Tiger Woods Breaks Silence: 'I Have Let My Family Down'

Dec. 2, 2009 — -- Tiger Woods broke his silence on his bizarre car crash last weekend and the following barrage of allegations of infidelity in a statement today, admitting "transgressions" and "personal sins."

"I have let my family down, and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart," Woods said in the statement on his Web site. "I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults, and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.

"Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives," Woods said.

Click here to read the full statement.

Woods categorically denied reports that domestic violence could have played any role in the car accident as "utterly false and malicious."

Woods also objected to the invasive media attention, saying "personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions."

While Tiger does not clarify the "transgressions," the statement came after a 24-year-old Los Vegas cocktail waitress claimed to have had a nearly three-year-long affair with the golf superstar. She said she had evidence to prove it.

In a voicemail, apparently from Woods to waitress Jaimee Grubbs, posted on the US Weekly Web site, a panicked voice identified as Woods by US Weekly apparently begs Grubbs to change her voicemail greeting. The voicemail is from Nov. 24, the day before reports of his alleged affairs surfaced, according to US Weekly.

"Hey it's Tiger. I need you to do me a huge favor," Woods says in the message. "Can you please, uh, take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone and may be calling you. If you can, please take your name off that and, um, what do you call it, just have it as a number on the voice mail. Just have it as your telephone number. You have to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye."

The voice mail is accompanied by a lengthy article in which Grubbs claims to have had 20 sexual encounters with Woods since April 2007. She also claims to have more than "300 racy texts from Woods" as well as photos.

International attention was thrust on Woods this weekend following a bizarre car crash early Friday morning that sent Woods temporarily to the hospital and fueled a barrage of media speculation that the crash might be linked to tabloid reports Woods' had allegedly been cheating on his wife model Elin Nordegren with New York nightclub hostess Rachel Utichel.

Utichel categorically denied any romantic involvement with Woods on Tuesday. Later that day Grubbs' claims about her affair with Woods appeared on the US Weekly Web site.

Before Grubbs spoke out about their alleged relationship, Woods apparently referenced the tabloid allegations of the affair with Utichel in a statement on his Web site following the accident.

The statement praised his wife for "acting courageously" to help him after his accident and denounced "unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me." Woods lawyer and agent would not comment to "Good Morning America" about the alleged affair with Grubbs.

Lawyer: Injuries Consistent With Car Crash

After a five-day investigation, the Florida Highway Patrol announced Tuesday Woods was issued a traffic citation for careless driving. His lawyer said Woods paid a $164 fine and lost four points on his license. He will not face criminal charges stemming from last week's car crash, investigators said.

"We are pleased with the outcome," said Tiger's attorney Mark NeJame. "It's over."

Tuesday the lawyer for the neighbor who called 911 late last week after Woods' car crash said that the golf star's injuries appeared to be the result of the accident and not a domestic dispute.

Bill Sharpe, the attorney for the family of Linda Adams and her son Jarius, who is believed to be the 911 caller, said that Woods' injuries were "consistent with a car accident" and "inconsistent with being beaten up."

"None of his injuries looked like he was beat up with a golf club," said Sharpe.

The Adams family said they "comforted Mrs. Woods," who looked "upset," said Sharpe, speaking from his Orlando, Fla., law office.

Tigers appeared "woozy" when the Adams first saw him and instructed the golfer not to move until help arrived, said Sharpe.

Sharpe added that none of the Adams reported seeing any evidence that suggested a domestic dispute and did not hear anything that would suggest otherwise. No evidence of drugs or alcohol were seen on the scene by family either, said Sharpe.

Adams is believed to have called authorities after Woods plowed his SUV into a fire hydrant and then a tree outside his Windermere, Fla., home early last Friday morning.

Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren, reportedly used a golf club to smash a window of his SUV to get him out.

Sharpe said Tuesday that his clients did not see any golf clubs at the scene of the accident.