Doug & Jackie Christie On How A Professional Athlete Can Stay Faithful

The scandal plaguing golfer Tiger Woods has put infidelity in the spotlight, but one NBA star who managed to remain monogamous – Doug Christie – has spoken to Access Hollywood about how he has stayed faithful.

Doug played pro basketball for 14 years with seven different teams, but for the last 15 years, he has stayed faithful to one woman – his wife Jackie – and the couple opened up to Access Hollywood’s Maria Menounos about how they have kept their marriage on the straight and narrow.

“What would you say to Tiger’s wife Elin right now?” Maria asked.

“I would definitely tell her to get counseling for the kids sake and definitely not stay in that marriage,” Jackie said. “And maybe they try again later and start all over, but he would have to do a whole lot of changing and apologizing, and she needs to understand what caused it. I wouldn’t say it’s her fault or his fault, but I wouldn’t stay and I’d tell her not to.”

Doug and Jackie became infamous in the basketball world because of Jackie’s seeming omnipresence, attending as many on-the-road basketball games as possible, which helped her husband remain faithful over their 15-year relationship.

“Do you guys think that the game is going to change a little bit now? I mean, obviously Tiger Woods thing has been such a big deal. I feel like there must be some fear on these guys’ minds at this point, don’t you think?” Maria asked.

“I agree,” Doug said. “I think there will be a change.”

“And you see Kobe Bryant and Vanessa – they changed the way they were doing things. She’s now traveling, she’s waiting for him, she’s supporting her husband in a different than she did before their incident,” Jackie added.

That incident was in 2003, when Bryant was accused of sexual assault.

Bryant admitted to infidelity, but denied the charges, which were ultimately dropped.

“I think a lot of the wives were saying ‘I’m not going to sit over here and take this role anymore, I’m gonna show that I love my husband, I’m gonna be there, I’m gonna be a visible person.’ Not because you don’t trust ‘em, but because that’s what they should’ve been doing all along and that’s what I was trying to encourage by showing them that that’s the way you do it,” Jackie said.

Occasionally teased by his teammates for being so extreme about avoiding contact with other women, the wives of the athletes would seek advice from Jackie.

“If they’re in a situation where they’re pretty sure their husband is cheating on them, how do you advise them, and have you been able to helped them break through?” Maria asked.

“Oh my God, yes. Some, I have. And some it was altercations. I was actually told by one particular wife, ‘Who do you think you are? Why do you think you deserve this and I don’t?’” Jackie recounted. “I got angry at first, but then I just kind of thought about it and I talked to her and I told her, ‘I don’t know your situation but I’m sure your husband loves you and you guys have to sit down and talk about it and you have to make a decision. Is this something you’re willing to accept? He’s openly flirting with dancers and different things… You have to respect yourself more than that and you have to demand respect.’”

The fully committed authors of “No Ordinary Love” even had a special way of communicating on the court.

“My husband would go like that,” Jackie said showing Access a hand symbol her husband would make for her. “And that meant, ‘I love you.’”

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