I have a new hero, and I don't know much about him. I just know what he said yesterday, and I found his words both refreshing and reassuring. His name is Billy Payne. He's also the face of the Master's Golf Tournament at Augusta, Georgia.
That much I know about him, and that's about it. His words, however, fell on wide-open eyes as I read the headline on Yahoo News referring to the blistering comments Mr. Payne made about Tiger Woods.
Suddenly the name Billy Payne connoted a welcome piece of wisdom, responsibility and hope, not only for Tiger Woods but also for our young people.
The following news item provides the details.
Washington Post staff writer
Thursday, April 8, 2010
In his annual pre-tournament address to media at Augusta National, Payne acknowledged Woods's position in the history of the game -- placing him alongside legends Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer -- yet all but scolded him for his widely reported infidelity, emphasizing that Woods must show his sincere commitment to change if he is to win back fans.
"As he now says himself, he forgot in the process to remember that with fame and fortune comes responsibility, not invisibility," Payne said. "It is not simply the degree of his conduct that is so egregious here; it is the fact that he disappointed all of us, and more importantly, our kids and our grandkids.
"Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we saw for our children."
Payne's remarks came at the end of his opening remarks, and were not solicited by reporters.
"Is there a way forward?" Payne asked. "I hope, yes. I think, yes. But certainly his future will never again be measured only by his performance against par, but measured by the sincerity of his efforts to change."
I do not wish any ill will on Tiger Woods. I don't know him personally, but like the rest of the world I feel I know more about him than most people would care to know.
I haven't always held much respect for Tiger because of what I have perceived as arrogance and selfish behavior---even before the scandal. I'll have to admit that the first time I ever granted him any redeeming qualities was when I saw the Tiger Woods family portrait with "the Border Collie."
You see Border Collies are smart dogs and they can do amazing things to endear hard hearts. My hard heart toward Tiger softened at that time, and I started liking him "a little" because of that dog. Not a good reason to some readers, I'm sure, but fellow Border Collie owners would understand.
Since the scandal and the all-too public saturation of a whole lot more that we didn't need to or want to know about the world's greatest golfer, public reaction seems mixed. Some say what he does off the course is his business. Others are totally disgusted that once more the virtues that we wish our role models would display for the benefit of easily-influenced young minds have been thrown out with the wash.
With the Master's coming up over the past few weeks, it has appeared that a lot of public opinion has been that we all, "Give Tiger a free pass now. He's suffered enough. After all, golf is hurting and his presence will return the sport back its glory."
I can agree that he's probably endured a degree of personal suffering that would rival or even top the intensity of his talents and achievements as an athlete. Big time stuff in both cases.
As a former teacher who still believes in the importance of good role models for our kids, however, I was feeling a bit disappointed that yet one more celebrity---be it politics, entertainment or sports---had messed up before our very eyes, gone through a short period of contrition, and then, through carefully orchestrated public relations, eventually bounced back into the public eye bigger and better than ever.
Yesterday, Billy Payne restored my faith in the fact that perceived role models don't always get a free pass. His words were stern but hopeful.
A few times in my teaching career, kids did some really stupid things and then tried to worm their way out of the mess by getting people to stand up for them.
In a couple of those cases, I was asked to be an advocate for these young people. My response to them was that I would gladly stand up for them---once they accepted and clearly demonstrated responsibility for their actions but not before.
In those cases, the kids respected my decision, did take responsibility (which included some major sacrifices on their part) and later moved on with their lives in a such a way that they became my heroes. I now think of these former students as role models.
I sincerely hope for the same in the case of Tiger Woods. May he have great success with the rest of his golf career. More importantly, may he take the words of Billy Payne and remember them every single day for the rest of his life.
If he does, then it's possible he may still stand as a world's great example for young people by showing that taking responsibility for one's actions is a monumental and heroic step, especially in the world we live in today.
Thank you, Billy Payne for saying what needed to be said.
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