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Steve Phillips Says Sex Addiction Isn't An Excuse
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 8, 2010
Modified Feb 8, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 8, 2010
Modified Feb 8, 2010
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Steve Phillips, the former Mets general manager and ESPN baseball analyst, appeared on the Today Show, fresh from his stint in sex rehab. Phillips told Matt Lauer, “People look at sex addiction as an excuse; it’s not an excuse. I’m fully responsible for everything that I did and accept responsibility for that... People who go [to rehab] are broken people. That’s really the essence of the addiction, that you’re broken inside. You’ve got a hole that you’ve tried to fill, whether it was with alcohol or drugs or sex or gambling with whatever.”
Phillips' private life became front page fodder for the tabloids when a 22-year-old production assistant he was having an affair with allegedly threatened his wife—by bombarding her at the Phillips home— and cyberstalked his teenage son. While he had previously admitted to affairs (he was hit with a sexual harassment suit when he was with the Mets) years ago, Phillips said he "didn’t go to a clinic; I just got some local therapy... I didn’t get the appropriate help that I needed."
Phillips' program was at the Gentle Path clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi—supposedly the clinic that Tiger Woods has been attending. Phillips said he's trying to save his marriage—"I’ve broken my wife’s heart”—but isn't sure if he can. As for Hundley, she told NBC similar things she told ABC last year, "I’m sorry for him and his family. I’m sorry for my family. I was 22, I made some mistakes. If I could take them back, I would, okay?"
Tagged
affair
brooke hundley
mets
sex addiction
steve phillips
tubby temptress
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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