Tiger: $100,000 in Hole

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/02/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

The Screen Actors Guild has fined golf champ Tiger Woods, 24, $100,000 for shooting a non-union Buick ad during the union's nearly 6-month strike against the advertising industry, reports Variety. The union's trial board also agreed to suspend half of the fine, but would reinstate the penalty should Woods perform scab work in the future. The decision was reportedly reached during a three-day trial board hearing that was held this week, with Woods participating over the phone. He now has 15 days to appeal the decision but apparently has agreed that he won't. Some members of SAG and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA), which also went on strike, had demanded Woods's expulsion from SAG. In early May, shortly after the walkout began, Woods had backed out of a nonunion ad for Nike, saying at the time that he supported the strike. But in July he shot the Buick commercial in Toronto, right after he took the British Open. He explained that action by saying, "I have relationships to uphold with my sponsors who have supported me over the years. This is in no way a stance against the union."