Only Human

I am a very part time golfer and an avid follower of the sport. I have watched the career of Tiger Woods and seen how his rise to success and fame has been of tremendous value to the PGA tour. I have been a fan and have enjoyed watching him play as he brings an element of humanity to the game by displaying some emotion on the golf course, like most of us do when we play. Some golfers are machines whose stoic demeanor on the course make them less than personable.
Now Tiger is in hot water. Allegations are that he has a problem staying faithful to his wife. The media is on a rampage and it seems that every commentator is saying things like "He is only human", as if this is some sort of excuse for reprehensible behaviour. Yes, we are all human, but should we be feeling sorry for a person who is reaping what he has sowed?
Fame and fortune carry a very large price tag and that is a loss of privacy and constant scrutiny by the media and the public. Who you are and what you do are put under a magnifying glass and it goes with the territory. If you don't like it, then don't go there. Should he be left alone? I say "no". He has been put on a pedestal. He has been a roll model especially for young black kids who see in him the ability to rise above one's circumstances and achieve great things. But this latest display of immorality should be magnified as a lesson to all who elevate certain people to god status.
Those who are put in the position of being a role model have a tremendous responsibility to fulfill that role. When they fail, they should be pulled off the pedestal. It is a lesson to all that we are all sinners, and that there are dire consequences to sin. Nobody will ever see Tiger through the same eyes again. His behaviour in his private life will forever taint his image. He will never really ever live it down. If he is suffering now, good. He deserves to. He could not keep his animal instincts at bay and should be paying the price. What is the most tragic of all is the legacy he has just left his kids.
What he has become is not what Tiger's father raised him to be.