August 27, 2008 - The women’s professional golf tour, which in recent years has been dominated by foreign-born players, has warned its members that they must become conversant in English by 2009, according to the New York Times.
Deputy Commissioner of the tour, Libba Galloway, said: “We live in a sports-entertainment environment. For an athlete to be successful today in the sports entertainment world we live in, they need to be great performers on and off the course, and being able to communicate effectively with sponsors and fans is a big part of this.
“Being a US-based tour, and with the majority of our fan base, pro-am contestants, sponsors and participants being English speaking, we think it is important for our players to effectively communicate in English.”
Although Galloway insisted that ‘the vast majority’ of the 120 international players on the LPGA circuit already spoke enough English to get by, she declined to say how many did not. There are 26 countries represented on the LPGA Tour - South Korea, with 45 golfers, has the largest contingent.
In order for the circuit to be successful, golfers must entertain as well as shoot under par. They have to satisfy their sponsors and charm pro-am partners. Obviously, this is a business decision. Many of the foreign golfers who are members say they have no problem with it. But does the policy violate civil rights? What do you think?
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[…] 12, 2008 - The Ladies Professional Golf Association recently announced a new policy. The new rule stated that players had to pass an English language efficiency exam by next year or […]