(CNN) -- As prodigal golfer Tiger Woods resumes the world's No. 1 ranking, his chief sponsor, Nike, unveiled a slogan Tuesday that provokes robust debate on what is redemption and has Woods attained it.
"Winning takes care of everything" is what Nike declared on its social media outlets after Woods completed his long climb back to the top ranking, more than three years after his extramarital affairs ruined his marriage and embarrassed him. Woods and ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, have two children.
Many fans and consumers are now raging against the new campaign by Nike, which stood by Woods in his fall from grace as most other sponsors dumped him.
"Will not buy anything Nike again," wrote Melissa Santa-Cruz of Wisconsin on Nike's Facebook page.
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Tiger Woods regains the No. 1 spot in world golf rankings with a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday, March 25. Here, he plays a shot at the tournament in Orlando on Sunday, March 24. Check out what Woods has been up to since the last time he was the top-ranked golfer nearly 2½ years ago: Woods appears dejected after losing to Lee Westwood and Luke Donald in the 2010 Ryder Cup competition in Wales in October 2010. That month, he lost his No. 1 ranking to Westwood, a position he had held for 281 consecutive weeks. He had taken a break from golf earlier that year after reports of marital infidelities emerged in late 2009. Woods misses a putt at the Frys.com Open in October 2011. That month, he dropped out of golf's Top 50 players list for the first time in almost 15 years. Woods reportedly lost millions in endorsements after sponsors ended their ties with him in the wake of a sex scandal. Woods misses the U.S. Open in July 2011, citing knee and Achilles tendon injuries. Here, he plays in the tournament in 2008. Woods plays at the 2011 Emirates Australian Open in Sydney in November 2011. That year, he remained the highest-paid American athlete on Sports Illustrated's "Fortunate 50" list. Woods drops his caddy of 12 years, Steve Williams, in July 2011. "I want to express my deepest gratitude to Stevie for all his help, but I think it's time for a change," Woods said. Here, the two share a laugh during a practice round two months before Williams was let go. After a nearly three-month break, Woods returns to golf at the Bridgestone Invitational in August 2011. Woods hits out of the bunker on the ninth hole during the first round of the PGA Championship in August 2011. He failed to make the cut at the PGA championship for the first time in his career. Woods plays his tee shot on the 18th hole at the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia, in November 2011. The previous month, Woods landed Rolex as a sponsor despite not having won a major tournament in nearly two years. "Rolex is convinced that Tiger Woods still has a long career ahead of him," the high-end watchmaker said. Woods lines up his putt at the Honda Classic at PGA National in March 2012. He shot a 62, his lowest final round as a professional, at the Honda Classic, but he tied for second in the tournament. Woods earns his first win since November 2009 at the Chevron World Challenge, a non-PGA tour event, in December 2011. Woods signs autographs at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2012. His win there marked his first PGA tour victory since September 2009. Woods drops the ball on the 15th fairway during the final round of the AT&T National in July 2012. He overtook Jack Nicklaus for second place on the all-time PGA Tour list with his victory at the AT&T National. Woods hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January 2013. He lost his title the previous year as the world's top-paid athlete, dropping to third place on Sports Illustrated's "Fortunate 50" list. Woods hits the ball on the 18th hole during the second round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. He became the first PGA Tour participant to earn $100 million when he finished third and won more than $500,000 at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Woods and champion skier Lindsey Vonn announced they were dating on Facebook in March 2013. Vonn recently divorced Thomas Vonn, who was also her coach, and Woods split up with his wife, Elin Nordegren, in 2010. Woods tosses his ball to his caddie at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January 2013. He started the new year in fine form by winning his 75th PGA Tour title in the Farmers Insurance Open. Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows HIDE CAPTION << < 
Woods appears dejected after losing to Lee Westwood and Luke Donald in the 2010 Ryder Cup competition in Wales in October 2010. That month, he lost his No. 1 ranking to Westwood, a position he had held for 281 consecutive weeks. He had taken a break from golf earlier that year after reports of marital infidelities emerged in late 2009. 
Woods misses a putt at the Frys.com Open in October 2011. That month, he dropped out of golf's Top 50 players list for the first time in almost 15 years. Woods reportedly lost millions in endorsements after sponsors ended their ties with him in the wake of a sex scandal. 
Woods misses the U.S. Open in July 2011, citing knee and Achilles tendon injuries. Here, he plays in the tournament in 2008. 
Woods plays at the 2011 Emirates Australian Open in Sydney in November 2011. That year, he remained the highest-paid American athlete on Sports Illustrated's "Fortunate 50" list. 
Woods drops his caddy of 12 years, Steve Williams, in July 2011. "I want to express my deepest gratitude to Stevie for all his help, but I think it's time for a change," Woods said. Here, the two share a laugh during a practice round two months before Williams was let go. 
After a nearly three-month break, Woods returns to golf at the Bridgestone Invitational in August 2011. 
Woods hits out of the bunker on the ninth hole during the first round of the PGA Championship in August 2011. He failed to make the cut at the PGA championship for the first time in his career. 
Woods plays his tee shot on the 18th hole at the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia, in November 2011. The previous month, Woods landed Rolex as a sponsor despite not having won a major tournament in nearly two years. "Rolex is convinced that Tiger Woods still has a long career ahead of him," the high-end watchmaker said. 
Woods lines up his putt at the Honda Classic at PGA National in March 2012. He shot a 62, his lowest final round as a professional, at the Honda Classic, but he tied for second in the tournament. 
Woods earns his first win since November 2009 at the Chevron World Challenge, a non-PGA tour event, in December 2011. 
Woods signs autographs at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2012. His win there marked his first PGA tour victory since September 2009. 
Woods drops the ball on the 15th fairway during the final round of the AT&T National in July 2012. He overtook Jack Nicklaus for second place on the all-time PGA Tour list with his victory at the AT&T National. 
Woods hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January 2013. He lost his title the previous year as the world's top-paid athlete, dropping to third place on Sports Illustrated's "Fortunate 50" list. 
Woods hits the ball on the 18th hole during the second round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. He became the first PGA Tour participant to earn $100 million when he finished third and won more than $500,000 at the Deutsche Bank Championship. 
Woods and champion skier Lindsey Vonn announced they were dating on Facebook in March 2013. Vonn recently divorced Thomas Vonn, who was also her coach, and Woods split up with his wife, Elin Nordegren, in 2010. 
Woods tosses his ball to his caddie at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January 2013. He started the new year in fine form by winning his 75th PGA Tour title in the Farmers Insurance Open. Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows Tiger Woods: From highs to lows HIDE CAPTION << < 
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17 > >> Photos: Tiger Woods -- from highs to lows 
Brennan on Tiger Woods and new Nike ad 
Tiger, Palmer, Trevino fight thieves 
Tiger on a tear at Palmer Invitational "THIS AD MAKES ME SICK!" wrote Julie Drake, a high school teacher who said she will use the ad for a classroom discussion. "Shame on you!"
Others, however, endorsed the slogan.
"Love your Ad Nike," wrote Brian Edwards. "Keep up the good work."
The passionate opinions roil during a week when redemption is on the minds of Jews celebrating Passover and Christians preparing for Easter.
The controversy grows from whether winning indeed absolves transgressions -- and even prompts a return to grace. The narrative plays out in different ways for different public figures.
"I think that winning, especially in Tiger Woods' case, really does change things because it reminds people why they fell in love with him, hitting those tight shots. That's why we're in awe of Tiger," said CEO Melinda Travis of PRO Sports Communications, a strategic communications and crisis management firm in Los Angeles.
"Does it erase what he's done? No. But when is it enough?" Travis said. "It's easy to criticize from afar, but when you sit across from someone who's experienced public humiliation and a fall from grace and, in Tiger's case, a breakup of an entire family and a permanent change in the way people view them, that's a pretty high price to pay."
The slogan refers to how Woods has motivated himself to become the top golfer again, Nike said. He last held that rank in October 2010.
"Tiger has always said he competes to win," Nike said in a statement. "When asked about his goals such as getting back to number one, he has said consistently winning is the way to get there. The statement references that sentiment and is a salute to his athletic performance."
In professional sports, winning can indeed overshadow a lot of quandaries, said sports analyst LZ Granderson, a CNN contributor.
For example, a winning coach won't be fired for players accused of sexual assault or facing too many DUIs, he said.
"Usually a coach is fired because they're not winning," Granderson said. "So it may make me cringe as a parent, I can't help but think of the fact that winning does seem to solve a lot of problems, and if you're losing, that's when everything else is more highlighted."
Analysts also cite how quarterback Michael Vick, who served an 18-month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to dogfighting, is now playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. Linebacker Ray Lewis faced murder accusations -- later dropped by prosecutors -- in the deaths of two men after the 2000 Super Bowl in Atlanta; this year, Lewis and his teammates on the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl.
"A lot of people have short memories when the person who had these issues starts winning," said Robert Tuchman, president of Goviva, a sports and entertainment marketing firm. "As you can see with Ray Lewis, it doesn't take much to forgive and forget. America loves the story of a person falling down and getting back up and then maybe falling down and getting back up again."
Ethics expert Bruce Weinstein pointed out that Nike contradicts itself because it stopped sponsoring cyclist Lance Armstrong after he admitted to doping in winning seven Tour de France titles.
"This is an amazing story in the worst sense," said Weinstein. "This is a company that dropped Lance Armstrong after mounting evidence made it pretty clear Lance Armstrong won by cheating. So Nike made it clear that winning does not take of everything."
In fact, Travis' firm is representing Tyler Hamilton, a cycling teammate of Armstrong. Hamilton was among those who broke from Armstrong, who then threatened to sue him. Hamilton also wrote about his own use of performance enhancing drugs.
Travis declined to comment on Armstrong and Hamilton, but she spoke generally about how she helps athletes overcome setbacks.
"Look, everybody makes mistakes and sometimes they just need help in putting it in context for people: Here's what led me to the decision. And then let people judge it," she said.
At issue for Woods is whether he, like so many other celebrities whose professional lives are damaged by the revelation of personal failures, has redeemed himself as merely a public figure -- or as a human being, too?
"Certainly in his job, it's a redemption story," said David W. Miller, a Princeton University business ethics professor who directs its Faith & Work Initiative.
"Whether it is for him as a human being and his character, I don't know. Time will tell. Someone else will be the judge of that," he added.
Miller cited how winning didn't take care of everything for basketball star Kobe Bryant, who faced accusations of sexually assaulting a woman in Colorado in 2003 and later settled a federal civil lawsuit for an unspecified amount of monetary damages.
"You have an overly long list of people who are 'winning' -- whether they are in sports or a box office draw or selling platinum albums," Miller said. "The world tells them they're wonderful and they're No. 1 and their sense of probity and respect for others or your own self tends to evaporate."
That's when a lot can go wrong, Miller said.
"I applaud Nike for taking up his rebirth," Miller said about Woods.
But, he continued, "the slogan sort of falls on its face, and Tiger Woods is exhibit A for the case because it didn't care of everything three years ago."
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