Golf legend Tiger Woods was involved in a severe car accident in California on Tuesday. However, instead of the story being about well-wishes for him to make a full and speedy recovery, it somehow morphed into a replay of his past transgressions and a media “memorial” as if he were dead.
Top News Today
According to ESPN, Eldrick Tont ‘Tiger’ Woods sustained a compound fracture, a shattered ankle, and multiple crush injuries in both lower legs after his vehicle rolled over and crashed just after 7am PT on Tuesday near Rancho Palos Verdes, California. According to police and fire officials, Woods was alert and coherent when they pulled him from the crash site. He was transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where he underwent several hours of surgery and remains today in serious (but not life-threatening) condition.
As word of Woods’ accident made its way to the public via news channels, the media coverage took a disturbing turn.
CNN covered the story as “Breaking News” all afternoon and turned their coverage into a trip down memory lane of the golf legend’s life — similar to what is done when a celebrity dies and their life is chronicled in a memorial montage. However, it was CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes who clearly crossed the line.
With little to no information about the accident, Scholes surmised that painkillers may have been involved in the Tiger Woods accident. When anchor Brianna Keilar asked how he felt about the accident, Scholes riffed an opinion.
“I mean, Brianna, you know, stunned I guess but not entirely surprised by what we’re seeing here,” he said. “You know, Tiger in 2017 was found by police pulled over on the side of the road asleep in his car. He had said he had taken a lot of painkillers at that time, because we all know Tiger has gone under a lot of surgeries over the years and painkillers have become part of his life.”
Hmmm…
.
CNN Sports anchor says he wasn’t surprised by Tiger’s car crash because ‘painkillers have become a part of his life’ https://t.co/2RtxpUBTBm pic.twitter.com/An4QpDMDEM
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) February 23, 2021
Scholes has since walked back his comments and admitted that he has zero knowledge of what caused the crash. He also apologized for speculating without having the facts.
Despite reports from police that Woods did not appear impaired or under the influence of any substance (and reports from the hospital that no substances were found in his system), several news agencies ran stories of his previous accident. One station even featured footage of a Tiger Woods “perp walk,” where the golfer was seen being led away from the scene in handcuffs.
The negative coverage was destructive and unnecessary, particularly since no facts of the accident had been made public and because a human being is in a hospital (with young children and a family) and is fighting to save his life and his livelihood.
Interestingly, The Washington Post has reported that the stretch of Hawthorne Boulevard where Tiger Woods crashed has a deadly “S” curve that is notorious for car wrecks. So, the rush to judgment by the media to connect past negative stories or to assume Woods was near death was abysmal.
.
“That specific stretch of roadway is one of our trouble spots. Our locals in Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates know it’s a hot spot for traffic collisions as well as speed. … I have seen many collisions.” – Sheriff Deputy Carlos Gonzalez
Perhaps the media should learn a lesson from their desire to fill hours of televised news coverage with a sensationalized story that had not yet delivered many facts: tell the TRUTH — and if you are without the necessary facts to tell the truth, be patient and wait until you can tell the truth!
Golf legend Tiger Woods was involved in a severe car accident in California on Tuesday. However, instead of the story being about well-wishes for him to make a full and speedy recovery, it somehow morphed into a replay of his past transgressions and a media “memorial” as if he were dead. […] – DJ
You noticed that too huh? The shift to “past transgressions” happened so fast and was so obvious that I quickly turned away from CNN in total disgust.
And let me be clear. I’m not a fan of Tiger. But the fact that CNN, in particular, is so desperate in chase ratings that they conduct their business in such a despicable manner just reinforces my belief that CNN is barely a news network anymore. In my opinion it’s little more than a half step up from Faux News, which is at the absolute bottom.