lpga hits a bogey
by annie choLPGA proposes English proficiency requirement
On Aug. 20, the Ladies Professional Golf Association LPGA made an announcement during a mandatory South Korean player meeting addressing a new proposed policy. LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens informed the players that beginning in 2009, all players who had been on tour for two years must pass an oral evaluation of their English skills, and that failure would result in a suspended membership. Information about the policy trickled out from this announcement before the LPGA had finished drafting a written version of the policy and the resulting public outrage caused them to nix the idea. Hilary Lunke, president of the Player Executive Committee, stated in GolfWeek that this initiative grew from the LPGA’s concerns about the tour’s appeal to American sponsors by being able to communicate with them without a translator. The LPGA insisted that the primary purpose of the policy was to help players maximize their earning power and promote the LPGA tour simultaneously.
Because 45 of the 121 international players on tour are South Korean, critics believe that this policy was an act of discrimination stemming from the fact that Asian players have won seven of the 24 LPGA events this year, including three of the four majors. The policy was first announced in a mandatory meeting that all 45 South Koreans attended. Commenting on the covert discrimination in the policy, second-year player Angela Park stated in GolfWeek, “The LPGA could come out and say that they only want 10 Koreans, but they’re not.” For the last several years, LPGA has stressed the importance of learning English but never gave signs of actually implementing harsh penalties for low English proficiency. It seems more than a little suspicious that the English policy was created now that players from Asia are dominating the game.
Fortunately, the policy did not go through because of outrage from the public and local lawmakers. Bivens said to the International Herald Tribune (IHT), “After hearing the concerns, we believe that there are other ways to achieve our shared objective of supporting and enhancing the business opportunities for every tour player.” It is extremely surprising that the LPGA could try to pass a rule like this in our time. Sure, the arguments supporting the policy make sense; it would be beneficial for players to interact with sponsors and be able to give acceptance speeches without a translator since the LPGA is an American tour. However, the penalty of suspension seems too harsh for the international players. California Assemblyman Ted Lieu stated, “I can only conclude this is borderline racist. It’d be like France requiring Lance Armstrong to pass a French test.”
In addition, I’m disappointed at some of the reactions to this proposed rule as well. Although I am glad that most Americans opposed the rule to the point that the LPGA was forced to retract its statement, some people believed that English should be a requirement for international athletes, which makes me wonder what being an athlete is about. A subscriber to the IHT posed the question, “Does that mean if you’re mute you can’t play golf on the LPGA tour?” The question sounds ridiculous, and it underscores the point that a player’s language ability should not jeopardize their eligibility for the LPGA or any other organization. Players should be judged by athletic ability and not penalized because of language barriers.
To a certain extent, it is understandable that the LPGA would propose a policy like this because it is true that professional golf tours depend heavily on corporate sponsors for their financial survival. Therefore, it would be logical that the players be able to communicate with the sponsors of the tour. Moreover, the sports industry these days is becoming more and more of an entertainment industry. However, demanding English proficiency under threat of suspension is not the right way to go about promoting a pro-American cultural experience. Furthermore, it must be noted that not all of the sponsors speak English and the LPGA plays in non-English speaking countries.
What is really frightening is the implication that such a statement could have been thought up at all. Is English proficiency a requirement for pro-American sentiment? Most international athletes are grateful for the opportunity to tour with LPGA, and when the proposed policy was announced, they made an effort to hide their feelings of unfairness, even saying that they would take up tutoring to brush up their English skills for the oral examination. The LPGA did not elaborate on how this examination would play out, except that they expected the players to be able to speak “effective” English.
On a positive note, this incident has demonstrated that there are people out there who act as watchdogs to ensure that such a discriminatory policies are not passed. Bay area lawmakers railed the policy as a potential violation of state and/or federal anti-discrimination laws. State Senator Leland Yee stated in IHT, “In 2008, I didn't think an international group like the LPGA would come up with a policy like that.” Also, Gerald D. Kim, a senior staff attorney for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, stated in IHT, "Until they completely retract it, issue an apology to the players and the fans, I think we'll remain very concerned and interested in what happens." Bivens’ announcement to retract the language policy came only two hours before the center planned a news conference in Los Angeles to demand that the LPGA overturn the policy.
While history has shown us that racial discrimination in sports has not been an unheard of phenomenon, no athletic organization has proposed any rules remotely resembling the LPGA’s policy. Pat Courtney, a spokesman for major League Baseball, said that baseball would not consider such a policy because it wanted its players to be comfortable in interviews and wanted to respect their cultures. “Given the diverse nature of our sport, we don’t require that players speak English. It’s all about a comfort level,” he said.
Although the LPGA has decided to retract this particular language policy, it is not completely ruling out the possibility of creating another one that will not incorporate a suspension penalty. The LPGA has a history of promoting pro-American culture and aiding in the professional development of its players, and this culture will continue to encourage members to learn English. Hopefully, any subsequent policies that the LPGA enacts will be in good taste. But even if the LPGA makes another blunder, I have full confidence that the community will still be there to rectify the problem.