"Ultimately, if the LPGA didn't seek to set a standard for English literacy it would be furthering the alienation and isolation that minority and immigrant groups have historically felt in the United States."

As with any issue dealing with race, the viewpoints are getting wilder and whackier each day with regard to the proposed LPGA English-only concept. Which, by the way is at day five and not a peep from the Commissioner! Anyway...

Beth Ann Baldry follows up on her exclusive by talking to several Koreans. Included was this observation that the LPGA's full-time English instructor might actually be making the problem worse.

Hae-Won Kang takes it a step further, saying that first-generation Koreans on the LPGA (i.e. Se Ri Pak, Hee-Won Han, Mi Hyun Kim) learned English quicker because they had little help. Since the LPGA hired a full-time staffer who is fluent in Korean and can help with interviews, Kang thinks many players have become complacent.

Brian Hewitt responds to reader emails, many of which support the LPGA Tour's position.

And SI's Farrell Evans writes that "if you want to succeed in corporate America, you may have to abandon part of your cultural identity."

Ah, that makes it so right! He also writes:

Many writers and bloggers are enjoying the opportunity to throw self-righteous grenades at the LPGA, but that's because they don't understand that being a touring pro means more than putting a ball in a hole. Public relations, sponsor seduction and fan interaction are all part of the job.

Sponsor seduction? Wow, he's right. I didn't realize that pro-am work went beyond saying "I like three inches outside the left edge."

Lamar Alexander, a Republican Senator from Tennessee, has been the most vocal proponent of an amendment that would make English mandatory in the workplace. "This is America, and in America we speak English," said Sen. Alexander, a former Secretary of Education. "Since 1906, no immigrant has been able to become an American citizen without learning English."

Why shouldn't the LPGA tour adhere to this inalienable right to mutual progress? Ultimately, if the LPGA didn't seek to set a standard for English literacy it would be furthering the alienation and isolation that minority and immigrant groups have historically felt in the United States.

Yeah, but they play a whole bunch of events outside the United States now. And the way things are going, more and more in the future.

When I finish writing this essay, I will hail a cab on St. Nicholas Ave. in Upper Manhattan. Chances are, my driver will speak almost anything but English. He will only recognize the address that I give him. We won't talk about our kids or the weather. We won't talk about why we can't talk to each other. I'll pay him and wave goodbye as I leave his car. I'll probably never see him again.

Sounds about like how most player's would like their pro-am rounds to go!

The stakes are too high for the LPGA to continue these types of casual lost-in-translation encounters. For its business to thrive in a tough economy in a sport that struggles even during the best of times, it needs more. It needs to make a statement, loud and clear.

Life isn't fair. 

Hey, at least he didn't also write that golf is a metaphor for life.

Comments

[Seitz]

Goal = good
Approach = bad

Why is it so hard for people to get that through their heads? There has to be a better way than "speak English or else". Maybe the tour is trying to increase it's xenophobic demographic.

And the Korean players only meeting? What the hell were they thinking?

[Bob Brancato]

Aside from the incredibly amateurish handling of the issue, the LPGA's ultimate goal is necessary. It's not a question of if they're losing sponsors, it's already happening. The players are the drawing cards. The less the average fan can relate to them, the more obscure the product becomes. It's Marketing 101. It's not a social issue, but a business survival one. Competition for ad dollars is becoming fierce with corporations rethinking every last penny they spend in a shaky economy.

I believe they could have tackled this problem on an internal basis with the idea of selling the benefits to foreign players and avoiding the heavy handedness and PR nightmare of an edict. You can tell someone to go to hell if you can convince them to enjoy the trip.

[The Constructivist]

Wait, golf is not a metaphor for life?

[LPGAFAN]

The LPGA motto under Bivens is:

READY - SHOOT - AIM !

Also of interest, is the fact that the largest amount of television revenue that the LPGA receives yearly is from -- drum roll please -- SOUTH KOREA!

[Sir Real]

Very good points are raised by the previous posters... most important, the subtle, internal approach. Sure, some English for the partners,sponsors and fans would be nice...but U.S. players as a group could not speak the languages of countries they often play in and those nations' sponsors are paying big bucks to host events as well. Another PR BOMB by the queen of brand mania! Well done Madam Battleaxe Bivens!!!

[Wayne]

Here's the crux. From Doug Ferguson, AP.

--But if only a few players struggle with English, why develop a policy equipped with a penalty?

“We’re not just looking at the LPGA as it is now,” Galloway said. “We’re looking at the future of the LPGA. As you well know, we have a large international membership. All indications are it’s not going to get smaller.” --

Translation: In the future, if you don't speak "good" English, don't even bother coming here in the first place. They're hoping to slow the trickle (stampede) of foreign players onto the tour, even if they don't suspend current ones.

My favourite part is where Galloway said she was surprised by some of the reaction. Has she had her head in a bunker for the past 40 years?

[thusgone]

how is it possible that bivens has been silent/missing for 5 days while this thing picks up momentum? i don't care if she's on vacation, there's no way she doesn't know about the sh*tstorm this thing is causing.