Tiger Woods gives an awkward interview to CNBC
Yesterday Tiger Woods went on CNBC to promote a product he's endorsing, Fuse Science. The interview conducted by CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo probably didn't go as Tiger had planned. In the early stages, the interview is as boring and predictable as you expect Tiger Woods hawking an obscure product on CNBC would be. Business picks up when Maria asks Tiger about his experience with endorsements and his checkered past in light of Nike dumping Lance Armstrong. Tiger coldly dodges and sidesteps the questions, but Maria presses on with more direct questioning than anyone in the sport of golf has asked Tiger in over 15 years.
Shane Bacon at CBS's Eye on Golf blog makes a great point. Tiger is never asked questions about interesting or controversial topics and he never speaks about his past. Tiger doesn't get asked direct questions by people who cover golf, because if you even breathe on the line to cross, Tiger will shut you out.
"Golf journalists understand the "proper" way (or improper way) to approach Tiger at the podium. No pointed questions, nothing about his personal life and definitely nothing about his business. It's a give-and-take sort of thing here, because nobody wants to get shut out by Tiger, even if he never really gives a reporter a serious answer, anyway."
Woods infamously didn't allow CBS's Peter Kostis to interview him for a lengthy period because he dared to criticize his swing. It's a sad statement for both Tiger and people who cover golf when Maria Bartiromo delivers the most interesting, awkward, direct interview with Woods in recent memory.
(video via Golf Channel)
Congratulations to a reporter who did her job.....there has been way tooooo much value of Tiger media placed on the media by the media....is something wrong? Go Maria...
@hennemong God that's a great find. Everything that makes Tiger insufferable in one clip. Totally clueless on the product, btw.
