February 22, 2010 – It only took seconds after Tiger Woods completed his “mea culpa/confessional” when the virtuist sportsreporters started filling our heads with their expertise about penance, 12 step programs, religion, body language and sex therapy. It didn’t matter that many of these same reporters had made a 13-minute about face on their positions about Tiger, going from staunch defenders of the Bill of Rights and the right for an open and uncontrolled forum to grill him, to “nice job, Tiger.”

On the whole, the first public appearance by Tiger Woods since his morning after Thanksgiving road rally, was a first step. It brought him out of hiding and began a process that will someday have him back on the golf course. No timetable available at this time.

So we will be left with sportsreporters interpreting what he’s going through. The inciteful ones have already jumped on the 12 steps, citing two steps that Tiger alluded to in his comments Friday. Actually, Tiger touched upon several, if not all of the steps. Aside from the two most mentioned after his speech — “a searching and moral inventory of ourselves” and “admitted to god, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs,” Tiger admitted he was powerless, that a greater power was needed, he showed a willingness to turn himself over to god, made general and direct amends to those he had harmed, and sought to continue to take personal inventory, to improve, and to carry his message to others.

Through the process, counselors will encourage him to surround himself with supporters and stay away from past enablers. Which probably explains why Charles Barkley complained on ESPN’s “Pardon The Interruption” that Tiger hadn’t called him and had changed his phone numbers. Barkley seemed hurt and expressed that he only wanted what’s best for his “friend.” The good guy in Barkley said he’ll always be there for him. Barkley’s butt-boy Michael Wilbon ate it up, and not one reporter saw Barkley’s appeal for what it was really worth. Being a bad influence.

Charles Barkley is like one of those guys who buys a sportscar to compensate for youth lost. The impression of hanging out with Tiger Woods, Dwayne Wade and Dwight Howard is just the stuff needed for an insecure individual to bolster his 47-year old low self esteem. We already know that we can’t count on him as a role model. He’s a compulsive gambler who allegedly boasts to having lost over $10 million. He owed Wynn Casinos $400,000 that he “forgot about” before he was shamed into a very public payback. He’s had episodes of over drinking and fighting and his most recent DUI, which landed him in the slammer, alledgedly was caused while he pursued an intimate encounter with someone other than his wife. He bounces out of these problems with outspokenness, candor and humor. The boys at TNT can’t get enough of him, but the public has become as tiresome of his ways as they are of his golf swing.

Hanging behind the velvet ropes with Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley has now turned just a little bit seedy. It’s not the image Mr. Jordan wants to convey if he wants into the NBA owners club. Hanging with Mr. Barkley, a guy who can’t control his appetite for food, gambling, alcohol and women, isn’t the way to influence the sales of phones or Taco Bell, it’s just a plain bad influence.