Tiger Woods isn’t roaring now.
The champion golfer went before the Screen Actors Guild trial board Monday to apologize for doing a non-union Nike ad — which is considered struck work — during the recently ended work stoppage against the ad industry.
“The decision to shoot a commercial during the SAG strike was a difficult one,” Woods said in a statement issued Thursday. “I was facing the impossible task of trying to live up to my obligations to my sponsors while at the same time honoring my commitment to other SAG members. Now, more than ever, I understand how serious SAG’s situation was, and I apologize for any pain I may have caused.
“I value my Screen Actors Guild membership and I hope this result will further strengthen the value of my membership.”
The SAG trial board imposed a $100,000 penalty on Woods last month, and the golfer will pay half of the amount, with the remaining fine suspended as long as Woods does not recommit the offense during a five-year probation period.
Woods is one of the more high-profile members to appear before the review board. Several less spotlighted cases have already gone through the process, and actress-supermodel Elizabeth Hurley, who did a cosmetics ad for Estee Lauder during the strike, is expected to get a hearing in the near future.
“[With the trial boards,] we hope to hear the reason on why [the strikebreakers] did what they did. We never have a history with these things being punitive,” SAG spokesman Greg Krizmann told Hollywood.com. “More vocal members have been saying that we should expel the [strikebreakers], but that has never been a part of the Guild’s history.”
“We want to educate them. We want better members,” Krizmann said.
However, Krizmann does not rule out the possibility of revoking the membership of those who violated the strike code.
“It’s up to the three-member trial board to determine what the type of punishment should be,” Krizmann said.
Punishments for performing struck work range from fines to performing community services to the most severe, expulsion.
