"Whut? U poked her instead of going out wit me?"

I’m a statistic. You may be a statistic, too. But I didn’t get ‘faced and mess around on Facebook during my marriage in order to become one. If I had, I would have needed a whole lot more than a cash advance to fix that kind of trouble.

Despite the seeming stupidity of it all, the London Telegraph claims that 1 in 5 divorces refers to Facebook. I cringe, and not just because of the horrific grammar in that linked phrase that I use to ensnare you, random Google surfer. I cringe because people use social media like Facebook and Twitter without thinking. Even Tiger Woods didn’t air his escapades for the entire World Wide Web to see.

Poke, Poke, Cheat, Cheat

Twenty percent of divorces are prompted by Facebook indiscretions? That’s a staggering number, but Mark Keenan of Divorce-Online tells the Telegraph that “I had heard from my staff that there were a lot of people saying they had found out things about their partners on Facebook and I decided to see how prevalent it was I was really surprised to see 20 percent of all the petitions containing references to Facebook.” Inappropriate sexual conversations with inappropriate people are big factor in divorces and other marital strife. E-mails, scrawling your libido on a Facebook wall or flashing the hot to trot via a mobile Facebook app are all signs that people have a lot to learn about being decent people. Remember, it’s quite easy for wronged lovers to track that kind of stuff.

But Everyone Deserves Physical Fulfillment

Yes, they do. But when you’re in a relationship, you’ve made a commitment to that person. That deserves more than what one 35-year-old woman got from her husband. Apparently, she discovered he was going to divorce her by combing his Facebook communications. Privacy and trust issues aside, show some class! A partner deserves face-to-face communication. No text message breakups, no phone calls, no E-mails, no Facebook posts. You make the commitment to be intimate with that person in the first place; show them the basic human courtesy of discussing it with them face-to-face before you shoot it off for the rest of the world to see.

Relationship Status: Too Stupid For a Relationship

Yes, 1 in 5 divorces refers to Facebook (to repeat the grammatically painful keyword). Many more relationships end because the couple is unwilling or unable to communicate in a respectful, healthy manner. But if your admission amounts to changing your Facebook relationship status, you are without question too stupid to be in a relationship.

What about full-on role play in the virtual world? Second Life and MMORPG venues have that covered, even though Linden Labs or any other game company would certainly say they do not condone such behavior. And I’d believe them. I find Second Life to be a neat idea for harmless fun, so long as that Second Life doesn’t become your first life. Yet having a virtual affair is not harmless fun. I know of at least one married former co-worker who played another game (a Final Fantasy MMORPG, I think) and had what amounted to an online affair with another player. Sadly, there are countless examples of such behavior going on in cyberspace, each and every day. Not only do these people often convince themselves that they need a cash advance to fund their gaming habit, but they have the gall to justify what they do as harmless fun.

Be Smart, Be Respectful

If your relationship is important to you and your partner (yes, you should honor your partner, all things being equal), work on your problems. If the differences are irreconcilable, talk about an exit strategy together. At least then you’re making the effort to show your former loved one respect and aren’t adding to the rubbish heap of statistics that includes such concepts as “1 in 5 divorces refers to Facebook.”

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Tiger Woods (Image from keithallison, Flickr.com)

For days we have been reading about Tiger Woods and his now notorious escapades. He has had the time of his life with his fame, fortune, and frolics. News is now coming out that Elin Woods, the estranged partner of Tiger, is seeking a divorce. The reason mentioned is that Tiger refuses to enroll in rehab after his transgressions. Elin has sought sole custody of their two children, along with 50% of Tiger’s estimated $600 million fortune. The figures of his estimated fortune are most likely real and will not send Tiger on a leather hunt for personal loans, but instead, spend some money hiring a lawyer to sort matters out for him.

Paying Big Bucks for Services Rendered

Looking at the demands, one might think that Elin is perhaps trying to make some extra cash out of Tiger’s fortune. Of course, the question should be asked whether she deserves any of it. Most people would definitely answer with a resounding YES. Here is lady who gave Tiger everything she had and stayed with him in the worst of his times, and she was never a public figure unless Tiger chose her to be. She cared for the children and was happy to be the wife of a public figure. No doubt she enjoyed the benefits that came along with his fame, but she never demanded them. But now that she has been thrust into public glare for the wrong reasons, she has decided to make her demands known. The amount she wants is bigger than most people can even think about earning in their entire lives, but it is one heck of a paycheck that Tiger now must write.

What of Tiger?

He will lose about 50% of whatever he has accumulated over the years. Though he will still not require a personal loan, it is sure to make a dent in the fortune he built up. Half of his wealth will go to his wife and does not include the costs that legal procedures will bring in. It is assumed that he will have a huge bill for legal services, but we can bet that he can afford it without the assistance of loans.

A Star Will Shine

Public memory is short. Tiger Woods was, and will ever be, known for the game he made popular, rather than for the affairs he had. Looking back, another public figure in the real estate world was in the news for similar reasons.

Donald Trump’s affair with Marla Maples was splashed on the front pages of most publishers when he was at his height. The divorce cost Donald close to $10 million, but people no longer remember Donald for his numerous affairs. They still know him for the real estate empire he built and continues to do so, as well as for the popular television series “The Apprentice”. Tiger will also return to the game once again. Sponsors who are now shunning him will be back in line, waiting for Tiger to sign on the dotted line. Even if he never makes the kind of money he commanded earlier, he will still make enough to keep him away from any personal loans. Perhaps the only one forgotten in this matter will be the tigress who will have to remain satisfied with the early pickings she got.

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Gatorade Tiger Image from Flickr.

Gatorade says it decided months ago to discontinue the Gatorade Tiger drink line. Many people are skeptical of this because Gatorade issued an official statement saying it is stopping production on the drink named after Tiger Woods. In fact, when I first read Gatorade’s statement, which said the discontinuation had “absolutely nothing to do with recent events,” I rolled my eyes.

However, it turns out that two days before the Cadillac crash heard ’round the world, Beverage Digest reported that Gatorade Tiger would be discontinued. Furthermore, Gatorade still sponsors Tiger Woods, it just won’t have a drink named after him anymore.

On the green

Tiger Woods is one of the wealthiest athletes on the planet, so he has plenty of cash until payday, regardless of when that payday is or the end of Gatorade Tiger. This brings up interesting questions about Tiger Woods’ endorsements and sponsorship contracts. Can his sponsors just drop him? That’s an important question, considering that 90 percent of Tiger Woods’ income is from endorsements.

However, it might be a tough question to answer. Where there are endorsements, there are legal contracts. When legal contracts are broken, there could be lawsuits. Of course, if a sponsor were to decide to break its contract with Woods because of recent events, Woods would have to go through with a lawsuit to contest it. I don’t know if a guy who made $1 billion last year would want to bother with that.

Case by case

Part of the reason it’s hard to say whether Tiger Woods’ endorsement contracts can be dropped is that there are a lot of them. Whether either party can terminate the contract and for what reason is (or isn’t) included in each individual contract. Business Insider reports that some people have been wondering whether Tiger’s contracts contain “morals clauses” and whether those clauses would even apply to this situation. Business Insider reports that attorney Fernando Pinguelo, who has written about morals clauses, said:

Like all contract negotiations, the leverage the “talent” has in a particular deal as well as the capabilities of his agent, will direct what the clause says. …  Though he has not seen any of Woods’s contracts, he speculated that any morals clause would be quite forgiving — such that the clause would only be triggered in the event of a felony conviction.

Pinguelo points out that Tiger Woods had maximum bargaining power when his contracts were draw up, along with top-tier legal representatives.

Not worth the drama

Business Insider also points out that if sponsors drop Tiger Woods, athletes might not want to sign with those sponsors in the future. Let’s face it, not all athletes maintain squeaky clean behavior records. There might be a few big names out there who would rather not sign with an agency that is likely to drop them if they get caught cheating on their wives. It’s sad, but true.

Furthermore, though Tiger Woods and his list of mistresses have been all over the headlines for the past week, the fuss will die down. It always does. Right now media outlets are manufacturing questions about whether this is the end of Tiger Woods’ career, but it’s not. In a few months the media and sports fans will be all wrapped up in some other non-performance-related scandal, and Tiger Woods will quietly step back onto the golf course.