I think publicly Nike is wanting to avoid severing ties with Tiger out of fear that they may alienate a significant part of their overall customer base.
What I see Nike doing is just following this wherever it eventually leads. If Tiger becomes a Pariah, Nike will slowly back out privately while he continues to burn. If Tiger can somehow turn this around, they are back to business as usual there and can always say they stood by him.
Tag Heuer? Well, how many people know who they are or what they sell, anyway? The first time I heard of Tag was in 1999 when I was training to be a Pawnbroker. A guy brought in a nice watch that I’d never heard of before. The high end watch market doesn’t care if Tiger ‘Tagged’ some babes.
Nike loves felons, thugs, and rapists. Just look at their history with the NBA and the NFL.
Nike caters to the “Just Do IT Crowd” and Tiger is their best example in a debased culture where anything goes. And, Nike might “Just Be Right”