I have 3 daughters who worship Chis Brown. No, seriously. If Chris Brown were to start a church, they would give all their money to the building fund and serve on every committee. They didn't stop loving Chris after he attacked his former girlfriend, Rihanna. In fact, they are probably happy that Rihanna's out of the way. They didn't stop loving him when he pleaded guilty to felony assault. For right or wrong, Chris Brown is their Barack Obama, and they are willing to endure the ups and downs of their imaginary relationships with him.

As a father, I really don't like it. But since when has a father been able to control the love preferences of his teenage daughters anyway? The more I fight it, the more attractive Chris becomes to them; so I just leave it alone and try to get them to think. Also, I've stated on CNN and elsewhere that I don't hate Chris Brown or necessarily think he's a monster (I honestly don't know him well enough to determine if his actions are indicative of a longer term pattern or not): he is a young man who may need to learn a few hard lessons. How fast he graduates from the "University of Life" is going to be up to him and his ego.

Given that Oprah Winfrey's best friend Gail was one of the first to publicly criticize Chris for his spat with Rihanna, it's ironic that Chris is going to use the Oprah Winfrey success model to get his career back on track. The Oprah Winfrey model is simple: you're going to have haters, but in the mind of the focused celebrity, your haters don't exist. You get up every day, do your job and keep it moving. Eventually, the controversy washes itself away. This model has worked for Oprah for several years, and it is going to work for Chris Brown too.

Then there is the R. Kelly rule: If R. Kelly's career can recover from his misdeeds, there is hope for anyone. I recall seeing Mr. Kelly on BET shortly after being accused of doing the unthinkable to an underage girl. During the interview, Kelly kept saying, "Just focus on my music." These words (which appeared to be coached by someone else) had meaning, because as revolting as R. Kelly's presence might be, he knew that his hypnotic voice would make the world forget about the fact that he had been accused of doing really nasty things with a teenager.

Chris Brown is no R. Kelly, but he will be able to use the R. Kelly rule to his advantage. Whether we are referring to athletes or entertainers, the reality is that "if you win, they forgive all sin." That means that another hit song makes the artist's transgressions blow away in the wind. Another Super Bowl or NBA title makes the world forget about your criminal record. People don't care what their favorite celebs do with their personal lives: they just want a great performance.

Finally, Chris can benefit from the Michael Vick rule: America will never forgive you for hurting a puppy, but it can overlook the fact that you beat the crap out of a black woman. I do not forgive Chris Brown for hitting Rihanna. He and other young men need to realize that there are few excuses for putting your hands on a woman, and if Chris had done this to one of my daughters, he'd be singing high notes for the rest of his life. But the point here is clear: Abuse and violence against black women is largely ignored by the rest of America. What is saddest is that even many black women don't consider it an issue when they judge Chris Brown. Regrettably enough, if the majority of all black women forgive Brown for his behavior, then this gives the rest of the world an excuse for forgiving him too.

I hope that the intoxication of fame and power don't preclude Chris from learning from this experience. Many black celebrities before Brown thought they were too powerful to go down, and found out the hard way that none of us is above the law or greater than our own mortality. Get counseling Chris, try to learn from it, and remember that your hands should only be clenched to hold a microphone, not to hit a woman. I hope our daughters understand that too.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and author of the forthcoming book, "Black American Money." For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered directly to your email box, please click here.