The Golf Blog: Was Mark Steinberg, Tiger Woods’ agent, one of people who “betrayed” Elin Nordegren?
The Golf Blog says: If you haven’t read People’s interview with Elin Nordegren, you should. Elin comes across as a very sympathetic figure and a class act. She’s very gracious, even during what must have been the most horrific, humiliating experience a wife could ever experience.
Here’s what Elin said: “The word betrayal isn’t strong enough. I felt like my whole world had fallen apart. It seemed that my world as I thought it was had never existed. I felt embarrassed for having been so deceived. I felt betrayed by many people around me.”
We can only speculate to whom Elin was referring. But one strong candidate is Tiger’s agent, Mark Steinberg.
Perkins waitress Mindy Lawton with whom Tiger allegedly had a sexual affair claims in Vanity Fair that Mark Steinberg helped cover up a National Enquirer story (with photos) on their affair by arranging for Tiger to appear on one of its sister magazines Men’s Fitness. Tiger did appear on the cover of Men’s Fitness and gave the magazine a rare, behind-the-scenes look at his training regimen–access that he even denied to Golf Digest with whom he had a business relationship. The Wall Street Journal chronicles the allegations of the coverup.
In his April 5, 2010 press conference, Tiger let open the possibility that some people in his inner circle knew about his sexual affairs when he stated “a lot of people didn’t know what I was doing.” That evaded the question: “Tiger, will you keep your team, the management team, intact? And how much do they actually know about everything that was going on in your personal life?” Tiger never addressed how much his management team knew. “A lot” of people in his team doesn’t necessarily mean the entire team–and seems to imply, between the lines, that some people on Tiger’s team did know about some of his sexual affairs.
For the record, Mark Steinberg denies knowing of “multiple affairs” but he hasn’t specifically denied knowing of Mindy Lawton or the events in her allegations. It would behoove Mark Steinberg to come clean and answer all questions about his involvement, if any, in covering up Tiger’s sexual affairs at any point in time.
All of this begs the question: should Mark Steinberg resign now?
UPDATE: Keep in mind: Both Vanity Fair and Wall Street Journal have reported the coverup of the Mindy Lawton affair with Tiger–and Mark Steinberg’s involvement in the coverup–as fact, not merely allegation. Some readers may think Vanity Fair is a tabloid, but no one can contest the Wall Street Journal as a reliable news source. In the Wall Street Journal article, the authors reveal its sources as muliple former employees of the parent company of National Enquirer and others with direct knowledge of the coverup :
“But according to accounts provided by former employees of AMI and other individuals with direct knowledge of the arrangement, there was a deal between Mr. Woods and the owner of the National Enquirer. A close examination of how exposure of that alleged infidelity was suppressed more than two years ago reveals fresh details about the quid pro quo. It also offers a look at how Mr. Woods and his handlers worked to hide the golfer’s off-course behavior to protect the image of a superstar whose endorsements made him one of the richest athletes in sports.”
If the Wall Street Journal story were false or inaccurate, Mark Steinberg probably would have filed a lawsuit against the Journal for libel, or at least would have said something by now asking the Journal for a retraction, one would presume.
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