Ted Williams—the homeless-man-turned-viral-sensation—has checked into a rehab clinic after admitting to continued struggles with alcohol. Representatives from Dr. Phil confirmed the statement. Williams apparently made the decision after speaking to the famous TV doctor himself.
“He admitted he was not as sober as he claimed to be and that he was ready to get help,” a show insider told the Daily News.
While I may have written a pretty cynical post earlier today about the inevitability of a letdown, this is less a “told you so” moment than a simple case of real life taking over for a myth. Addiction—as we’ve explored extensively at GMPM before—is not a simple matter. And no matter how much public attention we shower on someone, we can’t immediately solve all of that person’s problems. It would be ridiculously arrogant to think we could.
We hope this latest development won’t be taken as a sign that Williams—or any other homeless addict—is somehow beyond help, or that The Ted Williams Story can’t still be a great, uplifting one. He’s getting help that would have been unavailable if he hadn’t become an Internet sensation. There are still plenty of reasons to cheer for Williams.
The most interesting thing about this situation is how public it is. This man has to sort himself out with all of us watching. Ted Williams has a difficult journey ahead of him. He may miss the anonymity of the streets! I wish him well knowing that he will need courage to face what’s ahead of him.