NY Post to Apologize to Koufax for 'Gay' Item

WASHINGTON POST ^ | Friday, February 21, 2003 | Reuters-Ben Berkowitz

[1234]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The New York Post said on Friday it will apologize to baseball great Sandy Koufax for running a gossip item insinuating he was gay. The piece reportedly led the former pitcher to sever his ties to his longtime team, the Los Angeles Dodgers....

According to a report in Friday's Los Angeles Times, Koufax told the Dodgers, for whom he pitched from 1955 to 1966, that he would have nothing more to do with the team because of a two-line Post item printed on Dec. 19 that said that an unnamed Hall-of-Fame baseball player had cooperated with a best-selling biography "only because the author promised to keep secret that he is gay."

The item could apply only to a biography of Koufax by sportswriter Jane Leavy that hit the best-seller lists last year. Although Koufax did not grant Leavy interviews, the reclusive star gave his friends permission to talk to her and cooperated in other ways.

[1234]

another outing?

[billorites]

Here come the pitcher/catcher jokes.

[billorites]

"Koufax has led an intensely private life..."

He's described in the Washington Post as "intensely private" twice.

Is that a new euphemism to replace "confirmed bachelor?"

[Niagara]

"He's described in the Washington Post as "intensely private" twice.

Is that a new euphemism to replace "confirmed bachelor?"

No it means he's intensely private. Consevatives of all people should respect the right of people to live their life their own way, out of the limelight. Wheter or not he's a "confirmed bachelor" is nobodie's damn business.

[1234]

...Is that a new euphemism to replace "confirmed bachelor?"

re. "confirmed bachelor", dunno if this connotes anything beyond definitely bein a bachelor.

[Russ]

Why is it that the same people who profess that there is nothing wrong with being gay then do exactly that when they accuse or insinuate someone is gay? The liberal media (of which the Post isn't usually considered a member)is nortorious for this type behavior.

[Vigilanteman]

I have my doubts. Any famous figure who doesn't seek the limelight to prove otherwise, is always targeted by the "Gay" community as one of their own. They tried to do the same with J. Edgar Hoover, who also liked his personal privacy and William Casey, a devout Catholic and happilly married man.

Some people have no need to be sexual one way or the other. They are devoted to their friends, career, religion, causes, etc. To speculate on their sexual orientation (or lack thereof) is simply to disrespect their privacy.

Sandy Koufax earned every honor he got. He isn't out thrusting himself into politics like some Hollywood ninny. He isn't even using his fame to promote some worthy cause. He reired from baseball before more than half the country was even born. Therefore, he deserves to be left alone.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

You are correct. I'm probably as guilty as anyone on this count.

[Wvoter]

I just checked the NYPost website and they only have the AP article, not the statement itself. The papers feast on the errors of others, but it's tough for them admit their own goofs - unless they try to shed the blame to somebody else the way the Post faulted the NY Daily.

[mr.pink]

The apology is in "Page Six" of the Post, where the item ran.

Actually, "Page Six" of the NY Post does this type of thing on a pretty regular basis. It's almost a game to many to figure out who they are "hinting" towards.

Most of the time the hint/clue is enough for people close to that area (fashion, movies, big biz) to figure out who they are talking about (most times those folks already know), and it's not always outing someone for being gay, but more often regarding who is having an affair, or relapsing in drugs or alcohol.

This time, they just made it too easy for people to put 2+2 together, and in an area, sports, where being outed is pretty devastating.

[ewing]

'intensely private' means he switch hits or plays for the other team.

George Brett was rumoured to be the same way for years..

[shiva]

I agree with you. (post # 4 )

[Dark Knight]

That kind of speculation is just for voyeurs. If you are not actively involved in someones sex life, then it is none of your business. In general, that kind of speculation is for people that have no lives, and no prospects.

DK

[ewing]

Jodie Foster has also been described as 'intensely private'-it is the code word the liberals use when they like the person and don't wish to make an issue of their personal life.

[GirlShortstop]

George Brett was rumoured to be the same way for years..

Really?    That puts a new twist on his supposed Preparation H use in the early eighties.

[ewing]

lol! George was always good natured about suffering through the hemroids during the World Series in 1980..

[CaliforniaOkie]

Sandy Koufax is married to Richard Widmark's daughter!!!!

[Tall_Texan]

Let anyone remain a batchelor for too long, particularly if they aren't demonstrably public about their private lives, and the whispers start. Troy Aikman heard them. Kordell Stewart is hearing them. Brett waited until he was almost 40 before getting married, etc.

Koufax's "intensely private" leanings mirror those of Joe DiMaggio. They probably detested some of the limelight they received in their glory days and have been very hesitant to let people into their inner circle ever since.

There was a time when other's privacy was respected. It was how you were raised. But today's "enlightened" cultured doesn't care who they smear.

Koufax is completely justified in his actions.