Responding to reports that the Florida Highway Patrol is seeking a warrant to seize medical records to investigate Tiger Woods’ car crash to determine whether “determine if the wounds Woods sustained are consistent with a car accident or domestic violence”, Tom Maguire snarks, “what kind of a world are we living in if the world’s most famous athlete can’t quash an investigation into a domestic violence incident where he is the apparent victim?”
But, as with the possibility of criminal charges against the White House party crashers, what’s the point?
Woods didn’t cause any injuries. He wasn’t speeding. He wasn’t intoxicated. If he damaged the fire hydrant he hit or caused private property damage, I’m sure he’s good for reimbursement. If police want to cite him for reckless driving, the medical records are unlikely to be relevant.
We’ve decided in recent years that domestic violence is no longer a personal crime wherein the victim can simply refuse to press charges, on the not unreasonable theory that the victims are afraid of the repercussions of turning in a spouse. But, surely, that’s not a consideration in this case?
This isn’t to say that we can’t be curious about the incident; certainly, I am. And Woods is a public figure, so his expectation of privacy is diminished. But pursuing this seems a silly waste of police resources.
In related news, Mike Tomasky praises Tiger’s grammar and wonders what the fact that an Escalade’s windows are vulnerable to supermodels with golf clubs will do for GM’s revival.
