Barkley, Spike Lee worry about Woods
Dec 16th, 2009 by Bilal Ali
Tiger Woods has changed his cell phone number and is not talking to some of his famous friends, NBA legend Charles Barkley said, following Woods’ sex scandal that erupted last month.
Barkley and filmmaker Spike Lee talked about their concern for the golfer during the taping of a one-hour special — “With All Due Respect” — to air Sunday on HLN, a CNN sister network.
“I think when you have these fires in your life, as I call them, you need to talk to somebody else who is famous who [has] been through things in their life,” Barkley said. “I don’t think you can talk about it to your family and friends, because your family and friends, they’re not famous.”
Lee said he had hoped Barkley or retired NBA star Michael Jordan could counsel Woods on how to survive the crisis.
“He’s insulated,” Lee said. “If Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan can’t get to him, and those are his boys, then other people are making bad moves.”
Woods, in a written statement that acknowledged “my infidelity,” announced last week that he is taking “an indefinite break” from professional golf.
The 33-year-old golfer, who tops the sport’s world rankings, has been mired in controversy since he crashed his car outside his Florida mansion in late November. The crash prompted authorities to cite him for careless driving and fine him $164.