Plum Crazy

Baseball legend Sandy Koufax has cut all ties with the Dodgers over an item published in a gossip column of a newspaper owned by the same corporation that owns the Dodgers. News Corp. owned The New York Post published a rumor on its famous Page Six hinting that Koufax is gay.

The Post said a ``Hall of Fame baseball hero'' had ``cooperated with a best-selling biography only because the author promised to keep it secret that he is gay. The author kept her word, but big mouths at the publishing house can't keep from flapping.''

Koufax, who was not specifically named by the paper, is the subject of Jane Leavy's biography, ``Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy,'' published in September.

I don't know or care if Sandy Koufax is gay. It really shouldn't matter. However if he is, it is his life and his decision to make whether or not he wants it made public. It is not the decision of a newspaper. The public does not have the right to know the personal details of a celebrity's life, no matter how many times the media chants that mantra. And thinly veiled hints don't excuse not actually publishing the celebrity's name.