We’ve talked about Tiger Woods’ situation in each of the last two days in The Fast Lane, but one topic not broached is whether or not Tiger should publicly answer questions about his Friday morning car accident at his next golf availability.

I certainly don’t need to hear from Woods about the other women. I’ll take at face value what he’s put on his website. His apology seems sincere and heartfelt, and I agree that he is entitled to his privacy.

I admit, I love the salacious material that comes out of TMZ and US weekly, but I don’t necessarily believe it all (although US Weekly’s voicemail message was somewhat convincing). Most importantly, from a sports standpoint, I don’t NEED to know what happened in his personal life.

Tiger is among the most private high-profile athletes in the world. There aren’t many media members that are close to his inner circle, but one of them, Rick Reilly of ESPN, thinks Woods should answer questions. Reilly says he should because he has a foundation for kids. Come on. Should Tiger have to step to a podium and say “I’ve been unfaithful to my wife” because some 12 year old that participated in a Tiger clinic looks up to him? Really? Let the kids be kids. They’ll learn about reality soon enough.

If what Tiger does affects his play, then it becomes an issue. I respected the way much of the Boston media handled the Wade Boggs mistress situation in the 80’s

, and the way most sports media handled Alex Rodriguez’ dalliances with a stripper. Those two continued to produce on the field, and what they did away from the park had no bearing on their performance.

For those reporting in the sports world, if it affects his play, that’s the only way it becomes a story.

Tiger is a celebrity, The Nationial Enquirer, TMZ and Us are going to be all over it. Talk radio, which is essentially an audio column, has room for opinion about it. But there’s no need for the people that actually report on golf to report on Tiger’s personal life. He hasn’t opened the door for us in the past, and we shouldn’t expect him to now.