Filed under: Golf & Tennis
James and her husband have been selling pre-orders of the tape for $19.99 through a website. The orders were to be shipped on December 1 of this year, but never arrived. There were also no explanations regarding why the tapes were never shipped. James says it's because she and her hubby were waiting for a settlement to come through from Woods' team, and that the settlement finally arrived (perhaps Tiger, like Obama, wanted to make sure that those in need received their benefits before Christmas).
The problem for Devon James is that even her family members say she's a liar. They say that her claims of having a child with Tiger and owning a sex tape are attempts at self-promotion. To date, there has been no evidence of the tape's existence: not a screen shot, video snippet or even a saucy trailer to pique the interest of potential customers. This is hardly a sound business model for a seasoned porn star.
James and her husband claim that they are telling the truth: "We haven't lied. We did have high demand. We had 180,000 buys. We didn't really know what to do. That was our reason. I didn't want to cancel our orders and not have a settlement, so that's what we decided to do," he said.
James' former manager, Gina Rodriguez, says that there is no tape. She claims that everything that James has said and done since the scandal broke is a complete lie. I guess that settles it: Judgement is for Tiger on this one. James has as much credibility as Sarah Palin at a Black Panther rally.
I honestly feel sorry for Tiger Woods, even though he's wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. In addition to the great advice his father Earl gave him in life, I only wish Earl had spoken to Tiger about some of the things my dad shared with me. One thing my father told me a long time ago is that a man who has everything to lose shouldn't be spending much time around people who have nothing to lose.
The truth is that a celebrity, especially a wealthy one, becomes a once in a lifetime opportunity for those with whom he interacts. While the celeb might be looking for a one night stand, such an event is probably the highlight of someone else's life. Because of this disturbing asymmetry in perspective, men like Tiger Woods usually understand that you must be very careful about what kind of volatility you allow to enter into your life. Some people simply never let go.
For many of the women Tiger slept with, being near Woods was the stuff dreams are made of. The fact that many of them were porn stars only made it worse, given that they would have no problem going public with details about his sex life. In fact, not only were they willing to go public, some were willing to sell videos or even recreate the relationship with Woods in a pornographic film (i.e. the movie, "Tiger's Wood"). Reports that Tiger may have been having unprotected sex with these women are even more disturbing, since there is a chance that he may have given Elin Nordegren "a parting gift" that even $100 million dollars can't fix: I don't forgive Elin if she was trying to hit Tiger in the head with a golf club, but I can certainly understand the depth of her betrayal. Perhaps this is a good "Financial Lovemaking" lesson for all of us: all that glitters ain't gold, and when choosing a partner, we can't be blinded by the bling, a person's looks or any other superficial traits. I have a hard time believing that Elin didn't see signs that Tiger might be a serious sexual deviant.
Also true about this scandal is that Tiger Woods hasn't been back to old form since the scandal began a year ago. This is the first year he hasn't won a single PGA Tour event, and watching him on the golf course is like watching senior citizens play basketball. He simply isn't the old Tiger, he's lost his focus, and he seems to have even lost his purpose in life.
I hope Tiger gets it together and shuts this circus down. For a man who was notoriously protective of his private life, this whole situation is the last thing I ever would have ever expected. Tiger has to be a bit more disciplined.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.