Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency / MEGA; Martin County/MEGA
Dr. Drew Pinsky has weighed in on Tiger Woods’ latest DUI arrest, and it seems he believes the pro golfer is in denial about having an addiction.
“Why does anybody loaded get behind the wheel?” Pinsky, 67, said while speaking to TMZ’sHarvey Levin and CharlesLatibeaudiere on Monday, March 30. “It’s the same question. It’s denial. It’s anosognosia.”
The Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew alum continued, “It’s part of using drugs and alcohol. You lose sight of your compasses. You lose sight of everything that’s happening to you.”
Pinsky went on to state that addicts often “lack insight into the drugs [they’re] taking and what they’re doing” to a person. The former Loveline host described Woods’ case as “extra difficult” because he suffers from “chronic pain and addiction.”
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“He needs expertise in managing both,” he continued. “At the very minimum, if I were treating him, what I would do is get him off everything and just see what we’ve got here.”
Levin pointed out that Woods’ case might go before a judge, and if that happens “jail is on the table.” He then asked Pinsky if “jail does a person like Tiger Woods good.”
“Tiger Woods needs our sympathy, concern, prayers – not adjudication and punishment,” Pinsky replied, but Levin cut him off and asked if there was a “huge distinction” between people who suffer from addiction — which others should have compassion for — and those who “choose to get behind the wheel, drive recklessly and get in accident after accident.”
While Pinsky admitted that there was, he still argued that he would give Woods “one more crack at getting well.”
Woods blew a 0.0 on a breathalyzer, but “was lethargic on scene, but that we believe was because of what he was intoxicated on,” according to Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek.
“He needs rehab, or at the very least a long stay at a wellness center, where he can learn new tools and process the reality of his situation,” a source told Globe on Monday. “He can’t keep playing Russian roulette with his life like that.”