Ben Wright now admits he made disparaging remarks about the LPGA Tour, and though it happened three years ago, he again stirred up some of the anger that cost him his job.
"His comments brought out a lot of the old stereotypes connected to women athletes. There's so much more to us than that," said Amy Alcott, who has been on the LPGA Tour since 1975.Wright, a CBS golf analyst at the time, told Sports Illustrated that he indeed talked about lesbianism on the LPGA Tour during the 1995 LPGA Championship. He also admitted making a crude remark about women's breasts.
Wright, suspended indefinitely by CBS in January 1996, said network officials told him to deny the remarks he made to former Wilmington (Del.) News Journal reporter Valerie Helmbreck.
Wright's admission appears in Sports Illustrated's May 18 "Golf Plus" issue.
Helmbreck quoted Wright as saying that lesbians on the LPGA Tour hurt corporate sponsorship and that women don't play as well as men because their "boobs" hamper their backswing.
After Wright denied making the remarks, CBS issued a strong statement backing him, including on-air remarks by anchor Jim Nantz.
Wright, 65, said his biggest regret was agreeing with the CBS plan to deny the comments were made.