TO and Ho-mo

You would think after the tempest stirred up by Pat Burrell's comments about sex in a Playboy pre-season issue several years ago that any Philly sports star would steer clear of skin mag interviews during training camp. Alas, TO didn't get the memo from the Eagles' public relations department on that.

His comments in the September Playboy magazine insinuating that the rumors are true about former teammate QB Jeff Garcia being gay just further fueled the perception of the NFL, and professional sports in general, as rampant with intolerance and homophobia. What Garcia's sexual orientation has to do with his performance on the field has never been established. Worse is the perpetuation of this despicable whisper campaign. But what made the whole episode even more bizarre was the color and context included in the story about the interview by Philly Inquirer's Bob Brookover.

What to make of Brookover's reference that Owens is 30 years-old, single and childless himself? Heck, why didn't Brookover just mention that Owens wears tights in practice! Was Brookover hinting that Owens is gay? Or was Brookover taking the high road and merely pointing out that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover---or lifestyle choices in the cases of Owens and Garcia.

Incredibly, the Brookover story was picked up by DC sports radio where the whole thing plunged even further in the muck, if that was at all possible. Sports personality Steven Zaban noted that in today's professional sports world most athletes have fathered at least one child out of wedlock--- even Mr. Whitebread himself, Larry Legend (Bird)---and thus hinting that perhaps BOTH Owens and Garcia were gay. What a damning indictment of the ethical and moral standards of today's stars where out of wedlock births are the norm and responsible upstanding adults without children are the ones who are looked at askance.