Tiger Woods Reportedly Fined for Nonunion Ad

Tiger Woods reportedly has agreed to pay part of a $100,000 fine for participating in a nonunion television commercial shot during the lengthy actors’ strike against national advertisers.

The Screen Actors Guild and Woods’ Cleveland-based business agent declined to comment on the settlement that apparently ended a three-day hearing. Woods participated by telephone.

Daily Variety on Friday reported that Woods agreed to pay $50,000 to SAG. The remainder of the penalty reportedly was suspended, but Woods would be forced to pay the other $50,000 if he again crosses union picket lines.

It’s uncertain whether a $100,000 fine would be the largest assessed against a SAG member. Three union members found guilty in September of crossing union lines were assessed “a combination of thousands of dollars of fines, suspension of rights and privileges of membership and volunteer service,” SAG spokesman Greg Krizman said.

Past fines for appearing in nonunion commercials were calculated according to where the finished spots appeared. The fine for a SAG member who appeared in a spot aired on cable or in a local market “would more than likely have a different fine than a person who did a national network spot,” Krizman said.

Woods enraged striking SAG members in July by traveling to an outdoor stadium near Toronto to film a Buick spot tied to the Olympic Games. Before doing that commercial, Woods had won praise from union members for refusing to cross picket lines.

In the spring, Woods declined to take part in new Nike commercials. Before the Buick ad, Woods successfully petitioned the General Motors division to delay shooting new spots.

When word of the Canadian commercial surfaced, some SAG members demanded that the high-profile golfer be tossed out of the union. At the time, Woods issued a statement through his business agent that the commercial was “in no way a stance against the union. . . . I have relationships to uphold with my sponsors who have supported me over the years.”

The Buick commercial ran during NBC broadcasts of the Olympic Games. Buick hasn’t yet determined when Woods will be featured in new commercials. “We’re back at the table trying to figure out what’s needed,” Buick spokesman John Wray said Friday. “We’re also glad that the strike is over and we’re heading back to business as usual.”

SAG hasn’t yet addressed the case of actress Elizabeth Hurley, who also appeared in a commercial made during the six-month strike. Krizman said the union is trying to schedule a hearing date that would allow the busy actress to participate.

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