Stephen A. Smith Calls Tiger Woods A ‘Phony’ In Rant About Golfer’s Downfall

Stephen A. Smith had some choice words for Tiger Woods following the golfer’s DUI arrest Monday.

It’s been a rapid fall from grace for Woods, a 14-time major champion who’s battled injuries in recent years. As Smith pointed out Monday on ESPN’s “First Take,” Woods’ troubles actually began in 2009, when the former world No. 1 golfer’s extramarital affairs became public and his previously wholesome image took a huge hit that’s perhaps irreparable.

“What you are witnessing right now before your very eyes is not just an individual who has fallen from grace, it’s an individual that finds it very difficult to look himself in the mirror, because he knows he got busted by the entire world for being the liar and the phony that he was at that particular moment in time,” Smith said. “Until he gets it out of his mind to get beyond that until he gets back to the point where he can give two cents about what anybody thinks or what anybody says and just goes about the business of getting himself healthy, he is going to be an absolute mess.”

A police report since has revealed that Woods didn’t have alcohol in his system at the time of his arrest, just as he claimed in a statement following the incident. But Woods failed a field sobriety test, which he claims happened due to “an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications,” and his past transgressions make it difficult for some — including Smith — to take the 41-year-old seriously.

Read the Tiger Woods police report >> 

Thumbnail photo via Thomas J. Russo/USA TODAY Sports Images