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August 27, 2008
On the LPGA's New English Only Rule
You probably have heard about the LPGA's new English only rule for professional women golfers. In "English-only rule in LPGA goes against the grain," Mark Herrmann writes that "It is hard to say which ideal gets trampled more by the LPGA’s new speak-English-or-you’re-out policy, the spirit of golf or the spirit of America. Either way, the women’s professional golf tour has turned a no-win situation into a big loss. . . . The gist is this: The LPGA, worried about losing interest among fans and sponsors, said it will suspend players who can’t pass an English oral exam after two years on tour. This appears aimed directly at South Koreans, who represent 45 of the 121 international players on the tour and who - British Women’s Open champion Ji-Yai Shin and U.S. Women’s Open champion Inbee Park, to name two - are dominating." This gives new meaning to the concept of "discrimination by proxy," which historically understands english only laws as a way to target and punish national origin minorities and immigrants. Is language regulation being used by the LPGA to target the most successful women golfers (who just happen to be Asian)?
KJ
August 27, 2008 | Permalink
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Comments
I disagree with the lpga new english proficiency requirements. Its too obvious what their intended target, south koreans, and if thats not enough I'm not aware of anything like this in us. federal work place requirements, or any sports authority. Must be a few whities are making it difficult for the south koreans to get along on the play ground. you think.
Posted by: sulafat | Aug 27, 2008 2:18:15 PM
'This appears aimed directly at South Koreans'
Appears?
Their dilemma is that the current situation is bad for business but they just bought a ton of bad publicity which is also bad for business. The problem, obviously, is that you don't need to say a word to play although I guess they could claim that they need to be able to explain rulings to the players and stuff like that.
This is more embarrassing than the '"lynch [Tiger Woods] in a back alley" comment because that was just an off hand comment--this is an actual plan.
I haven't read the articles but one of their motivations might be sexist. Women's tennis is currently dominated (not to the same degree) by Russians. But many are considered 'hot' or 'exotic' which is good for marketing. The Korean ladies don't fit the desired marketing image (traditional or Western standard of beauty), many share the same name which makes them seem indistinguishable (not a good thing in a star system). I'm guessing a lot of fans don't identify with them.
One difference is that tennis is more of a global tour while I think the LPGA is a U.S. based tour.
The sexism in women's sport while largely driven by beauty is also tied to not being perceived as too lesbian. That perception is viewed as being a limitation on wider appeal. It's a tricky matter since a lot of the fans are, in fact, lesbians. Being gay also kills your endorsements which might explain why one of the historically big tennis endorsers, Gabriela Sabatini, is not out even though many claim she's a lesbian.
Posted by: Jack | Aug 27, 2008 4:31:12 PM
