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September 04, 2002
NCWO To Target Players: Saying
NCWO To Target Players: Saying that members of the PGA Tour, "need to take a moral stand," the chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO) announced on ESPN Radio's Dan Patrick Show, that her group would begin pressuring touring pros to aid her efforts to get women admitted to Augusta National Golf Club: "I think Augusta will eventually see that it will be in the best interests of their club ... to do the right thing and allow women members," she later said in the interview. Throughout the debate, Augusta National has responded, citing -- among the nine points listed on the right -- the club's constitutional rights and the difference between Augusta National, a private club, and The Masters, a major golf tournament. . . "We do have the capability of picketing," Burk said. "We have 160 organizations with seven million members. I'm getting calls from people across the country. [Johnson] is just stirring up aggravation more and more and more. Women are consumers, and as far as the sponsorship issue, the top layer is TV, but there are plenty of others, like player sponsors, other companies that do business with them and other CEOs." Tony Kornheiser, on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption, revealed that some unnamed source told him that Augusta chairman Hootie Johnson is something of a "liberal", and was working diligently behind the scenes to get Augusta to admit it's first female member. However, since Burk's public campaign, said Kornheiser, Johnson's efforts have been short-circuited. Also attached to the ESPN piece, was a set of "talking points," Augusta has distributed to the press to bolster their case: Throughout the debate, Augusta National has responded, citing several issues: 1. This is not a legal issue. The Masters has a constitutional right to its private membership. 2. Martha Burk tries to equate this to the Shoal Creek racial issue in 1990, but they are totally different. In America, there are women's colleges, the Girl Scouts of America and women's health clubs throughout the country. In Canada and overseas, there are women-only golf clubs. 3. The Club possibly will have a woman member in the future, but it should be the Club's decision, not the decision of an outside group that knows little about the Club or Tournament. In Ms. Burk's initial letter, she placed a deadline on the Club to have a woman member (2003), and discussed the sponsors of the Tournament. 4. The winner in this sponsorship issue is the viewer. There will now be 12 ½ hours of commercial free golf coverage. 5. What is presently happening is a corporate campaign. The National Council of Women's Organizations is targeting anyone associated with the Masters. 6. The reason we chose not to ask the sponsors to participate in 2003 was to spare them the inevitability of a continued corporate campaign that could have included protests and boycotts. 7. Dr. Burk is now telling individuals what to watch on television. In three online polls conducted this weekend, nearly 90 percent of respondents said they would continue to watch the Masters on CBS. Over 4.3 million women watched the Masters last year. 8. The Masters and Augusta National are different. One is a private club, and the other is a world-class sporting event that is completely inclusive. 9. The Masters is being used as a symbol. Several other Clubs do not allow women to play or even to enter the grounds. Women play at Augusta National regularly, and there are no restrictions on tee times. Women played over 1,000 rounds at the Club last year. As I agreed with one of my readers yesterday, this case is really about power now, with money just being an interesting side show. Burk, whether she wants to admit it or not, has to fight Augusta to the bitter end now, especially if she wants to keep her job at NCWO. In fact, I think it's safe to say she's staked her entire career, and the credibility of her organization, on this campaign. As for Johnson, he can't give in either. In any case, the membership at Augusta will never let him. Once again, the irresistable force has met the immovable object. POSTSCRIPT: Am I the only who has noticed that I haven't seen any members of the LPGA Tour commenting on this situation? Or at least not taking a high profile stand one way or another? I'd love to hear what golfers like Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, and Karrie Webb have to say about all this.
Eric
02:43 AM
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