Tiger Woods: 10 Image Rehab Lessons He Could Learn From Kobe Bryant

I read somewhere recently that Kobe Bryant is as popular as any athlete on the planet.

It's really easy to forget how far down Kobe Bryant was before resurrecting his image and his basketball career.

He was going to go down as one of the greatest ever, no doubt about that, but his legacy was severely tarnished because of the allegations of summer 2003.

And unlike Tiger, he was looking at jail time, not just public scorn.

And I know Laker fans hate to rehash all of this, but don't forget Bryant also tattle-tailed on Shaq, breaking all kinds of international man code laws (although most women saw it as no big deal).

Even his coach turned on him by writing all types of unflattering things about Kobe in his book.

Soon after the incident, sponsors like McDonald's, Upper Deck, Sprite, and even Nutella and all of its chocolaty goodness went running for the hills.

So even though some of that behavior was personally reprehensible, as of this date, none of it was criminal. Even allegedly so.

More so than any other recent sports figure, Kobe Bean Bryant seems to be the best model for Eldrick Tont Woods to follow and here are some suggestions as to how he should go about it.

Step 1: Be More Personable

Whether it was one of the first things that Kobe's people set out for him to do or just a by-product of their overall remake plan, Kobe was seen as much more personable to his teammates and to select reporters in the years following his 2003 situation.

Tiger was at his best in the past when he was intimidating, both on the golf course and off of it, he would glare at you and you would walk away. Bryant had a similar effect on his teammates where he would scare them into playing well.

Interestingly enough, they both learned this trait from one guy: Michael Jordan.

Unfortunately for them, one thing is vastly different from Jordan's days. There was no 24-hour Internet machine begging to get fed with even the smallest piece of personal minutiae that it can find.

As I stated in an earlier piece, if you were to compare Jordan's retirement to Kobe's Colorado incident and Tiger's car wreck, MJ got off really easy.

In certain eras of the past, we probably wouldn't even have heard of Tiger or Kobe's incidents. Some "fixer" or "cleaner" would have shut them down some how.

So now they both have to deal with the brave new world. Kobe has adjusted; Tiger has to learn now how to adapt.

Step 2: Find Some Friends / Supporters in Your Sport

Remember in the early part of the 2000s where you would watch Kobe out on the court and think does anybody on this team even like the guy?

This was after Shaq left and Phil left the first time. Both were blasting him—Shaq in rap songs and Phil in his not-so Zen book.

Then Kobe made it worse by demanding the Bynum get traded and that guy on the street caught him on tape saying "Ship his ass out!"

Well, eventually Phil came back and signed off on Kobe, and then Derek Fisher came back from Utah and became Kobe's bud in public. He wasn't a pariah anymore.

(As a sidebar: I was in LA listening to talk radio during all of this. And all they spoke about everyday was the Kobe situation and what should they do with him. I have to say LA fans get a bad rap; only one out of every 60 or so calls said to get rid of him. Lakers fans were loyal to Bryant throughout everything. The sentiment was he maybe be a screw up, but he's our screw up).

Anyway, Tiger needs to find two or three very visible guys on tour and be seen hanging out with them. Being the lone wolf isn't working anymore.

And I mean young hip guys like AK (Anthony Kim) and even see if he can get Phil Mickleson to sign off on him.

Step 3: Apologize and Really Mean It

I know what you're thinking, this one might be too late. But if he did it in a subtle way, maybe after he wins something, just flip it into a thank you for those that stayed with him and then acknowledge that he has hurt quite a few people along the way, that would help.

Say what you will about Kobe's awkward "I sit here in front of you guys furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making a mistake of adultery" press conference, but the man poured his heart out.

He was not worried about his image. Tiger's similar press conference came off as staged and defiant.

Step 4: Lean on Nike

With Kobe, first it was a two page spread in Sports Illustrated. If I remember correctly it was in black and white and serious. Maybe it was this one, not sure. And then a while later it was the TV ads.

When Nike invests money in you, they stick by you. And Nike made it OK to start spending money on Kobe again.

They tried with Tiger, but in my opinion, it was a little early and kind of creepy. That ad when he was staring at us and his father does the voice over still didn't tell us what to think, but it did make a splash.

I think Nike is waiting for the right moment to spring something else.

Which leads me to a very important step...

Step 5: Have a Monstrous Personal Achievement

Tiger needs to win a tournament and shoot a 58. And it needs to be a tournament that has some big names in it. It doesn't necessarily have to be a Grand Slam; just something to help us remember how good he is.

I remember watching the Kobe 81-point game weeks later when they ran it on the local Fox Sports affiliate, and I remember thinking, "this guy hasn't forced one shot tonight".

It was ridiculous, jumper, three-pointer, layup...over and over again.

The Toronto Raptors were just as shell-shocked as the fans. Keep in mind this was after he outscored Dallas 62-61 all by himself. And then sat out the fourth quarter.

Tiger needs a two-week span where he just kills it.

Step 6: Show Your Funny Side, Somehow...

One thing we have seen Kobe do in recent years that we didn't see before is him laughing on TV.

He has been in skits with Kenny and Charles on TNT. He has joked around with Tony and Wilbon on PTI.

So he gives off an impression that maybe Kobe would be someone you could have a beer with and speak a foreign language with.

Tiger should at least TRY that.

We know he is cool with Barkley and MJ. But what about folks in other tax brackets?

Step 7: Be Seen Doing Stuff Other Than Golf

Before, when Tiger wasn't playing, we never knew where he was. And he was cool with that.

But now when he's not playing, we think we KNOW where he is and what he's doing.

Occasionally we would see him at an Orlando Magic game, but that was about it.

He needs to be seen have PG rated fun. And maybe he'll start doing that as his kids get older.

Step 8: Embrace Your Supporters, Live with the Detractors

At some point, Kobe realized that not everyone is going to love him and he ran with it.

And you know what? It worked.

He loved those that supported him and they loved him back.

You can't please everyone.

Step 9: Do Something Patriotic

Everyone knows how much pressure was on the "Redeem Team" to win a gold medal in a sport that was created  here.

USA was beaten soundly in a few international competitions including Olympic Games.

And now everyone remembers 2008 as the year Wade, James, and Bosh concocted their plan to take over the universe.

I'm sure Kobe smirks when he hears people mention how well those three played together.

Because he knows that when butts got tight, late in the game, everyone turned to him like Princess Leia did to Obi Wan, "You're our only hope..."

And Kobe did work.

Tiger needs to lead us to a Ryder Cup win. It's coming up soon.

I know we won the last one, but we lost the three previous to that.

Dominate and hug the guys as you do it.

Step 10: Win. Grand. Slams.

This is the easiest step to figure out and the hardest step to do.

Kobe caught Tiger in popularity recently.

Kobe has won two straight titles.