Tiger Woods Admits ‘Personal Sins’ Have ‘Let My Family Down’

Tiger Woods has released a statement expressing his “regret” over some undisclosed “transgressions” and asked the media to give his family some privacy.

In a statement posted to his official Web site on Wednesday, the professional golfer apologized to his loved ones.

“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves,” Woods said in the statement. “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.”

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Woods was involved in car crash last week, which TMZ claimed happened after he was fighting with wife Elin Nordegren over a tabloid report the golfer had engaged in an extramarital affair with Rachel Uchitel. Some reports even suggested Woods sustained injuries from his wife, before the crash.

Uchitel has denied any romantic or sexual involvement with the golfer, but Jaimee Grubbs, a former star of VH1’s “Tool Academy,” claimed in an Us Weekly cover story this week that she had a sexual relationship with the star over the last several years.

While Woods did not address the alleged affairs directly in his statement, he said the tabloid coverage of his life has affected him deeply.

“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,” Tiger’s statement continued. “The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.”

Woods wrapped up his statement by calling for privacy.

“But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don’t share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions,” he said in the statement.

“Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it’s difficult,” he continued. “I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology. “