Poll:
Do you think Tiger's apology was sincere?
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In his first public appearance since news of his multiple affairs broke, Tiger Woods spoke candidly about the pain he's caused his family, friends and fans.
He also made a bold admission about what led him to cheat. But did his prepared statement really help? We went to an expert in the field of reputation management to find out.
Since 1984, Kathleen Hessert has run Charlotte-based Sports Media Challenge. A major part of her operation is crisis management.
"Over the years, crisis management has probably been 40 percent of our business, and at times it is 110 percent," she said.
Hessert isn't working for Tiger Woods, but has definite opinions on what he has and has not done.
"The lack of answering questions speaks volumes about where he is and about his psyche right now," Hessert said.
She thinks he should've spoken out publicly a lot sooner.
"There's a term I use. It's better to go for the quick bleed than the slow hemorrhage," she said.
With that said, 85 days after the bizarre wreck in his Florida neighborhood led to revelations of mistress after mistress, Hessert anxiously waited for him to start talking. And she immediately had feedback.
"I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior," said Woods.
"He's nervous. Look at his eyes," Hessert observed.
She thinks he followed his script well. He often looked directly at the camera to make points, including his attack on the paparazzi for following his wife and daughter.
More volatile moments came when admitting he felt entitled to the temptations around him. "I don't get to play by different rules," he said.
He apologized to his mother, who sat in the front row and hugged her when he finished.
"He's gone farther than I expected," Hessert said. "I think he did exceedingly better than I anticipated because he gave more details."
While Woods spoke, Hessert's Buzz Manager, a service clients use to track what fans are saying online, went wild. During the 14 minute statement there were 20,000 tweets related to Woods.
In the end, Hessert said there may be a lesson in this story for everyone.
"Maybe we'll be more realistic as fans and say, 'Alright, we can appreciate him for his golf skills and not make him into a god like we did before,'" she said.
On a scale of 1 to 10, Hessert gives Woods a 7 1/2 or 8. She expected a 5. She thinks true golf fans are saying, "OK, just start playing again."
"We love comeback stories and this guy is too good and has too many resources at his beck and call not to make a comeback," she said.
Woods said he doesn't know when he'll return to golf, but he's not ruling out this year.
