-
Phillips one of a growing number caught up in sex addiction
Sex addiction has found a new poster boy.
Steve Phillips checked into a residential rehab clinic Monday “to address his personal issues,” said Steve Lefkowitz, a rep for the ex-ESPN commentator, only specifying that the treatment is akin to what actor Michael Douglas went through – sexually compulsive behavior. “Steve Phillips is not a sleazebag. He’s a good guy who just fell off the wagon,” Lefkowitz said. The former Mets general manager admitted last week to having an affair with Brooke Hundley, a 22-year-old ESPN production assistant who was fired Monday. In 1998, Phillips copped to having sex with a Mets employee, who sued for sexual harassment, and other women while married to his wife Marni, the mother of his four sons. The Mets fired Phillips in 2003 after settling the case out of court. His wife filed for divorce last month. Sex addiction is no different than alcoholism, where addicts will sacrifice everything for instant gratification, said Robin Cato, executive director of the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health. Surveys have shown that about 5 percent of Americans have a sex addiction, but the number is probably much larger because of the Internet, Cato said. “It’s anonymous, affordable and accessible,” she said. “It’s endless.” Not everyone who has an affair is an addict, but it’s a red flag when someone maxes out their credit cards on pornography, said Timothy Lee, a Manhattan therapist specializing in sex addiction. “You would be amazed. They will risk everything,” said Lee, whose sees two dozen clients a week. Their addictions include escorts, massage parlors, the Internet and sex clubs. But Lori Brown, an associate professor of sociology at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., said some people just use it as an excuse to evade responsibility. “If you can say, ’I’m getting treated for this,’ it can be a way of saying, ’It’s not my fault,”’ she said. “We as a society are trying to ‘medicalize’ almost everything, even criminal or immoral behavior or behavior that’s socially inept — but being a jerk is being a jerk.” (AP)
- Follow Us
advertisement | advertise on am New York
advertisement | advertise on am New York
Partners
Search cars
