Tiger Woods isn't the most shocking. He's just the latest. There will be more.
Woods' arrest on suspicion of DUI early Monday doesn't necessarily complete his downfall from golf's throne, although it probably closes the curtain on a few endorsement deals. While few details have surfaced about the arrest near his Jupiter, Fla., home _ Woods released a statement blaming it on prescription medication _ plenty have pontificated about the incident, focusing primarily on Woods' wealth and expressing dismay as to how he failed to call Uber or hire a driver.
If only it were that simple ...
I've said this before, and I'm not making excuses for Woods or anyone else ever arrested for DUI (present company included). It's a stupid, selfish act. But it's not one made by a brain filled with rational thought.
Yes, it's easy for people with money _ a lot less money than Woods _ to make arrangements prior to parties or nights out that seem likely to produce a lot of drinking. Reserve a cab, a limo, an Uber driver. And that's a line of thinking you might reach in the middle of the day.
But if you're a regular drinker, you don't necessarily think like that even when you're stone cold sober. In most cases, you haven't confronted your drinking problem, so you believe you're capable of going out and stopping after two beers even though you never do.
Those who exhibit addictive behavior (and I have no idea if this applies to Woods) or those prone to feel empowered by alcohol (applies to just about everyone) don't readily sacrifice control, even for something as simple as handing over their car keys.
And if we're dealing with a first DUI arrest for someone who once had reason to feel like he had this world all but conquered, then we can guess he had already determined he was too smart and powerful to worry about these things.
DUIs are for suckers, right?
I always thought they were. I was booked for my first DUI when I was 52, so it's safe to assume it was not the first time I had been behind the wheel and over the .08 limit. This is not something I say proudly. At times, it just feels like part of growing up in the '70s when having a six-pack in the passenger seat for a drive from Austin to Dallas was the norm (also not illegal by itself).
The fact we live in an age when DUIs are taken more seriously and penalized more harshly than they were a generation ago doesn't mean people will stop drinking and driving. The numbers may go down. More and more will make late-night travel arrangements. Who knows, Woods might normally hire drivers all the time. He lives such a private existence, who would know?
It also wouldn't be a big surprise to me if he doesn't really like having strange cars drive up to his estate.
But again, we're still ignoring the larger issue _ one folks prefer to avoid _ which is the damage that alcohol does to people whether they're driving or not. That's the problem I have with the Uber mind-set, the belief that as long as you aren't risking a DUI, going out and drinking 10 kamikazes is cool.
You might not be putting others at risk. And that's the most important thing for sure. But if you're a heavy drinker who simply avoids the driver's seat, you might want to check your liver and, who knows, maybe the status of your relationships.
I remember reading a Tiger Woods magazine piece more than a decade ago, when he still owned the golf world but was trying to find his place in the real world. It mentioned how whenever he flew somewhere, even overseas, he liked to drive the rental car because it made him feel like a normal person for a few minutes.
Maybe driving still does that for him as he tries to figure out life after golf _ at least life after competitive golf at its highest level.
That doesn't excuse what he did. If he was guilty (whether he's eventually found guilty or not), it was stupid and mindless. But as I wrote just a few days ago about Billy Horschel's wife revealing that she had gone through rehab and was proudly one year sober, there's no amount of power or money, no measure of the good life, that ensures one won't have to fight with alcohol.
Some seemed to take delight in Woods' arrest, in questioning his intelligence. I don't remember the same reaction with Tony La Russa or broadcaster Al Michaels for their DUIs, but maybe I just missed that.
Until Monday, we knew only of Woods' battle with injuries, with knees and a back that have essentially removed him from the PGA Tour. Whether he has a larger problem that he needs to confront is known only to him and maybe a handful of friends. Given Woods' privacy, it could be an even smaller group than that.
And if he does need to fight that battle, one in which there's a world of help at everyone's doorstep, failing to call for help a second time is surely not the way to go.
