Tony, not to engage in a debate with you on something you apparently feel quite strongly about, for purpose of upsetting you... I just wonder if the practice of spitting on turf, or other athletic fields or pitches, why haven't we heard of any athletes contracting respiratory diseases that might be obviously corresponding to sputum, mucus, phlegm exposure?
In fact, there are far more obvious and present dangers in soil born bacterial disease that are naturally occurring in certain soils, than microbial and bacterial residue of spit, in my humble estimation based on NO scientific data or knowledge. But, anecdotally speaking, my wife got exposed to 'Valley Fever" ( a soil born infection that greatly mimics TB causing legion in the lungs - treated with anti-biotics) that could have only been contracted one day when we spent a great deal of time tooling around Rustic Canyon during construction where sand and dust was kicked up quite a great deal. Valley fever is only found in U.S. in SoCal ag valleys and AZ. Blastomycosis and other soil born diseases are a factor where I live, which occur along swampy or low riverside mucky soils and hikers and stream fisherman have a factor of risk.
But, have you or anyone else ever heard of any disease contracted by an athlete, most particularly a golfer, attributed to spitting? I haven't even heard of a boxer getting a specific respiratory disease like TB or other related, from all the sputum they spray on eachother in a match, have you?