Tiger Woods’ sponsors back him despite ‘transgressions’
By ANIThursday, December 3, 2009
LONDON - American golfer Tiger Woods’ sponsors, who together pay him about 100 million dollars a year, are backing the world’s number one golfer despite his problems off the course.
Woods, the first billionaire sportsman and widely perceived until now as a family man, has apologised for the “transgressions” that “let his family down” amid allegations of romancing two new women.
“Nike supports Tiger and his family. Our relationship remains unchanged,” The Telegraph quoted Nike, as saying in a statement.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Gillette said: “At this time, we are not making any changes to our existing marketing programs. As a matter of policy, we don’t comment on future marketing plans.”
Another sponsor Electronic Arts Inc said: “Our strong relationship with Tiger for more than a decade remains unchanged. We respect Tiger’s privacy, we wish him a fast recovery and we look forward to seeing him back on the golf course.”
The ace golfer, married to former Swedish model Elin Nordegren with whom he has two children, till now had maintained silence as reports of his affairs with New York socialite Rachel Uchitel emerged.
The 33-year-old was said to have had a heated argument with Nordegren over the alleged affair seconds before he crashed his car outside his mansion in Florida.
Both Woods and Uchitel have denied the rumours, but two magazines have since linked two more women to his private life, Jaimee Grubbs, a Los Angeles cocktail waitress and a Las Vegas nightclub promoter.
Grubbs alleged she began seeing Woods in April 2007 and the two had had nearly 20 sexual encounters since then. She also claimed having photos and text messages to prove her on-off romance. (ANI)
