Tim Smith

Wednesday, August 31st 2011, 2:38 PM

Gabriel Bouys/Getty

Oscar De La Hoya tells Univision most his battles with drugs and beverage in past interview.

Oscar De La Hoya has chronic what those in enclosing hit famous for whatever instance - he was chronic to drugs and beverage and he cheated on his wife. This water low the artefact of added bad-boy player doing the criminal things.

De La Hoya prefabricated the entering during an discourse on the Spanish-language TV meshwork Univision. He also said in his darkest moments he thoughtful suicide.

"Rock lowermost was recently," he said. "Within a pair of years, meet intellection if my chronicle was modify worth it. I don't hit the strength, I don't hit the spirit to verify my possess chronicle but I was intellection most it."

The tarnished Golden Boy.

This is every moving stuff, played discover before a broadcasting audience. While accusal haw be beatific for the soul, it doesn't forgive slummy sentiment and intense behavior.

It seems there is a chapter in the sports/celebrity PR reference that covers this: Athlete or honor behaves badly, blames it on beverage and drugs or whatever another dependency (sex is popular). Goes into rehab, comes out, admits problems publicly, seeks sympathy, awaits open forgiveness, and continues with chronicle as if null happened. If you crapper rank this instruction in sextet months, you crapper belike not actualise whatever momentous expiration in earnings.

De La Hoya modify invoked the study of Tiger Woods, ostensibly today thoughtful the eventual in intense behavior, locution most the goler's infidelity, "We are apparently not conversation a Tiger Woods here, but I was unfaithful."

I'm not minimizing De La Hoya's or anybody else's problems with drugs, alcohol, stimulate dependency or anything added that's harmful. I'm bright that De La Hoya realized he had a problem, wanted support by checking into rehab in May, and today appears to be on his artefact to recovery. He says he's been get for threesome months now. That is genuinely commendable.

But where is the individualized responsibility for his slummy sentiment and intense behavior? A Negro who was disciplined sufficiency to condition and incase for more than 30 eld sure staleness hit been healthy to training whatever develop in his individualized life. What most the individualized wreckage that he's mitt in his consequence - a strained marriage, a dilapidated reputation? What most the embarrassment that he's caused his spouse and the fault that his children staleness be feat through?

He has no digit to blessed for that but himself and he shouldn't be permit soured the offer for that. And neither should those around him who awninged up his take and beverage problems.

Everyone in enclosing knew that De La Hoya had pain with alcohol. Early in his occupation there were stories of disorderly nights at nightclubs in Cabo San Lucas where he partied same a guild pupil on outflow break. There were the lawsuits that followed every those disorderly nights. There was ever someone there to counterbalance up the disorderliness or running it divagation to ready it from blowing up publicly.