AN OPEN LETTER TO TIGER WOODS

Dear Mr. Tiger Woods,

Let me preface this by saying I am your biggest fan and I have nothing but respect for you. Despite your recent misadventures, I respect the way you conduct yourself as a Sportsman, on and off the field and I look to you as a hero, even though you are about twenty years younger than me. Yes I play, but you have more knowledge of the game & sport of Golf in your little finger than I do in my entire body.

In a sense, you and I are of the same tribe: your father is well-known in Special Forces, and you paid homage to him when you visited our hallowed training grounds at Camp MacKall, North Carolina.





"I grew up in a military family - and my role models in life were my Mom and Dad, Lt. Colonel Earl Woods. My dad was a Special Forces operator and many nights friends would visit our home. They represented every branch of the service, and every rank." - Tiger Woods, from a speech entitled: "You'll Never Walk Alone" (posted on Tiger's web site)


We have much in common on many levels, you & I. You are an SF kid; my kids are SF kids. Your Mom is Thai; I spent many years in Thailand, and I speak Thai. I would like to call on that commonality and ask you to heed what I have to say.

You don't need to hear me tell you that you stepped in it, big time. There's a lot of schadenfreude going on out there but I don't share in it - right now you're hurtin', BAD - I know that. Anybody with a heart knows that, and I honestly feel for you. For you it's probably ten million times worse because of the way the media is socking it to you.

Right now I'm sure you have people advising you on what to do, how to conduct yourself and how to deal with the feelings you're dealing with inside yourself right now. I am not one of these people; I do not do this, other than mentoring in a leadership way.

What I am is a security consultant - I get paid for thinking five moves ahead on the three-dimensional chess board - and you probably could have used my services. My short bio says I served with honor on five continents; this is true. What my bio doesn't say is that I am no Boy Scout, and therefore I am not going to pass judgment on what is every man's weakest link. What I WILL call you out on is YOUR sense of judgment, and I also point the finger at the people around you who let this thing get out of hand.

In a word; Groupies. Believe it or not we also have them in Special Forces; we meet them everywhere we go and the really sporting ones are known as "Team Queens". Yeah, some of them are beautiful and anyone can fall prey to temptation. The trouble with Groupies is they are amateurs, and they behave like amateurs. English translation: they are trouble waiting to happen. The common wisdom is if you ARE going to go with an SF Groupie, have at least a body of water between yourself and Mama: NEVER piss or shit in your own backyard.






There's a time and place for everything, including sin. I led a team for a nine month operation in the former Yugoslavia where the women are knock-down, drag-out beautiful and VERY available.







Women were also the primary method the Serbs used to compromise individuals within NATO units and we knew about the cameras in their bordellos. It certainly was the place, but it was not the time for us. We had a mission to do and so somehow we managed to keep our snakes in their cages.

However this thing comes out in the wash, I want to let you know that I hope it is resolved for the best for your family and yourself. I wish you no ill will, Tiger. You are one of my heroes. But you played, and now you have to pay.

"Chok Dee!"

Sean Linnane


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