<H1 =column_title_journalisms>Ex-Editor's Tell-All Cites Racist Comments</H1>
A photo editor's unflattering portrait of baseball-player-turned-financial adviser Lenny Dykstra as a racist, sexist and homophobe has prompted an African American NBA official to call for a boycott of Dykstra and the magazine he produces.
In the upcoming April issue of GQ, already online, Kevin Coughlin recounts his experience working for Dykstra's glossy magazine, the Players Club, which offers athletes financial advice as it touts a luxurious lifestyle.
"At one meeting, Lenny goes off on how a particular layout looks '****gy'  despite the presence of a gay page designer in the room," the piece reads. "(Later, Lenny says to me: 'Did you see the look on that ****'s face?') On another occasion, I field a call from Lenny about potential cover subjects while I'm at home; Lenny's on speaker when he proudly states, for both my wife and me, that 'nobody can call me a racist  I put three darkies and a bitch on my first four covers.'
"The first four Players Club covers featured Derek Jeter, Chris Paul, Tiger Woods, and Danica Patrick.
"'What was that, Lenny?' I ask.
"'I said I put three spearchuckers on the cover!' he replies."
The piece also painted Dykstra as financially irresponsible.
<DIV =image-caption-container style="FLOAT: right; WIDTH: 134px">
<DIV =image-caption>Arthur Triche
Its publication online prompted Arthur Triche to write this on Monday to the e-mail list of the Sports Task Force of the National Association of Black Journalists:
"His magazine was (and I emphasize, WAS) a staple in our team's locker room whenever it was sent to us, but from now on, it will go right into the garbage dump, and as the Hawks' Vice President of Public Relations, and the first African-American PR director in the NBA, I assure you, none of my players will ever speak to anyone associated with this magazine.
"And before it's all said and done, I will be speaking with Billy Hunter of the NBAPA and the new Executive Director of the NFLPA regarding this." He was referring to the players associations of the National Basketball Association and the National Football League.
"Maybe he'll get the message then."
Triche's comments prompted responses on the NABJ list and in print.
"Maybe you believe Dykstra, and you think he's being viciously attacked by a disgruntled former employee," John Gonzalez wroteTuesday in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Maybe you want to give him the benefit of the doubt. I can't do that. Not anymore.
"We've known for a long time that Dykstra isn't perfect. No one is. But, in the past, I was always willing to overlook his mistakes, no matter how appalling.'
In the same issue of the Inquirer, Jim Salisbury wrote that Dykstra told him Sunday night by telephone, "Everything in there is a lie.
"I'm not going down in the dirt with this guy," Dykstra told Salisbury, speaking of Coughlin, who now works for the New York Post. "He's [ticked] off because he got fired. He was masquerading as a photo editor.
"I lived with [Darryl] Strawberry and [Dwight] Gooden," he said, referring to former New York Mets teammates who are black, Salisbury wrote. "I'm not reducing myself to this. What a crazy thing."
Mark Kirby, a senior editor who edited the piece for GQ, told Journal-isms, "We're entirely confident in Kevin's story; it went through the magazine's fact-checkers [the way] that any piece for GQ does. We talked to roughly a dozen people through the years who have worked with Lenny."
Kirby said the magazine employs at least 10 fact checkers and had one dedicated to Coughlin's piece for a couple of weeks.
"My problem is not with GQ," Triche said. "It's with the one who uttered the words. I don't think that anybody should talk to him ever again for his magazine. As recently as last week I was trying to get my players in his magazine."
A short bio of Dykstra on thestreet.com says:
"Nicknamed 'Nails' for his tough style of play, Lenny is a former Major League Baseball player for the 1986 World Champions, New York Mets and the 1993 National League Champions, Philadelphia Phillies.
"A three time All-Star as a ballplayer, Lenny now serves as president for several privately held businesses in Southern California. He is the founder of The Players Club; it has been his desire to give back to the sport that gave him early successes in life by teaching athletes how to invest and protect their incomes. He currently manages his own portfolio and writes an investment strategy column for TheStreet.com, and is featured regularly on CNBC and other cable news shows. Lenny was selected as OverTime Magazine's 2006-2007 'Entrepreneur of the Year.'"
[url]http://www.mije.org/richardprince/ex-editors-tell-all-cites- racist-homophobic-comments[/url]
A photo editor's unflattering portrait of baseball-player-turned-financial adviser Lenny Dykstra as a racist, sexist and homophobe has prompted an African American NBA official to call for a boycott of Dykstra and the magazine he produces.
In the upcoming April issue of GQ, already online, Kevin Coughlin recounts his experience working for Dykstra's glossy magazine, the Players Club, which offers athletes financial advice as it touts a luxurious lifestyle.
"At one meeting, Lenny goes off on how a particular layout looks '****gy'  despite the presence of a gay page designer in the room," the piece reads. "(Later, Lenny says to me: 'Did you see the look on that ****'s face?') On another occasion, I field a call from Lenny about potential cover subjects while I'm at home; Lenny's on speaker when he proudly states, for both my wife and me, that 'nobody can call me a racist  I put three darkies and a bitch on my first four covers.'
"The first four Players Club covers featured Derek Jeter, Chris Paul, Tiger Woods, and Danica Patrick.
"'What was that, Lenny?' I ask.
"'I said I put three spearchuckers on the cover!' he replies."
The piece also painted Dykstra as financially irresponsible.
<DIV =image-caption-container style="FLOAT: right; WIDTH: 134px">
<DIV =image-caption>Arthur Triche
Its publication online prompted Arthur Triche to write this on Monday to the e-mail list of the Sports Task Force of the National Association of Black Journalists:
"His magazine was (and I emphasize, WAS) a staple in our team's locker room whenever it was sent to us, but from now on, it will go right into the garbage dump, and as the Hawks' Vice President of Public Relations, and the first African-American PR director in the NBA, I assure you, none of my players will ever speak to anyone associated with this magazine.
"And before it's all said and done, I will be speaking with Billy Hunter of the NBAPA and the new Executive Director of the NFLPA regarding this." He was referring to the players associations of the National Basketball Association and the National Football League.
"Maybe he'll get the message then."
Triche's comments prompted responses on the NABJ list and in print.
"Maybe you believe Dykstra, and you think he's being viciously attacked by a disgruntled former employee," John Gonzalez wroteTuesday in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Maybe you want to give him the benefit of the doubt. I can't do that. Not anymore.
"We've known for a long time that Dykstra isn't perfect. No one is. But, in the past, I was always willing to overlook his mistakes, no matter how appalling.'
In the same issue of the Inquirer, Jim Salisbury wrote that Dykstra told him Sunday night by telephone, "Everything in there is a lie.
"I'm not going down in the dirt with this guy," Dykstra told Salisbury, speaking of Coughlin, who now works for the New York Post. "He's [ticked] off because he got fired. He was masquerading as a photo editor.
"I lived with [Darryl] Strawberry and [Dwight] Gooden," he said, referring to former New York Mets teammates who are black, Salisbury wrote. "I'm not reducing myself to this. What a crazy thing."
Mark Kirby, a senior editor who edited the piece for GQ, told Journal-isms, "We're entirely confident in Kevin's story; it went through the magazine's fact-checkers [the way] that any piece for GQ does. We talked to roughly a dozen people through the years who have worked with Lenny."
Kirby said the magazine employs at least 10 fact checkers and had one dedicated to Coughlin's piece for a couple of weeks.
"My problem is not with GQ," Triche said. "It's with the one who uttered the words. I don't think that anybody should talk to him ever again for his magazine. As recently as last week I was trying to get my players in his magazine."
A short bio of Dykstra on thestreet.com says:
"Nicknamed 'Nails' for his tough style of play, Lenny is a former Major League Baseball player for the 1986 World Champions, New York Mets and the 1993 National League Champions, Philadelphia Phillies.
"A three time All-Star as a ballplayer, Lenny now serves as president for several privately held businesses in Southern California. He is the founder of The Players Club; it has been his desire to give back to the sport that gave him early successes in life by teaching athletes how to invest and protect their incomes. He currently manages his own portfolio and writes an investment strategy column for TheStreet.com, and is featured regularly on CNBC and other cable news shows. Lenny was selected as OverTime Magazine's 2006-2007 'Entrepreneur of the Year.'"
[url]http://www.mije.org/richardprince/ex-editors-tell-all-cites- racist-homophobic-comments[/url]
