Lester Cohen/Getty ImagesTiger Woods is talking—and apologizing—again. And it's not for his traffic citation.
On the same day voice mails were released of Woods apparently making a panicked call to a former VH1 reality star, the golf great took to his website to offer a carefully parsed mea culpa.
"I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone," writes Woods.
He then came out swinging against all the gossip, innuendo and outright misinformation he says has only added more stress to the Woods clan in the wake of his solo car crash.
"Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means," he says.
"For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious."
Woods also defends his wife and her honor from allegations that she may have gone after him with a golf club over his purported infidelities.
"Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect," he adds.
He goes on to say that he has no immediate plans to make the confessional rounds with Oprah Winfrey or Larry King.
"But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake, which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy," Woods says.
"I realize there are some who don't share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one's own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions.
"Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it's difficult.
"I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology."
(Originally published Dec. 2, 2009, at 8:20 a.m. PT)
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