John Daly has admitted that he's been banned for 6 months by the PGA Tour.

But in typical Daly fashion, he still doesn't get it.

However, neither does the PGA Tour. Daly's ban runs out in the Spring when the Tour really gets going. So, how much does he really lose? Very little.

And that's why the PGA Tour doesn't get it, either. The ban is little more than face-saving on the part of the Commissioner's office.

"You can't flaunt the integrity of the Tour and professional golf" is what the ban really means.

Will it help Daly? Not one bit. He is an alcoholic and he also has a gambling problem (since one addiction is often coupled with another).

But, according to Daly, his tour suspension is "not fair in reality but it's probably fair in perception. I wish Tim [Finchem] would get to know the facts better before he makes a decision. I would love to sit down and have a nice talk with him, tell him what really happened..."

Does that sound like someone who, even though he says "this is the lowest I've ever been", really believes he is the author of his life?

Not one bit. And the sad fact is, he will simply play out his suspension on the European Tour ("my home tour" he calls it now) until the Spring.

Big deal.

Time and again professional sports bodies in North America like the PGA Tour, NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB condone the bad behavior of players with so-called punishments that are little more than a nuisance for the individuals involved.

The Tour has a drug policy now, as we know. But does it have rehabilitation programs for players who fall afoul of recreational drugs, alcohol or gambling?

I came across a story in the Washington Post dated March 31st, 1997 and headlined
"Daly Enters Alcohol Rehab Program Again". He had checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic for the second time after a drunken incident in his hotel in August, 1996.

That was 11 years ago. Nothing has changed.

In the past, the Tour has offered rookies formal advice on how to handle the money they win on tour. But it was business advice: how to invest, how to legally reduce tax levels, etc. Not how to deal with the psychologically overwhelming tendencies that might come from enormous financial gain.

It's time the Tour steps up to take more responsibility and stop regarding the players as simply contractors responsible for themselves.