“I do regret reporting further confirmation of the name of [Tiger Woods' sex addiction] treatment center”
SOUNDBITES — “I did not ‘break’ this story, nor would I have. With that said, I do regret reporting further confirmation of the name of the treatment center. As a person in recovery, I should not have confirmed the name. I am in awe of anyone with the courage to confront and recover from their addiction. If my posting and the subsequent media coverage of it affected anyone’s ability at this facility (or at any other) to recover anonymously, I am deeply sorry. Still, I will continue to speak out publicly about sex addiction (and other addictions) in venues where I believe I can help people, affect change, and lessen the stigma that surrounds this topic. In an effort to correct popular misconceptions about what goes on inside a treatment center for sex addiction, I will also continue to talk about the reality of what treatment is like. Now, more than ever, we need voices who will publicly counter the knee-jerk mockery and derision that so often accompanies discussions of this addiction and who will challenge people who speak and write about this issue without knowing the first thing about it. It’s easy to be flippant about sex addiction. It’s harder to cover it with intelligence and a modicum of respect. My hope is that we can get there.” —Literary hunk and frat fetishist Benoit Denizet-Lewis on how he didn’t out Tiger Woods as being in sex rehab, something he knows all too well about [BD-L, via)
To quote Fred Armisten as The View’s Joy Behar: “So what!”
Oh give me a fucking break. The Media has been sheltering Tiger Woods for years. Why should reporting on him be any different than reporting on Dennis Rodman, Kobe Bryant, Mark Maguire etc… He’s just another spoiled douchebag who didn’t want to behave like a grown-up.
He will probably leave this facility I hear the paps are following and harassing the staff and other patients
I do believe that everyone is entitled to privacy when they are in addiction treatment.
If Tiger, himself, would be forthright about this issue sometime in the future, it may have the beneficial effect on sex addiction in the same way that Betty Ford’s openness about her alcoholism helped to raise public awareness and erase some of the stigma associated with that disease.
“Sex addiction” is a great buzzword, sure, but there are plenty of people (including me) that would argue that it’s really a symptom of other “issues.”
Anyone in rehab deserves and is entitled to confidentiality as to the details of their treatment, but when you go to a place that “specializes” in such therapy, you’ve pretty much blown your cover. That said, whoever “outed” his location should be criticized. Am not an expert in the ethics of journalism, but disclosure of his location would seem plenty dicey for any responsible professional.
Will this save his marriage and get his endorsements back? Let’s bet “no” on both counts. Will it help him figure out when to use an iron instead of a wood, well, let’s watch what he does next! Relapses are common in any form of addiction.