I guess you can't always be a winner...unless you're Eun Hee Ji.
Eun Hee Ji rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to earn her first major championship at the U.S. Women's Open. Ji shot an even-par 71 in the final round to finish at even-par 284.Candie Kung
I've been putting up some posts on this and have pretty much exhausted what I've wanted to say on the topic - so now that I got news of the LPGA rescinding the policy on their English Only language rule there's really not much else to talk about except to note that maybe next time they'll think twice before installing a completely xenophobic policy, and at least ask their sponsors what they think about policies which are going to affect how not only the LPGA looks, but how sponsors look as well:
Facing substantial criticism, the LPGA Tour announced Friday that it would rescind a recently-announced policy that would have required players to learn and speak English [...]O.K. - I do have to ask one more question:
"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," said LPGA commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens. "In that spirit, we will continue communicating with our diverse tour players to develop a better alternative." [...]
It had faced considerable backlash from across the sports spectrum and beyond since the impending policy was first reported last week. Among the policy's most vocal critics was California state senator Leland Yee, who called it "unfair, unreasonable, and discriminatory."
In a previous post on the LPGA and their English only rule, one of the questions that I posed was this:
...while I get the fact that the LPGA is "saying" this is for marketing/sponsorship purposes more so than anything else, I'm curious to know then - really curious - what sponsors, or sponsor liaisons, have told the LPGA that they won't sponsor an LPGA event, or have anything to do with the LPGA, if the LPGA's players can't make victory speeches, or talk about what they're going to do on their holiday vacation at a party?As you can probably tell from the post headline we have an answer from an article that was written in Advertising Age:
If this is supposedly driven by American marketing reasons, it's a fair question to ask (and one that I haven't seen any information on yet).
Saying it was "flabbergasted" by the Ladies Professional Golf Association's new policy requiring "effective communication in English on the part of all of our Tour members," State Farm is urging the group to reconsider -- or insurer may reconsider its sponsorship.While not quite as direct as State Farm (who deserves a lot of recognition for coming out on this), other companies are getting into the mix as well and letting the LPGA know that they're under the microscope:
"It's something we are dumfounded by," said Kip Biggs, media-relations specialist at the insurer, which is a general sponsor of the league as well as of the State Farm Classic Tournament in Springfield, Ill. "We don't understand this and don't know why they have done it, and we have strongly encouraged them to take another look at this." [...]
The LPGA claims that the language barrier facing a number of its players is causing problems on many fronts, including the players' dealings with the media as well as the league's sponsors and the customers of those sponsors.
Mr. Biggs, however, said State Farm was unaware that the LPGA was contemplating any such policy.
State Farm isn't the only sponsor taking note. David Peikin, senior director-corporate communications at Choice Hotels International, said, "We have a great deal of interest in the intentions of the LPGA on this subject. Based on our understanding, this policy is currently under review by the LPGA, and a final decision and any related details will be determined over the next four months. Until that time, we will be closely monitoring LPGA news and announcements."One other noteable quote:
Ann Wool, senior VP-director at Ketchum Sports network, said it was a mistake for the LPGA not to talk to its sponsors before announcing the policy. "When making a major policy decision it's always wise to notify your sponsors," Ms. Wool said. "I can only speculate that [the LPGA] didn't think this was going to be such a controversial issue, otherwise they probably would have. It was probably a bad move not to notify their sponsors."So again, while the LPGA claims this was mainly for sponsorship reasons, the bottom line is that not only didn't sponsors have anything to do with this policy, but now that they've found out about it - they don't even agree with it.
I've been following the news out on the LPGA and their decision to make all of their players speak English (check out the post from AAM last week) - and while you can openly make the case for why it's being instituted (xenophobia, Asian domination, the old American Girl's Club, the need for some new PR and marketing folks, all of the above) - the bottom line is that in American sports you have international players and "the language barrier" has never been a problem before.
Just look to the NBA and basketball which isn't just a team sport where players need to communicate with each other, but one where the organization is extremely press and sponsor savvy. I mean hasn't the LPGA ever heard of translators?
Even billiards provides a translator in televised events.
And while I get the fact that the LPGA is "saying" this is for marketing/sponsorship purposes more so than anything else, I'm curious to know then - really curious - what sponsors, or sponsor liaisons, have told the LPGA that they won't sponsor an LPGA event, or have anything to do with the LPGA, if the LPGA's players can't make victory speeches, or talk about what they're going to do on their holiday vacation at a party?
If this is supposedly driven by American marketing reasons, it's a fair question to ask (and one that I haven't seen any information on yet).
At the same time while people have said "It's an American tour" isn't the LPGA making stops in Korea, Thailand, Singapore, China and Japan next year? Don't international television rights make up a large source of the LPGA's income - including in Asian countries (see here and here)?
The LPGA has expanded its reach to be more than "An American Tour" and that in itself begs the question of why it's really installing this policy (see the first paragraph of this post and just remember that according to multiple sources, ONLY the Korean players were rounded up for this news).
I'm glad to see though that the majority of news I'm reading on this isn't supportive of the new LPGA policy - calling it out for what it is - and that someone like Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) is stepping in and calling for an end to the discriminatory rule.
Not only is he saying he'll stand alongside protesters if the policy isn't rescinded by the time the Samsung World Championship reaches the Half Moon Bay Golf Links in his district, but he's also helping to make sure that this simple question gets asked - which could very well bring this policy down:
What will the LPGA do if it has a golfer who only speaks in sign language?
Here's some links on what's being said around the world
Yee Calls on LPGA to End Discriminatory Policy
Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) is leading an effort to oppose a recently announced policy by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) to require its athletes to speak English starting in 2009. Senator Yee and his Democratic colleagues in the Senate today sent a letter to LPGA Chief Executive Carolyn Bivens blasting the policy.Testing times for Koreans as LPGA Tour talks tough
“Mandating English on the LPGA Tour will disenfranchise qualified players from the global community of professional golf,” said Yee. “English fluency has no bearing on an athlete’s ability to compete. Denying access based on language capability or country of origin is unfair, unreasonable, and discriminatory.”
A fear of outsiders is nothing new in the insular world of American golf.LPGA open to race charge as Koreans are told to mind their language
Five years ago, the erstwhile glamour puss of the LPGA, Jan Stephenson, said: 'This is probably going to get me into trouble [she was right; it did], but the Asians are killing our Tour. Their lack of emotion, their refusal to speak English...' Etcetera. Her rant was widely excoriated. From being behind the eight ball, she suddenly seems ahead of her time.
No one at the LPGA admits this issue is about South Korean golfers. No one denies it, either. Koreans account for 45 of the LPGA Tour's 120 players and it is only they - albeit only a few of them - who have significant problems with English. But under the new regulations, an acceptable (to be defined) level of English will be required for media interviews, victory speeches and to enable interaction with amateur pro-am partners.
Now, quite apart from the obviously tricky legal aspects of such a distasteful and questionable move – and the equally self-evident irony in having those who, like, routinely mangle the, like, English-language on a, like, daily basis, claiming the upper hand in any linguistic argument – such nonsense represents nothing short of blatant and specific racism. Note that, despite today's LPGA tour being more diverse than it has ever been, only the Koreans were summoned to answer for their perceived verbal shortcomings.LPGA puts its foot in its English-speaking mouth
Just why one nation should be singled out is not difficult to discern. For the US-based LPGA, the by-now routine domination of the tour by foreign-born players – a group largely made up of Koreans – is something of a commercial problem. Twenty-four LPGA events have been played so far this year and in 18 of those a non-US national has finished first. Seven of those 18 victories – including the two most recent major championships – have been recorded by Korean women.
Maybe it's because Lorie Kane is a Canadian who had trouble learning French when she attended university, or maybe she's simply more compassionate than many of her fellow LPGA English-speaking players.
Whatever the reason, Kane continues to believe that the LPGA's new policy by which it will force international players to speak English to a standard yet to be decided upon is needlessly draconian.
