Tiger Woods, once probably the world’s greatest golfer, lost his number one ranking in October 2010, the same year that his marriage to Elin Nordegren blew up when she chased him out of the house and broke the windows of his vehicle with a 9 iron. His popularity sagged as the stories of his infidelity with strippers became common in national news and his back injuries prevented him from competing at his best. Nike severed its relationship with Lance Armstrong after he revealed using performance enhancing drugs and with Oscar Pistorius after he shot his girlfriend. But Nike kept its sponsorship arrangement with Tiger, generating huge revenues for both. However, there was immediate and critical reaction from many when Nike posted an online ad in May 2013 that carried a picture of Tiger superimposed by the quote “Winning Takes Care of Everything.” Others did not seem to mind the double-edged inference projected by the ad: that it does not matter how you play the game of golf or the game of life—it matters only if you win. If you win, can you get away with anything?

Questions 

1. Does winning take care of everything? In golf? In life? In business? 

2. Does how you play the game or run your business ever matter? 

3. Is the reputational impact of unethical behavior different for a sports star than for a business or for yourself?