JANUARY 26, 1996

GAY PEOPLe's ChronICLE

ON THE AIR OFF THE PRESS

CBS golf commentator dropped for anti-lesbian remarks

by John Graves

CBS Sports has finally removed veteran golf analyst Ben Wright from their golf coverage, putting him under a paid suspension on January 9 for the remainder of his four-year contract.

Wright came under fire last May after he was quoted in the Wilmington (Delaware) News-Journal saying that "Lesbians in the sport hurt women's golf," and that lesbianism was "paraded" on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour.

"When it gets to the corporate level, that's not going to fly," Wright said. “They're going to a butch game."

He was also quoted as saying “women are handicapped by having boobs" that get in the way of keeping their left arm straight.

After the report, CBS launched an "investigation" that found Wright innocent of the charges, which Wright had called “a pack of lies." CBS Sports then signed Wright to a fouryear contract.

In a December 4 Sports Illustrated story, another CBS sports staffer corroborated NewsJournal reporter Valerie Helmbreck's original story. Wright then attacked Helmbreck, saying that she was divorced and in a child custody battle and that she might be a lesbian. Wright's comments about the reporter were proven untrue.

Melissa Ross

Continued from page 19

community--to donate their talent. Well, just imagine what would happen if no drag queens decided to ever perform at benefits again. The benefits would tend to get a little boring... a lot boring.

DE: What has been the most rewarding experience that you have had as a female illusionist?

MR: The doors that it has opened up for me and the opportunity to meet so many wonderful and diverse people in my life, from the very, very, very, rich and famous to the very, very not rich and very poor. Everyone has been arewarding experience and everyone has been a learning experience. I've learned something from everyone I've met.

DE: What would you say to the women of the world who feel insulted that drag is in some way making fun of them?

MR: "Get a grip." By no means is it an insult. I have learned to respect what women have to go through in order to get ready. I just feel that if more women just took a little more time they would feel so much better about themselves, their esteem would grow immensely, people would probably think higher of them. Although we've all been taught that it's not important what other people think of us, deep down inside we all know that it is. It's not an insult whatsoever. I've been very fortunate, I've never come across any woman that thought it was insult towards them-lesbians included. I used to have a real big lesbian following, I used to work at the Sports Page in Cleveland and the Twilight in Columbus, both lesbian bars.

DE: For those that do not know drag etiquette, do you prefer to be referred to as a he or a she?

MR: I'm a he no matter what. And it really sounds kind of stupid, but I think most female impersonators prefer to be referred to as a she when they're in costume and when they're in public in drag. I've been, on occasion, at the mall with my mom and people will be hollering from across the mall, "Hey, Melissa, hey," and they come up and I'm obviously not in drag. If you don't know my name, just wave at me and say,"Hi, how are you." I would never dream of causing that big of a scene in public by calling someone"girlfriend" or "Miss Thing."There's a time and a place for everything in this world, but I think that in places like that you need to be a little more reserved.

I'm not asking anyone to go back in the closet, because I'm a firm believer in being yourself, but being yourself also means knowing when and what to do. I mean, what if my mom didn't know, or what if I was in a mall

In a statement about relieving Wright of his golf broadcast duties, CBS Sports president David Kenin said that they were taking the action because the controversy “has distracted" from CBS golf coverage. Throughout the controversy, most major sports columnists had called for Wright's termination.

Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation, said, “The remarks attributed to Ben showed him being sexist, and engaging in discriminatory statements. You can't just say lesbianism hurts women's golf. It's more correct to say homophobia does. A journalist should examine the issue from both sides."

TV Guide reports the gay wedding episode on Roseanne garnered the highest ratings the sitcom has had this season. But the magazine did a curious flip-flop: They criticized ABC for homophobia when it moved the wedding episode from Roseanne's normal time of 8 pm to 9:30 pm, "when fewer children are watching," the network said. Two weeks later, however, TV Guide said it had been wrong to criticize ABC, and that the later time slot had increased the show's ratings.

NBC did not change the 8 pm time of the January 18 Friends episode, which featured a lesbian wedding. However, two stations, including one in Lima, Ohio, blacked out the episode. WLIO in Lima, and KJAC in Port Arthur, Texas, substituted old episodes. The

with family from out of town that, although they may have their speculations, it's never been discussed? If you see [a female impersonator] out of a dress and you don't know their name, just say “Hi” and introduce yourself. Thank God I have a wonderfully open family about my whole lifestyle and what I do.

DE: What is the most important piece of advice that you'd give to anyone thinking about becoming a female illusionist?

MR: Not to let it go to your head, and never to once, for one second, believe that you're better than anyone else.

DE: Is there anything that you'd like to touch upon that we haven't discussed?

MR: I recently had an incident at Over the Rainbow. I'd had a really rough day at work, and I busted my butt to get to this benefit, and on time, mind you. I'm notoriously known for being late, but I was on time that night and I was up there doing my best to raise money for whatever it was.

There was a heckler, and because of him it was the first time in twenty years that I actually got so mad that I walked off the stage. I thought, "How dare you!" How dare you sit there and tell me that you're tired of seeing my face at these benefits? Well, you know what? Fortwenty years my face has been up there and for twenty years I've kept working and working and as long as God gives me the strength I'm going to be there. It just infuriates me when people say, "Why is she up there again?" Be glad that I'm up there. I could very easily say no, as could everybody else. Just imagine if everybody said no.

DE: Tell our readers and your audience something that they don't know about you.

MR: I like to cook, most especially, my Puerto Rican ethnic dishes. I love to entertain in my home, I have a very close circle of friends. I love for them to come over and eat and more than that I love for them to take food home. I hate dealing with leftovers.

DE: Do you have any idols?

MR: My mother, I idolize my mother. I have tried to set my life on a pattern and a path similar to hers. She was a single parent and she persevered. Everything I have today is a direct result of things that she's instilled in me...her beliefs, her strong opinions, her short temper, her attitude, everything. She is the single most important person in my life, and the day she's gone a big part of my life will go with her. ♡

Melissa Ross can be seen every other Monday at Over the Rainbow at 9506 Detroit Ave., and every Tuesday at Legends, 11719 Detroit Ave., both in Cleveland.

Lima station ran the wedding episode at midnight the following Sunday, and invited viewers to call with opinions. The station's number is 419-228-8835.

History was made a few weeks ago when Jim J. Bullock became co-host of the new Jim J. and Tammy Faye talk show. Suddenly, with Charles Perez having his own talk show, network television had two talk shows hosted by openly gay men. Savor this moment however, because Perez's show has been canceled.

Live Shot, a syndicated TV news drama, was also cancelled. Unfortunately, the cancellation means we won't get to see Lou, the gay sportscaster, come further out of the closet.

Bisexual actress and comedian Sandra Bernhard joined the cast of ABC's Chicago Hope on January 22, replacing the lawyer played by Peter MacNicol who was killed off last year. Chicago Hope airs Mondays at 10 pm.

A few weeks ago, Paul's sister Debbie came out as a lesbian on the NBC sitcom Mad About You. Catch this new, out of the closet recurring character Sundays at 8 pm.

"Disney Catches Hell," an article by Benjamin Svetkey in the December 15 edition of Entertainment Weekly magazine, examined the religious right's concentrated attacks on the Disney Corporation for its gay-friendly policies. Disney is being attacked for providing full benefits for same sex partners of its employees, for support of a Gay and Lesbian Day outing at Disney World in Florida and for production of gay-themed movies such as Priest. It's ironic that the Disney Corporation is the target of the anti-gay religious right in light of the fact that, not too many years ago, Disneyland and Disney World harassed same-sex couples visiting the theme parks.

The December 1 edition of the National Catholic Reporter ran a story about Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, who was awarded the

1995 Bridge Building Award from New Ways Ministry, a Catholic group working with gays and lesbians. He received the award for his public work in trying to reconcile the Church with lesbian and gay Catholics. Bishop Gumbleton fist spoke out at a 1992 New Ways Ministry conference where he told of having to confront his own perceptions about homosexuality after his brother Dan came out to his family. During a news conference before the award ceremony, Gumbeleton spoke of his admiration for Catholic gays and lesbians who have kept their faith even as they are shunned by some in the Church.

Gumbleton said that he tells gays and lesbians to evaluate their lives against Church teachings. He said he tells gays and lesbians, "You have to come to terms with who you are in the presence of God in the depths of your spirit, and when you are at peace with that, I am not about to presume to make a judgement that only God can make."

USA Today also reported on the ITV production of Positive: Life With HIV, a four-hour mini-series being offered to PBS stations for airing this month. I spoke with Bob Olive, program manager of the Cleveland PBS station, WVIZ Channel 25, who said the station was planning to air the show but it has not yet selected an air time.

Olive said that one of the problems the station was having in acquiring lesbian and gay programs was identifying an audience that wanted that kind of programming. He said Nielsen ratings in the past have been negligible and the number of people contacting the station in support of lesbian and gay programming has been low and declining. Additionally, WVIZ has gotten a large amount of negative reaction to lesbian and gay programs. It's up to you. contact WVIZ regularly and let the station know you want them to serve our community.

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