Dropping Famous Friends Part of Tiger's Personal Healing Plan?

Golfer has changed his cell number and his fellow star athletes can't reach him, according to Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley is apparently out of Tiger Woods' fave 5.

The notoriously outspoken retired NBA star said Tuesday that Woods has changed his cell phone number and some of his more famous acquaintances can't reach him.

"I've been trying to get to him and can't get to him. It's very frustrating,"  Barkley said while taping With All Due Respect, a one-hour special airing Sunday on HLN, in which he and two fellow Turner sports analysts discuss the news of the day.

"I think when you have these fires in your life, as I call them, you need to talk to somebody else who is famous who [has] been through things in their life," he added. "I don't think you can talk about it to your family and friends, because your family and friends, they're not famous."

Barkley should know—T-Mobile stopped running his ubiquitous ads and he had to take a leave of absence from TNT after he was arrested last Dec. 31 for DUI.

But supposedly Woods has distanced himself from an even bigger star than Barkley.

"If Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan can't get to him, and those are his boys, then other people are making bad moves," chimed in guest Spike Lee, who referred to Tiger as "insulated."

According to Barkley, all he wants to tell Woods is, "Hey, man, we love you. If you need anything, pick up the phone."

Then again, with guys like Nike cofounder Phil Knight on his side, who needs NBA Hall of Famers?

"Obviously, he was one we checked out and he came out clean, and I think he's been really great," Knight, referring to Woods' formerly pristine image, told the SportsBusiness Journal.

"When his career is over, you'll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip, but the media is making a big deal out of it right now."

While Accenture has dropped him and AT&T and Tag Heuer are waffling, Nike has unabashedly thrown its support behind Woods and his family in the wake of his decision to take an "indefinite break" from pro golf.

"What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing," Woods said.