時事英語コミュのタイガースキャンダル。13人もの女性と？　Gatoradeが CM解約第一号に

2009年12月09日 英新聞Telegraph紙から


Tiger Woods: Gatorade becomes first company to drop golfer



Gatorade has become the first company to drop its endorsement of Tiger Woods since his wholesome image began to unravel amid reports of multiple affairs.

By Alex Spillius and Anita Singh
Published: 6:55AM GMT 09 Dec 2009



endorsement＝CM出演料、【名-1】〔手形などの〕裏書き





The company however said that the decision to discontinue its Tiger Woods sports drink product was "made months ago.In a statement, the PepsiCo-owned company said: "We decided several months ago to discontinue Gatorade Tiger Focus along with some other products to make room for our

planned series of innovative products in 2010."



The news came as the drama in Tiger Woods' personal life showed no signs of abating after his mother-in-law collapsed at his home and fresh reports claimed he was treated for a suspected drugs overdose in the aftermath of his car crash.　Barbro Holmberg, the mother of Tiger Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren, was rushed to hospital in the early hours.



An emergency call was made from Woods' Florida home at 2.36am local time. A spokesman for the Health Central Hospital in Ocoee said Ms Holmberg, 57, was admitted with stomach pains. Initial reports said she was being treated as an "advanced life support patient" but by midday the spokesman said she was in a stable condition and under evaluation.





Ms Holmberg, a Swedish politician and former minister for migration and asylum policy, had been in the US for less than 48 hours to support her daughter in the wake of the lurid allegations about Woods' private life.



Private security guards were stationed outside her hospital room, such is the intense media interest in the Woods saga. Ms Holmberg's only public pronouncement since the crash had been to say: "This is a private family matter. I'm praying for everyone and everything to be OK. Please let's just leave it at that."





Ms Nordegren followed the ambulance to hospital in her black SUV but there was no sign of Woods, who has been in hiding since the bizarre crash two weeks ago which led to a string of women coming forward with claims of affairs. The tally of alleged mistresses has reached at least seven, including a cocktail waitress and a porn actress.



The latest dramatic development came as fresh allegations were made about the mysterious November 27 accident, in which the golfer crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his Windermere mansion.



It has been suggested that Woods was fleeing from his wife, who had confronted him over newspaper reports of his alleged friendship with Rachel Uchitel, a former nightclub hostess.



Miss Uchitel has since denied an affair.

He was taken to hospital – the same one that is treating Ms Holmberg – and his medical records listed the reason for admission as suspected "OD", shorthand for "overdose", according to the website TMZ.com. The records also stated that Woods was having trouble breathing.





The golfer was reportedly admitted under the alias of William Smith. TMZ claimed that Ms Nordegren supplied paramedics at the crash scene with pill bottles for the prescription drugs Ambien, a muscle relaxant, and Vicodin, a painkiller. Woods was said to be falling in and out of consciousness, while one witness described him "snoring".



Woods issued a statement apologising to his family for his transgressions", saying: "I am not without fault and I am far short of perfect." However, the billionaire sportsman's clean-cut image has been irreparably tarnished.



His predicament continues to be the source of jokes, with David Letterman, the talk show host who was recently at the centre of his own sex scandal, the latest to poke fun at the golfer.



"President Obama is sending troops to Afghanistan," he told his audience on Monday night. "Hell, he ought to be sending them to Tiger Woods' house."