With Tiger Woods taking a reprieve from public life in the wake of his latest DUI arrest, ESPN is taking the time to try him in absentia across its various platforms and programs.
Most notably, late-night network anchor Scott Van Pelt urged Woods to seek help, while daytime host Stephen A. Smith questioned the golf legend’s reported resistance to using a chauffeur.
‘You must have a very highly suspect life if you, as a billionaire, don’t even want to hire a driver,’ Smith said on First Take in response to a People.com report claiming Woods refused a chauffeur.
Later, Smith’s First Take co-host Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo had his turn, which he used to grill the golf establishment for turning a blind eye to Woods’ driving issues. The 15-time major winner was previously arrested for DUI in Jupiter, Florida nine years ago. Then, in 2021, Woods famously crashed his SUV in Los Angeles County, although he was never administered a blood or urine test in the wake of that one-car collision.
‘I’m going to blame the golf people here too,’ the long-time sports radio host said. ‘[PGA star] Justin Thomas is his best friend. A lot of these golfers, you know, “I adore Tiger.”
‘How about somebody in the last 15 years say, “Tiger, enough of this nonsense.”‘ Okay, instead of genuflecting in front of Tiger, because he’s an all-time great golfer, and you don’t want to get on Tiger’s bad side, how about somebody in the sport in the last 10 years put a stop to this, take the keys away?
Golfer Tiger Woods, 50, stands by his overturned vehicle in Jupiter Island, Florida
Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo grilled the golf establishment for turning a blind eye to Woods’ driving
Tiger Woods was arrested near his Jupiter, Florida home on Friday after rolling his SUV
‘The next funeral is going to be his or somebody else’s that we’re going to have to go to,’ Russo continued. ‘He’s lucky [he] didn’t kill somebody here.’
Woods was arrested near his Jupiter, Florida home on Friday after rolling his SUV. Although he passed a Breathalyzer test at the scene of the crash, officers said he was traveling at ‘high speeds’ and ‘showed signs of impairment’ after climbing out of the passenger window of his wrecked vehicle. Woods also admitted to handling his phone at the time of the crash, according to police.
A deputy ultimately found two white pills on Woods, which have since been identified as the opioid hydrocodone. Woods later refused to take a urine test resulting in his arrest and he has since pleaded not guilty to a DUI charge.
Despite his pleas of innocence, Woods did release a statement saying he would step away and seek treatment to ‘prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery.’ Interestingly, People.com has reported that Woods is not interested in hiring a private driver for himself because he ‘doesn’t want anyone to watch over him or know what he is doing.’
To Smith, the entire ordeal isn’t ‘sad,’ but ‘stupid.’
‘It’s not a sad story,’ Russo said in his somewhat controversial high-energy delivery. ‘It’s a stupid story.’
Justin Thomas (far right) is among Tiger Woods’ better friends on the PGA Tour, Russo said
Stephen A. Smith is concerned with Tiger Woods’ reported refusal to get himself a driver
ESPN star Scott Van Pelt urged the golf legend to seek help ahead of The Masters
Calling Woods the ‘second greatest golfer of all time,’ presumably behind Jack Nicklaus, Russo also agreed with his co-host, Smith: ‘Stephen hit it right on the head, take the car keys away and hire somebody to drive you around.’
Like many of Russo’s rants, his opinion on Woods divided fans.
‘That’s maybe the dumbest comment I’ve ever heard,’ one critic wrote on X. ‘You are blaming his friends?’
‘Is that how it works?’ another critic asked. ‘Just say enough and take his keys?’
Several suggested Russo may not be aware of everyone’s efforts to help Woods: ‘Maybe they did but Tiger didn’t listen.’
But not everyone was down on Russo.
‘Well said,’ sports gambling content producer Joe Osborne wrote on X. ‘The “let’s rally around Tiger” crowd has gotta snap out of it.’
Another added: ‘Only on April Fools can Russo actually make sense.’
