal, pro-worker, pro-community, and diverse members. That's within his power and we hope that it will happen quickly.
HOLMES (voice-over): In a statement to CNN, a White House spokesperson said Biden's team is working as quickly as possible to fill board vacancies so the USPS can effectively fulfill its vital mission for the country and live up to the commitments made to its workers.
But it's still unclear what this will ultimately mean for Louis DeJoy.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: We have learned that some Democrats are actually at odds over what to do about DeJoy. We have those that are calling for his removal. But now there are some who are talking about taking a more moderate approach, working with DeJoy to get some of this long-awaited Postal Service reform passed -- Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: OK, Kristen. Thank you very much for all of your reporting.
We have breaking details on Tiger Woods' condition, and NEW DAY continues right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Traffic collision, ALS now. Person's trapped. Sheriff on scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Firefighters having to break the car with an ax to get the golfer out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of, still, questions to be answered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the first time, the key players in charge of protecting the Capitol faced a public grilling about what went wrong on January sixth.
SUND: None of the intelligence we received predicted what actually occurred. The evidence would indicate a coordinated attack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was, clearly, mistakes. Major, major failures of predicting what was happening here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
BERMAN: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. And we do have breaking news.
Tiger Woods awake and responsive, recovering in his hospital room. That's after undergoing a long surgical procedure on his lower right leg and ankle. We've all seen pictures of the horrifying rollover crash on a California road.
Overnight, his doctor released a statement that reads, quote, "Mr. Woods suffered significant orthopedic injuries to his right lower extremity that were treated during emergency surgery by orthopedic trauma specialists at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a level-one trauma center.
Comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones were stabilized by inserting.
