Washington, Dec 14 (DPA) Management consultancy firm Accenture Sunday announced that it would discontinue its sponsorship agreement with scandal-tainted golfer Tiger Woods.
“Given the circumstances of the last two weeks … the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising,” Accenture said in a statement.
“For the past six years, Accenture and Tiger Woods have had a very successful sponsorship arrangement and his achievements on the golf course have been a powerful metaphor for business success in Accenture’s advertising,” the statement also said.
Woods, one of the world’s most famous athletes, announced Friday that he was taking an indefinite break from professional golf to “repair the damage” caused by his marital infidelity.
Woods, 33, said he had reached the decision “after much soul searching” and that he needed to focus his attention on “being a better husband, father and person.”
“I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children,” Woods wrote on his website. “I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness.”
Once seen as a squeaky clean athletic role model, Woods has been tainted by allegations of serial infidelities with as many as 10 women around the US including various waitresses, nightclub hostesses and porn stars.
He has been the focus of tabloid inquiry since he crashed his car outside his house in the early hours of Nov 27 amid allegations of a massive fight between him and his wife, who apparently used a golf club to break the window on his car.
Woods and his wife Elin Nordegren, 29, have two children, a two-year-old daughter and a 10-month-old son.
Since the accident, Woods has not been seen in public and he withdrew from his own tournament in Thousand Oaks, California, just days after the accident.
Woods has had a phenomenal career, earning more than $1 billion in his rapid 13-year rise, commanding huge fees for sports endorsements and revolutionizing sports marketing.
Already prime time television ads featuring Woods have stopped. Some of his biggest sponsors include Nike, Gilette and AT&T.
Pepsi did confirm that it was discontinuing a Tiger Woods-branded energy drink, but the move had been announced before the scandal broke.
rounak