The Loop
Are there gay players on the PGA Tour? Brandt Snedeker says odds are yes
__By Sam Weinman
__An openly gay athlete in the testosterone-filled world of male professional sports isn't the radical thought it was even a year ago. The NBA's Jason Collins, after coming out in a Sports Illustrated cover story last year, signed a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets last month, and has since been retained by the team for the rest of the season. University of Missouri star defensive end Michael Sam came out publicly after the college season, and is expected to be taken in May's NFL draft.
But the PGA Tour remains uncharted territory for homosexuals. While women's golf has had several openly gay players through the years, the men's tour is waiting on its first. And, as Brandt Snedeker said on the upcoming season premiere of Golf Channel's "Feherty," that's probably not because of an absence of gay golfers -- just none willing to make their sexual preference public.
"I don't believe that at all," Brandt Snedeker said when host David Feherty remarked the tour doesn't have any gay players. "I don't think a gay golfer is going to be that big of a deal. It's not going to affect my life in any way shape or form."
Players on the PGA Tour tend to be conservative in their social beliefs, particularly when factoring in a healthy population of devout Christian players. But Snedeker said he would encourage a gay golfer to come out if he was ready.
"Actually if there is one, I'd welcome him to come out if he's comfortable doing it. I think it's a personal decision they need to make on their own," Snedeker said. "The fact that the tour doesn't have an openly gay player -- I don't know if there is or isn't, but odds are there probably is a gay person on the PGA Tour."
Here's the clip from "Feherty", which airs Monday night at 10 p.m. ET.
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