Picture of Tiger Woods shirtless on cover of Vanity Fair, won't help steroid rumors (photo)

In this image released by Vanity Fair, Tiger Woods is shown on the cover of the February 2010 issue of "Vanity Fair" magazine which goes on sale nationwide on Jan 12. (AP Photo/courtesy of Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair) 

Tiger Woods poses shirtless holding dumbbells for a  photo shoot with famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The photo was taken before Woods’ November 27 car crash that eventually totaled his reputation.   The article posted online is a recap and analysis of the scandal.   Woods did not talk to Vanity Fair,  has not consented to any interviews and has not been seen in public since the accident.

The article questions why the public was so fascinated by the Woods scandal and not so much by rumored or confirmed sexual transgressions of other athletes including David Beckham, Alex Rodriguez, and Kobe Bryant.

The author, Buzz Bisseinger, writes that the scandal directly clashes with the deliberate non-controversial public image that Woods crafted.

He writes that Woods was careful to keep golf writers at arm’s length and careful to be the “bionic man in terms of personality,” never getting rude or rattled.   Woods never got irritated when someone asked a stupid question at a press conference, because he was always a aware that the cameras were on him.

The article cites one of the few unguarded interviews Woods gave when he was just 21 to GQ writer Charles Pierce.  He made a series of profane quips, including:

“What I can’t figure out is why so many good-looking women hang around baseball and basketball. Is it because, you know, people always say that, like, black guys have big d***s?”

He flirted with four women assistants during the GQ photo shoot and told an off-color joke.  As he rubbed the tips of his shoes together he said “What’s this?’  They were stumped and Woods replied, “It’s a black guy taking off his condom.”
 
And Woods told the women that lesbians will always get to where they are going faster than gay men because they are always going 69.

Click here to read the Vanity Fair article.

The photo of a bulked up Woods lifting weights won't help with the steroid rumors.

As previously reported, Los Angeles Times Sports Columnist Bill Plaschke says he suspected Woods of doping two years ago.  Plaschke wrote that Woods' body  looked like Barry Bonds'.

“His neck was oddly wide,” he wrote  “His shoulders were absurdly broad. His biceps were busting out of a tight shirt.”

Plaschke stingingly concludes: "Yeah, it's a real shame Tiger Woods' name is being written in the same sentence as Barry Bonds'.  Or is it the other way around?"

Victor Conte cited Plaschke on his Twitter page.   Conte is the founder of the Bay Area based BALCO labs, which had specialized in manufacturing and distributing undetectable steroids.

In an e-mail to this reporter, Conte wrote: "I have no knowledge of whether or not Tiger Woods used (performance enhancing drugs), but I can understand why people are suspicious. I don't know Tiger personally and have never had any connections to him. I've only admired his athletic exploits from afar like everyone else. However, in all fairness to him and the public, I'm hopeful that he will one day be forgiven and allowed an opportunity to heal his relationships at least with those who are most important to him."

According to the Examiner.com Performance Enhancing Drugs Issues Examiner Sean Murphy, Conte wrote,  "Wonder why Tiger has had such a strong libido? Could it be the same reason he gained 30 lbs of muscle? Is there possibly a connection?"

Conte has since removed the Tweet.

It should also be noted that a doctor who treated Tiger Woods was arrested for possession of performance-enhancing drugs.   (Click here for more details.)

Click here for a previous article on the steroids issue including a link to Bill Plaschke's column.