Joey Barrington Under Scrutiny For Alleged Twitter Post Containing Anti-Gay Joke
by Ted Gross, for DailySquashReport.com
January 26, 2012 - Squash TV broadcaster and veteran PSA Tour player Joey Barrington came under scrutiny yesterday for allegedly posting an anti-gay joke on Twitter.
An e-mail sent to Barrington from DailySquashReport seeking clarification was unanswered as of last night.
Barrington is in New York for the 2012 Tournament of Champions. He called last night's Willstrop-Selby men's semifinal for ESPN3 along with analyst Chris Gordon.
The alleged Twitter posting was referenced in yesterday morning's edition of the Squash E-Zine newsletter.
According to the E-Zine, the Tweet contained the words "homosexual Canadian accent".
Late yesterday, DailySquashReport received an inquiry from GLAAD, the New York City-based Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, asking if Barrington had issued an apology.
Joe McManus, whose US-based Pro Squash Tour publishes the weekly Squash E-Zine, issued the following statement:
“Joey is a great guy and is wonderful for squash. He is talented on the microphone and on the court. He attracts people to the game. But, imagine the firestorm of bad P.R. if Joe Buck, Marv Albert, or Jim Nantz said something similar when declaring their arrival for an MLB, NFL, NBA or PGA event. All of us involved in squash share the goal of growing the game and seeing it reach a wider audience. We should act in a manner that reflects those goals. That kind of silly statement won’t get us there. He should retract the statement and say it was a mistake.”
The 32-year-old Barrington, of Somerset, England, turned pro in 2002. His career-best world ranking was 24 in January 2007.
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