Will Tiger be forgiven?

By now, you've undoubtedly seen Tiger Woods' Feb. 19 public statement and apology (unless you're purposely avoiding it).

And by now, the media, Tiger's sponsors, fans and former fans worldwide have all chimed in with their opinions on the apology -- debating whether it was sincere or not or whether he needed to apologize in the first place.

But I'm not going to analyze his statement or discuss whether I think he should have apologized or not-- I don't care to and I think it's old news at this point. What I have been thinking about the past few days is Tiger's treatment for his reported sex addiction and its implications. (Reported addiction because he admitted that he had affairs and has been in treatment and therapy, but he hasn't come right out and said he's an addict.)

I think whether or not members of the public will forgive Tiger largely hinges on if they believe that sex addiction is a true disease or not. Many media critics pointed out that Tiger's apology seemed like a step in the 12-step recovery process, which is a part of rehabilitation for sex addiction-- just like alcohol or drug addiction. But sex addiction doesn't seem to be accepted as a true disease like alcohol or drug addiction.

Is Tiger an addict? Was he in control of his actions or was his disease in control? I think if folks believe that his disease was in control, they will be more likely to forgive him and accept that he was sick at the time of his indiscretions. If Tiger had come out and said he was a drug addict, it would have been acknowledged that he had a problem and needed help. (He wouldn't have been granted a clean slate, but celebrity drug addiction certainly isn't a new phenomenon.) Sex addiction is trickier. There are plenty of people out there who believe sex addiction isn't a true disease and it's more of an excuse for his out-of-control behavior.

Months ago, Bill Simmons wisely pointed out that "America is always more forgiving when the words 'addiction' is introduced." Whether people believe that Tiger's addiction is true or just another PR ploy remains to be seen.

If Tiger is truly a sex addict, then rehab is the right place for him to start to put his life back together and get his addiction under control.

And if Tiger isn't an addict and is in rehab as part of a massive image makeover, then I hope he spends every day thinking about what a disastrous mess he made of his family and career.