BEHIND THE NEWS
How the mighty have fallen. In the past sports supoerstarshave had their image tarnished by being unable to manage theirfinances. In recent memory, two names come immediately to mind - BjornBorg and Boris Becker. Another tennis player Andre Agassi hasconfronted the demons in his head by divulging that he took drugs.Sprinter Ben Johnson was vilified for using anabolic steriods, dittofor Marion Jones. Borg was so strapped for cash that he even had tohawk his trophies. Bjorn Bord Design which is the company that Borglaunched to market luggage, sportswear and after shave lotion wentbankrupt in 1989 with heavy losses. The Swedish Government pursued himfor back taxes amounting to $40,000, threatening to make him bankrupt.His one time rival, big hitting Roscoe Tanner from Lookout MountainTenesse was unluckier. Tanner was sentenced to two years jail in forparole violation on a grand theft conviction. Tanner, known for hisspeed on court, made an equally nifty departure from the US, but wassubsequently caught in Germany. Similarly another champion tennisplayer Boris becker lived a life of misery. In 2002, after a ten-yearinvestigation, tennis great Boris Becker was convicted of tax evasionin Germany. The former Wimbledon champion was sentenced to two yearsprobation and was ordered to pay 3 million euros in back taxes andanother 500,000 euros in fines and charitable contributions. It seemsthat from 1991 to 1993, Boris claimed he was living in the tax havenof Monaco and so did not pay taxes in Germany. However, the Germangovernment maintained that the apartment he held in Munich was hisprimary residence and that he needed to pay up. A few months later,Boris paid the fines and moved permanently to Switzerland.
But Tiger Woods' case is unique. The world's first billionairesportsman led a model life, complete with family and children. Afterhis being ouyted as a sex addict, intrusive and the tabloids inparticular have ripped him apart. It was as if Woods was leading adouble life. Champion golfer, family man and sleazy sex addict on theother side of the divide. At last copunt 14 mistresses have comeforward with their stories and this is probably not the end of it.But, how did Woods become the richest sportman ever. It was not merelyhis tournament winnings which contributed to his wealth. The real bigbucks came from endorsements. We are reproducing a list of his bigticket endorsement deals which have all gone sour ever since the woodssex scandals have emerged. This is how sensitive corporate America isto bad news. In any case, this is a first for no sportsman was everloved and adored so much in recent timjes as Tiger Woods. To be shownas fallible has taken the sting out of Woods.
* ACCENTURE - Accenture, the top drawer consulting firm has ended asix-year sponsorship deal with Woods.* GILLETTE - Shaving products giant Gillette, part of the Procter &Gamble Group has pulled away from Woods but not severed tiescompletely yet.* NIKE - US sports good biggie Nike is still standing by their man.* PEPSICO - PepsiCo's Gatorade unit decided before the sex rompscandal that it would drop its "Tiger Focus" drink.* AT&T - Telkecoms monolith is evaluating its relationship with Woods.* TAG HEUER - Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer, a unit of LVMH LouisVuitton Moet Hennessy has still not junked its seven-year relationshipwith Woods.* ELECTRONIC ARTS, TLC VISION CORP, Berkshire Hathaway unit NETJETS -All announced they were standing by Woods, but that was before headmitted in a statement on Friday that he had cheated on his wife.*PGA TOUR - They have lost their biggest drawcard, TV ratings hadslumped 50 percent when he took eight months off to rehabilitate aninjured leg.
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