Comeback Tiger, Hidden Scandal

There's only one thing the media love more than a scandal - a comeback.

We've become so used to seeing movies based on this paradigm. The hero hits rock bottom and doesn't have a friend in the world, but somehow is able to turn it all round to much fanfare and celebration. All those people who shunned the hero are now carrying him/her on their shoulders, as confetti, streamers and balloons fall. End Scene.

Even if you couldn't care less about golf, you know that Tiger Woods won his first major in 11 years. The young golfer who looked like he would never stop winning did and then didn't for a long time. After battling injuries and dealing with a litany of personal problems he finally won his 15th major and did so in style. Not only was it the first time he'd won a major when trailing after 54 holes, he broke the drought at the Masters, the venue where he won his first major. 

Some people never bounce back from scandal and the ability to do so depends on the nature of their rise and subsequent fall. If you really hurt people, it’s difficult to have any form of redemption.

80 year old Bernie Madoff is 9 years into a 150 year sentence so will see out his days in prison. If he was to be released, you couldn't see a comeback of any sort for him. The damage he caused; not just in dollars, but in human life is impossible to quantify.

Compare this to Martha Stewart who was found guilty of securities fraud, obstruction of justice and making false statements. She was imprisoned for five months and bounced back instantaneously.

In the instance of entertainers such as Robert Downey Jr, Winona Ryder and Britney Spears who all spiralled out of control, the damage they caused was mostly to themselves. In Ryder's instance, her fall was marked with a 2001 arrest for shoplifting and Spears drove with young son Sean on her lap. 

All of Spears’ problems are way in the past as evidenced by her 2018 tour that grossed over $50 million.

Two people who will find plotting a comeback a little harder are Elizabeth Holmes and Billy McFarland, synonymous with Theranos and Fyre Fest respectively. They willfully profited from preying on others - they lied time and time and time again, living the high life at the expense of people they deceived. 

Not only is Elizabeth Holmes trying to pick up the pieces of a reputation that’s been shred to pieces, but she's making it harder for all the other Elizabeth Holmes out there. 

McFarland was the entrepreneur behind the infamous Fyre Festival. He pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud and defrauding investors of $26 million for which he is serving six years in prison. Could he become a cult hero by then? Or will he be someone with 15 seconds of fame from an era that no longer exists?

Then there is Lori Loughlin who has been smashed like a pi?ata as the face of the college admissions scandal. Despite losing endorsements and parts, the needle could forseeably move and there come a time when once again people embrace her. 

This brings us to the role we play in a scandal. That's right - all of us.

How unforgivable is an act? If a person goes to prison and does their time, are we still to judge them? Who is to say people don’t deserve a second chance?

For companies and HR this is a big deal for what are you to do with a candidate that was fired from their previous job/s? How relevant is this? Do you call up their previous employer/s and find out what happened? Who’s to know if hiring this person could be the best or worst decision the company ever made?

No one.

What is for sure is that we shouldn’t judge people by hearsay, gossip and rumor. We should only do it when meeting them face to face and forming an opinion based on the impression we glean from our own eyes and ears. If we ever found ourselves in that same situation, we’d like people to give us a chance and not turn their backs.