Oops. It turns out that you can now read subscription articles at Salon for three days free if you view an ad there. I’m gonna try it now.
WAG here, but I would assume some of Mr Koufax’s income comes from lucrative autograph signings. Perhaps he feels that his ability to earn money from these signings might be compromised if people thought he was gay. Personally, I wish it didn’t matter, but to many people it apparently does.
The fact that no major sports figure in either baseball, football, basketball or hockey, has ever admitted to being gay shows that there is still a lot of bigotry in that segment of society.
Arthur Ashe.
Nitpickers of the world, unite!
I agree.
But really, accused of being a homosexual? I thought we accused people who may have commited crimes.
This whole mess is just another example of how Americans really feel about gays.
Koufax’s reaction to this indicates that being called a homosexual is the is the worst insult that can be made.
Might it be more than he feels that the backhanded way in which the insinuation were made is more an insult?
If someone were to print an article like that about me but replaced gay with, say, Christian, or woman, or any number of things, I’d be insulted by the way it was said. I don’t take offense, as long as it’s not meant in an offensive way, if someone says I’m gay, a martian, or have four arms.
Aikman played for Pat Jones at Oklahoma State. Switzer was coach at U of Oklahoma.
I doubt it, 'punha. He’s the one who made an issue of the insinuation. Even as a devout Jew, I’m betting his reaction would not have been as out of proportion had they insinuated he had joined Jews for Jesus.
Nope. His reaction is that they are printing lies about him. Are you saying that it’s OK to print someone is a homosexual, even though you know it’s false?
If a newspaper prints that someone is gay, doesn’t the person mentioned have a right to say, “No, I’m not”?
Even if a newspaper makes a false report about a purely benign issue (say, falsely saying someone was a Republican when he was not), doesn’t the person involved at a right to say, “No, I’m not?” Why do they have to give up this if someone falsely calls them gay?
The issue is that the paper knowing printed a false report. I think Koufax has a right to be pissed over that.
(BTW, the Post has retracted the story.)
I’m not saying anyone should print lies about anyone. And if I were famous and anyone were to print a lie about me I would deny it.
Imho, Koufax overreacted. And that was my point. It’s such a terrible thing to be called gay, that when someone is “accused” of being gay, the denial is often extreme.
I wonder what would have happened if the article had called him a Christian. Would he have cut off all ties to the Dodgers, or he would have simply said, hey you made a mistake, I’m Jewish.
Besides, he’s the one saying the Post item was about him.
Yes he can say “it’s not true”. But the extreme overreaction is what is absurd, as kevja pointed out. What is so horrendous about someone erroneously, even knowingly so, calling him “gay” that means he has to sever ties to an organization after 48 years?
Well, Homebrew, the Dodgers are owned by NewsCorp, as is the New York Post (which ran the article). Koufax quit the Dodgers because, in his words, “it does not make sense for me to promote any” of Murdoch’s companies, and that he would “feel foolish to be associated with or promote one entity if it helps another.”
As far as the severity of Koufax’s reaction goes, remember that he’s a generation or two older than most of us in this thread; homophobia was pretty well ingrained in the society he grew up in. Also note that homophobia is still strong in much of the sports world; being thought of as gay would almost certainly affect Koufax’s standing (and probably income, as musicguy suggests) in that world.
Note also, as pointed out by EJsGirl, Koufax is a very private man; if he were gay, he’d probably still be pissed off about it coming out, unless he was the one to bring it up.
So Murdoch reads and approves every word in every paper he owns before it’s published? Yeah, it makes sense.
It seems you’re missing the point. The Dogers are owned by NewsCorp. The New York Post is owned by NewsCorp. By supporting the Dodgers, Koufax would be supporting NewsCorp, which supports the New York Post.
Is it overreacting? Possibly, but none of us are in Koufax’s position to fully understand why he’s taking the stance that he is.
Hugh, here’s what I read in Texas Monthly in an article entitled “The Real Troy Aikman” that should reference your question. I hope this is seen not as a hijack but more about the reasons behind a professional athlete’s reaction to what could be construed as negative press.
From the December 1998 article…
"He [Troy] says he is not inclined to write an autobiography, regardless how much of an advance he might get, because publishers will want him to include “negative, tabloid information” about his more flamboyant teammates and coaches like Barry Switzer, whom he is said to despise for mishandling what could have been the greatest dynasty in NFL history.
<snip>
Though they had not a shred of evidence, a couple of Switzer allies spread the Aikman-is-gay rumor to a writer doing a book on the Cowboys, which, when published, so devastated him that he talked to lawyers about filing a lawsuit. “Here was Troy, trying to present the right image, refusing to get involved with groupies, not playing the role of the big swinging stud like other players, smart enough to stay away from potential paternity lawsuits, and for his efforts, the poor guy gets called ‘gay,’” says Mickey Spagnola, a respected Dallas sportswriter who has covered the Cowboys for a decade. “And you know with that kind of vicious rumor, once it starts, it never ends.” (For his part, Aikman no longer discusses the subject, saying it’s pointless to rehash “a bunch of stupid gossip.”)
Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t the * Post * the rag that published similiar rumors about Piazza? Up to their old tricks. That paper’s like a daily * National Enquirer *
Hmm…recent ex-Dodger, then retired ex-Dodger… do they claim Roy Campanella next, and figure he can’t squawk as he is dead?
(FTR, I picked Campanella because he was one of the Boys of Summer, and is dead. I believe he did have a family, and was not gay to my knowledge)
No, I’m afraid you’re wrong- Aikman playedf for Barry Switzer aty Oklahoma. But not for long.
Coming out of high school, Troy Aikman was recrutied heavily by colleges all over America. Barry Switzer had been running the wishbone offense at Oklahoma for years, but was so eager to recruit Aikman, he promised to switch to a pass-oriented offense, just for Troy. And he kept his word… until Aikman was injured in a game against Miami. While Aikman was injured, Oklahoma switched back to the wishbone, and did well. So, Switzer decided to switch back to the wishbone permanently, and benched Aikman… who promptly transferred to UCLA, where he finally became a star.
So, Aikman knew first-hand that Switzer was not to be trusted. He’d also seen first-hand what a lax, undisciplined program Switzer ran at Oklahoma. For those reasons, Aikman was dismayed when he heard that Switzer was going to coach the Cowboys. He believed that Switzer’s lax discipline would cost the team dearly (as it turned out, he was absolutely right).
That said, as much as I liked Aikman, I think he handled the Switzer situation poorly. He had friends in the media, and he wasn’t shy about telling them (on and off the record) what a lousy coach Switzer was. And Aikman’s friends on the team joined him in treating Switzer with disdain. Interesting and important sidebar: most of the teammates who sympathized with Aikman and disliked Switzer were white! More on that in a moment.
Now, Barry Switzer has a lot of admirable attributes, and he’s a very likeable, personable guy. He’s intensely loyal to the people he cares about, and he inspires the same kind of loyalty. Moreover, there’s never been a white coach in any sport who’s better at bonding with black players. Black players at Oklahoma adored him, and vice versa. Remember, he gave black players a chance to play (even at quarterback!) when many neighboring schools (like Texas!) didn’t want black players at all. Switzer also gave black men a chance to coach- he made John Blake his defensive line coach with the Cowboys, and used his clout to get Blake the head coaching job with the Oklahoma Sooners.
So… MOST of the black players on the Cowboys liked Switzer. Many actually loved him (he seemed like a refreshing change of pace, after the intense, disciplinarian Jimmy Johnson). So did Switzer’s loyal assistant coaches. THOSE guys resented Troy Aikman for railing against Barry Switzer. So, they, along with Switzer, found their own ways to snipe back.
The sportswriter who did the most to spread the “Troy is gay” rumors was Skip Bayless- the most lazy, stupid, vindictive sportswriter I know of (and that’s saying a lot). What you need to know about Bayless is:
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He’s a moron. He’s never right about anything. Proof? He spent years writing that Troy Aikman would NEVER make it as a pro quarterback, and that Steve Walsh would be a Hall of Famer. Moreover, he didn’t just predict that the Rams would beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl (LOTS of intelligent people amde that same error), he insisted that the Patriots had NO chance, and anyone who gave them a prayer of winning was a liar.
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He holds grudges- rather than doing the EASY thing (admit that he misjudged Aikman’s talent), he spent years sniping at Aikman.
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He’s too lazy to write his own columns. Every year, he finds some source to kiss up to, and turns his column into THAT source’s personal message board. When Jimmy Johnson was in Dallas, Bayless did little more than transcribe whatever Johnson told him. When Switzer came to town, he became Switzer’s personal mouthpiece, instead.
The “Troy is gay” rumors were old. They’d abounded early in his career, but had died down. It was Switzer, John Blake, and Switzer’s loyalists on the team who caused the resurgence of the rumors- and Skip Bayless was only too happy to a) parrot Switzer, and b) take another dig at Aikman, the guy who’d made him look stupid.
In retrospect, Switzer DID foul up the Cowboy dynasty (though age, injuries, the salary cap and Jerry Jones’ poor draft picks would have eneded the dynasty soon enough). But Aikman deserves much blame, too. He was right not to respect Switzer… but his petulance caused a needless racial rift on the team.