Columnist Dean Juipe: No denying there’s a gay presence on tour

Dean Juipe

Friday, April 16, 2004 | 9:39 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Rosie Jones was on the initial Takefugi Classic commitment list, yet the LPGA tour veteran withdrew before the tournament began Thursday. That was unfortunate in a couple of respects, not the least of which was the fact it depleted the field and cost the event an experienced player who is also a 13-time winner.

It also prevented me from approaching her and being the one-millionth person to ask how she felt or if there were any repercussions for her decision of a month ago to come out publicly and admit she is gay.

The relevance: It doesn't take much in the way of powers of perception to notice the gay influence on the women's golf tour. Not that there are a lot of gay players (and caddies) but there are at least a few, some of whom don't seem to mind the added attention and some of whom obviously do.

The fact that Jones' decision to out herself drew such widespread publicity speaks for itself. Maybe the Sexual Revolution of the late '60s has yet to run its full course, given the general public's uncertainty about gays and gay-rights issues here in 2004.

Stories pertaining to gay marriages and civil unions have been commonplace this year, and not just in California, Massachusetts and Oregon where the ceremonies have been proposed and/or held. It's a debate that never seems to quit.

In fact, the only letter in the current issue of the Coyote Press -- which serves the students and staff of the Community College of Southern Nevada -- goes on, at length, on the topic of gays.

It's as if the country still lacks a comfort level with gays and that some gays still lack a comfort level with the country (and themselves).

Jones decided to do something about it, albeit to her financial benefit as well. Hired as a spokeswoman for Olivia, a national travel agency that caters to a gay clientele, she decided to write a first-person article for the New York Times to explain her decision and place it in perspective.

Jones, 44, waited at least 25 years to publicly come out, having told only her family she was gay when she was 19.

Why everyone who is gay hasn't come out puzzles me, but then I'm a straight guy who once lived with a gay friend and who continues to have a gay acquaintance (and relative) or two. I don't see the problem with it.

Go to the Las Vegas Country Club for this weekend's golf tournament and the presence of gays won't overwhelm you or smack you in the face; there aren't any promotional booths for Olivia or any other obviously gay enterprises, and -- based on my tour of the course during the opening round -- the one or two players who I believe to be gay that I came across didn't have an extra horde of spectators or obviously gay support.

That was in contrast to seeing the full field of players en masse working on the driving range and practice green earlier in the week and realizing there was definitely a gay contingent. You couldn't help but see it.

Being gay can be subtle, or it can be anything but. For instance, just a couple of weeks ago Las Vegas hosted the Gay Rodeo, which sounds comical while provoking a simple thought: Is there a need for such a thing?

If there is, might there also be a need for other sporting events specifically for gays?

I'd like to think not.

All of the major sports in America have had gay athletes, a few of which -- Dave Kopay in football, Glenn Burke in baseball and Martina Navratilova in tennis, to name the most prevalent -- eventually came out. And lesser sports such as women's softball have a gay link that can't be denied.

That said, what Rosie Jones did took courage.

But in the ideal world we wouldn't even have given it a second thought.