Tiger Woods asked us to let him be a role model again Friday.

There was a time when athletes were -- rightly or wrongly -- role models based sheerly on athletic achievements.

That was before the time of supersized endorsements and eight-figure deals that were crafted by image-generated followings. It was also before the time of steroids investigations and congressional hearings and the 24-hour news cycle that could put an athlete quickly on a pedestal and knock him off just as fast.

No, this is the age of A-Rod and McGwire and Vick answering questions about breaking the rules of their profession and laws of the land.

Woods' crimes were not as bad and way worse. He did not break rules or laws -- he broke hearts and trust and left fans everywhere again feeling suckered.

In the past, being a legend meant you did not have to say you were sorry. Today, it means you better know how, and Woods took his turn. He seemed contrite, but it's impossible to know how sincere he was. He pledged to follow his wife Elin's advise and let his actions speak from this point forward, but no one can know what story his actions will tell.

In fact, there are very few things we know for certain in regard to Woods. He made us all quite aware of this in the last three months, since the Thanksgiving night car accident that started to peel back layers of dishonesty, infidelity and secrecy.

Whether we think we do or not, whether we know him on a first-name basis or not, we simply do not know -- for sure, for certain know -- a lot about the man.

We know that his star power is unsurpassed. Seriously, do you know anyone who did not watch his 13 1/2-minute mea culpa?

We know that he is the greatest golfer of his generation, raised to be and supremely focused on becoming the greatest of all time. And, well, that's about it.

Standing Friday in front a steel blue curtain that looked like a prop to a high school musical, Woods addressed the world for the first time since the whirlwind saga of his adultery rocked him, his family, his business partners, golf and just about the entire sports world.

Woods had demanded control of this event, allowing no questions and making this a "news" conference in name only. It had the look of an infomercial, but the feel of a Presidential address.

And from it came a series of stark, dichotomies that in truth magnify the hidden side of Woods that has been forced upon us since Thanksgiving.

He repeated he was sorry. Of course he is, because those with the most always have the most to lose, but do we know he was sorry for straying on his wife Elin or sorry for getting caught?

He appeared emotional, but at times he came across so rehearsed and robotic that it would have surprised no one when the camera angle turned to see him plugged into a battery pack.

He asked for privacy during his family's time of healing, which is a noble and honest request, especially for his wife and children. As for Woods, though, the stern pleas to be left alone ring at least somewhat hollow considering his $1 billion bank account was accumulated on the strength of his image as much as his golfing acumen.

He gushed about his wife, a touching and no doubt heartfelt tribute that seems about a thousand lies and a dozen mistresses too late.

He spent all of four sentences talking about golf, leaving open his plans on returning to the game that desperately needs Woods and the attention he generates. He truly barely glanced on the single thing that originally fascinated us with Woods and his undeniable talent.

He chided the media, which as a group help generate and perpetuate his status as a megastar. I get it -- he made the cover of the New York Post tabloid for 20 consecutive days -- and the daily strain of the hounding.coms and the rest of the media is hardly the place to try and move past a personal and humiliating mistake. But he never complained about the brightness of the world's spotlight during his ascent as he became a true one-name persona on the lines with Jordan, Madonna or Beckham.

He asked for his fans to give him the chance to believe in him again, but he had that -- and so much more -- and gave it away carelessly.

He mentioned a litany of buzz words such as "character" and "decency," and most of them are hard to associate with the Woods we have discovered in the last three-plus months.

I have sympathy for Woods' family, especially his children, and several of his associates who lost a great deal because of his seedy and careless and selfish actions. I do not have sympathy for Tiger, but I also don't think he owes me an apology.

After all, I really don't know the man.