Groups Want Wright Fired, And Right Now!

It’s hard to figure out who is caught in the more difficult situation: Ben Wright, CBS Sports or the LPGA.

It’s clear, however, the whole matter of what Wright may or may not have said about women golfers isn’t ready to go away.

The latest go-around, sparked by a Sports Illustrated article, came Thursday when the National Organization for Women and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation called for Wright to be fired.

“We demand that action be taken,” Chiqui Cartagena of GLAAD said at a news conference. “Mr. Wright has a problem with women. At the very least we think that he should have sensitivity training and we would be happy to provide that.”

Wright’s problem began May 12 when the News Journal of Wilmington, Del., published a story by Valerie Helmbreck in which she quoted Wright as saying that “lesbians in the sport hurt women’s golf.” Wright also allegedly told Helmbreck that “women are handicapped (in the golf swing) by having boobs.”

Wright denied making the statements.

Things haven’t advanced all that much. But neither have they gone away. Longtime journalist Dan Jenkins told Sports Illustrated in the Dec. 4 issue that Wright admitted making the statements, but Jenkins said Wright might have been kidding.

Esiason joins CBS

New York Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason, one of the hottest analyst prospects in TV, will join CBS as a contributing analyst during halftime of its bowl games. Esiason and Pat O’Brien will make their headquarters in Tempe, Ariz., site of the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2 between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Florida.

The Esiason-O’Brien team also will work halftime of the Cotton and Orange bowls.