For a man who named his own yacht Privacy, Tiger Woods has been experiencing anything less over the past two weeks.  On November 27, the morning after Thanksgiving, around 2:25 A.M., Woods was leaving his home in Windermere, Florida. Woods’ Escalade rubbed up against a line of bushes, crossed over a curb, onto a grass median and into a row of hedges before swerving into a hydrant and crashing into a tree. It is said that his wife then came out of their home and broke the two back windows of his car with a golf club, trying to help him escape. Tiger was released from the hospital Friday afternoon.

The world’s first billion dollar athlete has now become the butt of a billion jokes. It would be easy to insert such a joke here but I think that it is more important to look at one man’s failures as a husband and a father than to go for the cheap laugh.

Micromanaged by a loyal staff since he came on to the PGA Tour, Woods created a brand that was too good to believe, loyal husband, devoted dad and arguably the best golfer to ever play the game. Then the events of Thanksgiving night occurred and we are all left shaking our heads.

Were we lied to? Or did we miss simply buy the package because of how it looked?

The admiration and love we had for Tiger were almost all based on things that have turned out to be untrue.  Loyal husband? Great Dad? Not so much. Great golfer? Sure. However, what we truly need to look at is why we feel compelled to make role models out of athletes.

Role models are people who do the right thing, day or night, whether people are looking or not.  Role models make sure we have the things in life to be successful, clothes for school, rides to and from practice, spending money (sometimes), and are there when we need to talk.  Role models are not people on TV that can hit a golf ball 300 yards.

Being a high school student myself, I have come to realize that we all need people to look up to, to help us make the right decisions. Whether it be a parent, grandparent, a teacher, or coach, a preacher, a family friend, someone alive or dead, or any combination of those, those people are real role models that can be there for you when you need guidance in your life.

Admire Tiger Woods for his golf game, admire Barry Bonds for the fact that he changed the game of baseball, admire Charles Barkley for his skill as a player and an announcer, but please do not make them role models.