LPGA Backtracks on English-Language Policy
What was revised? The possiblity of suspension. Bivens' statement reads thusly:
The LPGA has received valuable feedback from a variety of constituents regarding the recently announced penalties attached to our effective communications policy. We have decided to rescind those penalty provisions.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. In that spirit, we will continue communicating with our diverse Tour players to develop a better alternative. The LPGA will announce a revised approach, absent playing penalties, by the end of 2008.
During that time we will continue to provide support under the three-year-old Kolon-LPGA Cross Cultural Program. This popular program provides all LPGA members with the best cross-cultural training in the form of tutors, translators, Rosetta Stone, the official language-learning system of the LPGA, as well as assistance from LPGA staff and consultants.
The LPGA has had in place for several years a policy of strongly encouraging its non-English-speaking members to learn English, and a policy that provides support (as Commissioner Bivens' statement indicates) for them to do so.
But then the new policy was recently announced that threatened suspensions of players who do not make sufficient progress learning English. That's what caused the controversy. That policy struck some observers as an effort to lower the number of "foreigners" on the LPGA Tour. It struck at least one California lawmaker as possibly illegal and caused at least one sponsor to reconsider its ties with the LPGA. While many American fans thought it was a perfectly logical proposal - and some Korean LPGA players said publicly they understood and supported the suspensions policy - the addition of suspensions was criticized by many, from fans and bloggers to media members and male and female tour players, from Lorena Ochoa to Padraig Harrington.
Se Ri Pak's original comment, when the suspensions policy was announced last week, was surprise that suspensions were included. She thought fines made more sense.
And perhaps that is where the LPGA will go now. The tour clearly feels its language policy needs some teeth, so to speak; it needs hard-and-fast rules that require - not just encourage - English-as-a-second-language players to become more proficient in the language.
In the meantime, the LPGA winds up with serious egg on its face, disappointing everyone: Those who opposed the proposed suspensions in the beginning; those who supported the proposed suspensions now.
Comments
What is the policy followed by other countries concerning a player’s ability to speak their language. Is Annika Sorenstam expected to speak Japanese when she plays in Asia? Have athletes in other sports been required to speak English?
The LPGA has a right to require English as their tour language and should not be blackmailed by their sponsors into backpedaling on this issue. English is the language of the USA-get proficient or get over it.
English only LPGA requirement was, and still is a difficult dictum. American players do play in other Countries, and there is no such ruling in these Countries to force Americans to speak: French, Japanese, Chinese, or any other language. And, by the way, most foreign players do take English as a second language, so I don’t think this is a big problem. Most foriegn players do become proficient with time. Si Re Pak, Gloria Park, and others speak our language just fine.