Ron Artest admits infidelity, offers support to Tiger Woods

I have no idea how to react to Ron Artest's blog post on his website ARTESTicle, offering support to Tiger Woods.  (Note: I did not make the site's name up, check it out.  Also, his tagline for the site is "The man has balls."  In other news, I'm thinking of shutting down Celtics Town and creating "King-ky.com".  Doesn't it have a nice ring to it?)

In classic Artest fashion, he sounds at once incredibly deep and thoughtful, yet partially insane.  Here are his opening few sentences of a letter he writes to Tiger and Tiger's fans:

Dear Tiger,
In reading the statements you have made, I can tell you are a stand up guy. Please remember only Jesus is perfect. You made a mistake and you admitted your infidelity.
I have made the same mistakes. Before I got married to my wife, I had a baby with another young lady, after I already had two by my girlfriend who is now my wife. We also had another baby which makes three for us and four for me. Two boys and two girls.

My wife is a much better wife than I am a husband. We still argue and disagree after being together 16 years. and I still cope with the fact that there are so many women out there and I choose to stay loyal to my wife.

I'd be fine with calling Tiger a stand-up guy if he admitted his misdeeds on his own terms, rather than getting caught red-handed and being forced into a belated apology, as every sign in this odd case points to.  Everyone makes mistakes, nobody is perfect, and it takes a real man to stand up to his mistakes, admit them and change his ways.

Still, everybody does make mistakes.  It's possible Tiger didn't realize how much it would hurt his wife Elin if she found out, and it's possible he thought he'd never get caught.  It's possible he never knew just how much he loved her until he saw firsthand how it felt to hurt her, to truly hurt her.  It's probable that, aside from the death of his father, Tiger Woods has never felt more pain than he felt the day he looked into Elin's eyes and understood just how much he had let her down.

I can't judge Tiger's character based on his recent acts of infidelity, but I do know that he did what a lot of other people do.  I'm sure even a lot of the sportswriters criticizing him for being such an asshole have cheated on their wives, too.  The real test of Tiger's character will be how he reacts to this.  Can he change his life and mend his ways?  Can he salvage his family and return to being true to his values?

Everybody makes mistakes, even golf's Golden Child.  Tiger has lived a blessed life, a life fit for kings, and this is one of the first times in his life he's faced true turmoil.  If he can fix his life, put the pieces back together, and learn how to be faithful to his wife, he can still show high character.  He made a series of dreadful mistakes, which I'm sure he wishes he could take back, but to change his ways and learn from his mistakes is the only way he can attempt to apologize for his actions... words alone do not suffice.

Here's a quote I have framed in my room, one of my favorite quotes in the world:

"For the world is like an olive press, and men are constantly under pressure. If you are the dregs of oil, you are carried away by the sewer, but if you are the true oil you remain in the vessel. But to be under pressure is inescapable. Observe the dregs, observe the oil, and choose; for pressure takes place through all the world: war, siege, famine, the worries of state.  We all know people who crumble under pressure and complain,... for they are cowards. They lack splendor. But there is another sort of man who welcomes splendor. He is under the same pressure, but does not complain. For it is the friction which polishes him. It is the pressure which refines him and makes him noble."

The world is like an olive press, and Tiger is constantly under pressure.   Right now, though, Tiger's under pressure like never before.  He must make choices, at this crossroads in his life, to become either the dregs or true oil.  He must decide whether he will allow the friction to polish him, to refine him and make him noble, or whether he will ignore the friction and keep doing the same things he's been doing.

Back to Ron Artest, you should read his blog post.  It's insightful, thoughtful, and a little crazy, just like Artest can often be.  But it's nice to read, interesting, and a new view on Tiger's infidelities.

Lastly, I'd like to say thanks, Ron, for offering me a reason to discuss Tiger Woods' plights.  And for giving me the idea for 'King-ky.com'.