Tiger Woods Rejects Claims of Sexual Assault in Filing, Calling Erica Herman a 'Jilted Ex-Girlfriend'
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Tiger Woods is denying claims made by his ex-girlfriend Erica Herman that she should be released from her non-disclosure agreement based on a law that allows exceptions for victims of sexual assault.
In new court documents filed by Woods, 47, on Monday and obtained by PEOPLE, the golfer disputes Herman's complaint, in which she asked to void the NDA she signed at the start of their relationship in 2017. In the complaint, filed last Monday, Herman suggests that she should not be held to the NDA due to the federal Ending Forced Arbitration Act, but she does not accuse Woods of sexual assault.
"Ms. Herman's position is utterly meritless," lawyers for Woods' trust wrote in the documents. "It is a transparent abuse of the judicial process that undermines the purpose of the federal statute and those whom the statute seeks to protect."
Lawyers for Woods' Trust claim that there is not "a single reference to an allegation of sexual harassment or sexual assault" in Herman's complaint.
"Ms. Herman is not a victim of sexual assault or abuse," attorneys said in the filing. "Rather, Ms. Herman is a jilted ex-girlfriend who wants to publicly litigate specious claims in court," it continued.
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The filing noted that Herman signed the NDA in 2017, binding her to settle disputes privately, "as consideration for" the opportunity "to continue to spend time with Mr. Woods."
Woods' attorneys said, "For more than six years, Ms. Herman enjoyed the benefits of her agreement," in the court documents, alleging that his ex-girlfriend is "making salacious and insidious implications" of claims relating to sexual assault disputes.
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Herman had first filed a lawsuit in December, claiming she is owed $30 million because Woods kicked her out of his house before the terms of their "oral agreement" allowing her to live there for another five years came to an end. And on March 6, she filed a separate complaint requesting to be let out of her non-disclosure agreement, citing a law that allows NDAs to be nullified in cases of sexual assault.
A source close to Woods told PEOPLE that Herman is upset about the end of their relationship and that it "was stale for a long time."
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The insider said that Herman "helped him through his accident and recovery," before things "went downhill" for the couple for "a variety of reasons." One of those reasons being Woods' "frustration over the injuries, some of which are not going to get much better," per the source. Woods was injured in a 2021 car accident that has restricted his ability to golf.
Herman "was more serious about a long-term commitment" than Woods was, the insider revealed, adding that Woods' ex-girlfriend "was there for him throughout the whole thing so she thinks that kind of loyalty is worth something."
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However, the source said Woods was "getting restless" in his relationship with Herman "even before the accident."
"It deteriorated further after he recovered from the accident," the source added.
