Responding to protests, the Ladies Professional Golf Assn. announced Friday that it would back down on suspending golfers who do not speak adequate English, reversing a controversial decision that had thrown the organization smack into the nation's long-running culture wars.
The LPGA Tour had announced last month that it would suspend golfers who could not speak English in media interviews, acceptance speeches and tournaments by 2009, saying that language fluency was critical to the sport's promotion and marketing efforts.
The action occurred as foreigners have increasingly come to dominate women's golf, with 121 players from 26 countries outside the U.S. -- including the LPGA's top-ranked player, a Mexico native, and three of the last four winners of women's majors, who are from Asia. The largest foreign contingent is from South Korea, with 45 players.
But what began as an internal marketing move quickly devolved into a raucous debate over culture, ethnicity and language. Partisans on both sides weighed in, with some saying the golf brouhaha underscored how foreigners refusing to learn English are endangering the nation's core traditions, a charge commonly made against Spanish-speaking Latinos. Others accused golf officials of using English to keep out foreigners, particularly Koreans.
After a bombardment of public protest, LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens said Friday that the group would issue a revised policy by year's end that would not include suspensions.
The action came after some of the tour's own corporate sponsors, such as State Farm, asked the organization to review its policy.
"We have decided to rescind those penalty provisions," Bivens said in a statement. "After hearing the concerns, we believe there are other ways to achieve our shared objective of supporting and enhancing the business opportunities for every tour player."
But some said the LPGA's policy made good business sense.
"At the core of this thing is a professional sports organization that's trying to protect cash flow," said David Carter, director of the Sports Business Institute at USC's Marshall School of Business. "And the best way to do that is connect with customers, whether those are golf fans or corporate sponsors. If someone asks a question in English but you can only respond in Spanish or Korean, you've got to believe that limits your ability to connect with the fan base."
