Most of the media attention in the Tiger Woods scandal has focused on the still-growing number of women — 10? 12? 14? — who say they’ve had affairs with the world’s number-one golfer. But there are two aspects of the case that could do far more damage to Woods than his multiple infidelities.
The first is the news that Woods was treated by a doctor who is under investigation by the FBI, suspected of giving performance-enhancing drugs to some of the elite athletes in his care. The New York Times reports the doctor, Tony Galea, has treated NFL quarterback Chris Simms, sprinter Donovan Bailey, swimmer Dana Torres — and Tiger Woods. The paper reports that Woods’ management team, “alarmed at the slow pace of Mr. Woods’ rehabilitation after knee surgery in June 2008,” got in touch with Galea, who performed a blood-therapy procedure known as “blood spinning” on Woods on four separate occasions. The procedure is said to have helped speed Woods’ recovery.
It is not clear whether the PGA Tour, which governs most of the tournaments in which Woods competes (outside of the major championships), has any policy on the procedure, but the New York Daily News reports that world sports authorities view it as legitimate in some cases, and not in others:
Gary Wadler, a Long Island anti-doping expert and World Anti-Doping Agency consultant, said blood spinning is a trendy but controversial procedure. WADA modified its doping code for 2010 to define acceptable and banned uses of blood spinning; platelet-rich blood can be injected into joints and under the skin to help athletes recover from injuries. The new code, implemented on the eve of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, bans intra muscular injections because they may promote muscle growth.
Woods’ treatment, according to the Times report, would appear to fit in the recover-from-injury category. But Galea is also under suspicion of treating athletes with human growth hormone and a drug called Actovegin, which is illegal in the U.S. The Times reports that Galea said “he has never treated professional athletes with [human growth hormone]” and “did not use Actovegin to treat Mr. Woods or other United States athletes.”
Still, the fact that Woods was treated by a doctor suspected of prescribing illegal performance-enhancing drugs will inevitably cause suspicion about Woods himself. And that is very, very serious in the world of golf. It’s one thing to cheat on your wife, even multiple times. But if a golfer were suspected of trying to gain an illegal advantage on the course, that would be absolutely devastating to his career. Even the faintest hint of cheating would do enormous damage to a golfer’s reputation.
In the golf world in recent years, there has been more concern about doped-up drivers and golf balls than players, but the PGA Tour last year began a random drug-testing policy. In June of this year, Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem — speaking at Woods’ tournament, the AT&T National — called the policy a big success. “We haven’t had any problems that have arisen,” Finchem said. After more than 1,000 random tests, Finchem added, “There have been no suspensions because of doping…what’s clear is that we do not have a doping problem.” Finchem said the International Olympic Committee has observed the PGA Tour’s process — golf will likely be an Olympic sport in 2016 — and the Tour has also worked closely with the World Anti-Doping Agency. (Since Finchem spoke in June, one player, a 40-year old journeyman named Doug Barron, has been suspended, for using testosterone; Barron says he is not guilty of doping because he is being treated for naturally low testosterone levels.)
It seems reasonable to assume that Woods has undergone at least one random test, without problem. But the association of his name with Dr. Galea is sure to raise questions, something Woods really doesn’t need right now. You can almost feel the anxiety in the e-mail message sent from Woods’ agent to the Times reporters working on the Galea story. “I would really ask that you guys don’t write this?” agent Mark Steinberg wrote. “If Tiger is NOT implicated, and won’t be, let’s please give the kid a break.”
The other aspect of the Woods case that could damage his career involves drugs of another sort. After his infamous car crash outside his Florida home, a Florida state trooper “suspected Tiger Woods was driving under the influence” and “sought a subpoena for the golfer’s blood results from the hospital he was taken,” according to an Associated Press report. Prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to go forward with a subpoena, but the trooper’s report says that a witness — thought to be Woods’ wife, Elin — told the trooper that Woods had been drinking earlier in the day and also had prescriptions for the sleep aid Ambien and the painkiller Vicodin. “Impairment of the driver is also suspected due to the careless driving that resulted in the traffic crash,” the trooper wrote in his report.
Since the subpoena was denied, we probably won’t ever know whether Woods was under the influence the night of the crash. But the Vicodin prescription — which could be no big deal, just a brief, temporary use of the drug for a specific problem — inevitably raises the question of why Woods needed a powerful painkiller. His knee? Some other ailment? Something that did not warrant such a serious drug? In addition, the fact that Elin Woods reported her husband had been drinking, and then mentioned Ambien and Vicodin, raises questions about possible mixing of alcohol and pills.
Taken together, the questions about Dr. Galea and Vicodin could, in the end, be far more consequential than the sensational daily reports about Woods and women.
