LPGA Tour will suspend memberships if players don't learn English

[nskripchun]

Saw this story on AngryAsianMan:

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3553888

While I think it's reasonable to expect the players to have some knowledge of English, it seems a little extreme to suspend memberships - it stinks of almost an underhanded way for LPGA members with anti-Korean sentiment to lash out, especially with the success of Korean players in the LPGA (45 out of 121 international players are Korean).

What do you all think?


LPGA Tour will suspend memberships if players don't learn English
ESPN.com news services

The LPGA will require its member golfers to learn and speak English and will suspend their membership if they don't comply.

The new requirement, first reported by Golfweek on its Web site, was communicated to the tour's growing South Korean membership in a mandatory meeting at the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 20. Connie Wilson, the LPGA's vice president of communications, confirmed the new policy to ESPN.com.

"Why now? Athletes now have more responsibilities and we want to help their professional development," deputy commissioner Libba Galloway told The Associated Press. "There are more fans, more media and more sponsors. We want to help our athletes as best we can succeed off the golf course as well as on it."

Players were told by LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens that by the end of 2009, all players who have been on the tour for two years must pass an oral evaluation of their English skills or face a membership suspension. A written explanation of the policy was not given to players, according to the report.

"Hopefully what we're talking about is something that will not happen," Galloway said of the potential for suspensions, according to Golfweek. "If it does, we wouldn't just say, 'Come back next year.' What we would do is work with them on where they fell short, provide them the resources they need, the tutoring … and when we feel like they need to be evaluated again, we would evaluate."

Every Korean player who spoke with Golfweek about the meeting came away with the understanding she would lose her tour card if she failed the test rather than face suspension, according to the report. But Korean players who spoke about the policy supported the tour's position, though some, including Se Ri Pak, felt fines would be better than suspensions.

"We agree we should speak some English," Pak said, according to the report. "We play so good overall. When you win, you should give your speech in English."

Betsy Clark, the LPGA's vice president of professional development, said a team of evaluators will assess players on communication skills including conversation, everyday survival phrases and "golfspeak." Players must be able to conduct interviews and give acceptance speeches without the help of a translator, she said, according to the report.

Galloway said the policy takes effect immediately, but that players' English proficiency would not be measured until the end of 2009, according to the report. The LPGA's membership includes 121 international players from 26 countries; 45 are South Koreans.

"This should be a priority in their professional development just the way working on their short game is a priority," Galloway said, according to Golfweek. "We just wanted to be clear about our expectations."

Angela Park, a Korean-American who was born in Brazil and speaks three languages, said it's difficult to "come to a foreign country and be yourself." She also supports the rule and says it's fair, according to the report.

"The LPGA could come out and say they only want 10 Koreans, but they're not," Park said, according to Golfweek. "A lot of Korean players think they are being targeted, but it's just because there are so many of them."

And Seon-Hwa Lee, who said she is working with an English tutor during the offseason and plans to brush up for the evaluation, thinks everyone "can do a simple interview," according to the report. Her ability to answer questions without a translator has improved during her time on the tour.

"The economy is bad, and we are losing sponsors," she said, according to the report. "Everybody understands."

ESPN.com golf writer Bob Harig and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[kwak76]

It's should be fair that the players should speak some English but there is a hint of racist motivation behind it. I mean I could understand that the LPGA is played in the USA but I wonder if let say instead of having mostly Korean women kicking butt you had French women kicking butt. Would the LPGA create this rule if a non-English speaking white women were the top players?

Reading the article the Korean female players are reacting by learning the English language and I imagine some of them are stress over it. In any case this is golf not a speech contest. It comes down to who is the better player not base upon who speaks English the best.

[nottyboy]

^ That's the way I see it too. I'm suspicious it's a sort of hurdle to keep them out. Why not just say they must have an interpreter?

[minorTruths]

^ That's the way I see it too. I'm suspicious it's a sort of hurdle to keep them out. Why not just say they must have an interpreter?

Remember when Yao Ming had Colin Pine as his translator during his first two seasons during the league. Those were awesome years for me. Because I was able to understand and appreciate Yao's witty and dry sense of humor a lot more. And it made me connect better and fall in love with the man right away. Yes, man crush.

For the general fan base majority, it was also great because you had a white translator perfectly translating Mandarin into perfect English. These fans were able to connect with Yao through Colin Pine who they identified with as a white male or at least as an 'American'.

Would that relationship and those special moments Yao shared with his translator be as highly documented if the translator was not Colin Pine? Would the American public had the same good impression and had identified with Yao Ming in the same way in those first two crucial years if the translator was Asian/Asian American or someone the fan couldn't see as American?

So I don't think any old translator for a Korean player on the LPGA tour will do.

I think from a purely marketing perspective, the LPGA is trying to better market these foreign players (of which the Koreans are most prominent in numbers and success) so that the LPGA demographics can identify better with them. After all these Korean ladies are winning big time.

I am sure there's also a protectionist side to the policy as well - Protect our 'American' players from foreign competition idea. If more American players have more success, than that means more marketing appeal and hopefully more money for LPGA.

It's hard to determine which which plays a bigger role in the new policy. But either way, the LPGA's motive is ultimately money.

Anyway, I am not sure how successful American players are overseas. But American players should learn how to speak other countries languages when they go play in those golf tournaments overseas. That would be a debacle for sure.


.

[THX1138]

What's next for the LPGA? Having all foreigner players take the TOEFL test before qualifying on the tour?

This LPGA dictum is a combination of factors: The ugly face of English Only and American xenophobia raising its head once again, concerns about marketing those foreign Asians to Whitebread America; protectionism motivated by fears that Asians are outcompeting Americans, etc...

The thing is: Do American athletes who go abroad learn the native language?

Or do they have a sense of entitlement that everyone should speak Amurikan? After all, English is the universal language. It's the language of the (American) Empire!

I'd love to see South Korea, Japan, et al. starting administering a native language requirement for US players that are on the Asian golf tour. That would be comedy gold.

What's good for the goose....

[minorTruths]

LOL, THX1138, you basically said the same thing I did one post prior except with less words. Stop plagarizing. :D

[RebelAzn]

They need to develop more competitive foreign tours in Asia. At that point, those American players should damn well learn Mandarin or they won't get the chance to earn millions there.

LPGA can certainly make whatever policy they seem fit. They want to market to white Americans. When white women are getting their asses handed to them on the golf course, they need to change policies to improve their winning percentage. It would be pretty funny if top Asian tours do the same thing to American players.

China's domination in athletics during the Olympics is raising eyebrows. On one hand, they got people that admire them and on the other, you got folks who are scared to death of this massive Chinese athletic machine now and in the future.

All these factors are contributing to this growing xenophobic sentiments.

[THX1138]

LOL, THX1138, you basically said the same thing I did one post prior except with less words. Stop plagarizing. :D

You know what they say: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. :)

[ktkbs]

This is common sense, how can you play a good game of golf without proper grammar and spelling?