Golf is a racist game

[skippy]

Vancouver-area golf club has English-only policy similar to LPGA

Fri, 2008-08-29 19:06.

By: James Keller, THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER - A posh golf course in B.C.'s Lower Mainland is denying membership to non-English-speaking players, similar to a controversial plan by the LPGA.

The private Vancouver Golf Club, which opened nearly 100 years ago in Coquitlam, B.C., rejects potential members who don't speak English.

The club's general manager, Brent Gough, has said the policy is designed to ensure all members are able to communicate and understand the club's rules.

Gough stopped taking calls on the issue Friday, but he told CBC that the policy was introduced a few years ago after prospective members - in particular East Asian immigrants - started applying with the help of translators.

"We ask them to go away and take language courses and reapply," he said.

Earlier in the week, news surfaced that the LPGA Tour plans to implement a policy that would suspend players who aren't fluent in English.

The LPGA policy, which will sanction women golfers for not speaking English in pro-ams, trophy presentations and media interviews, faced immediate criticism, including from male golfers who aren't subject to the same rules.

Human rights and legal experts agreed the Coquitlam golf club is likely within its legal rights to limit membership, but Prof. Michael Inzlicht of the University of Toronto suggested the club has a social responsibility to accommodate - not exclude - immigrants.

"I would be one of the people that would say this is not morally correct," Inzlicht, who teaches a class on the psychology of discrimination, said in an interview.

"Not speaking English does not exclude one from good manners, does not exclude one from being a very good golf player, so if you're really worried about rules and regulations ... there's definitely some other ways of getting around this."

Inzlicht said there are other ways to communicate the club rules, such as translating them or having multilingual members explain them to players who aren't fluent in English.

Courts have already grappled with a private club's right to limit membership.

Last year, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled the province's human-rights legislation didn't apply to another Vancouver-area golf course because the club's services weren't "customarily available to the public."

The case stemmed from a human rights complaint launched by a group of women members who wanted access to a men-only lounge at the Marine Drive Golf Club.

Rose-Mary Liu Basham, a lawyer for the women who launched the case, said the appeal court decision appears to also cover the Vancouver Golf Club policy. The Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the case.

"In essence, any so-called private club in B.C. which has a bona fide membership selection process in place, is not covered by the Human Rights Act and is permitted to discriminate on grounds that would otherwise be prohibited (i.e. sex, race, religion, etc.)," Basham wrote in an email.

Teri Yamada of the Royal Canadian Golf Association, the governing body for the sport in Canada, said she hadn't heard of any other clubs with English-only policies.

Yamada said the association doesn't dictate membership policies, but she said its goal is to promote golf to as many people as possible - regardless of their language skills.

"One of our mandates is to promote and grow the game, and the best way to do that is to try and be as welcoming as possible," Yamada said in an interview. "Most of them (golf clubs) are becoming all-embracing."

For example, Yamada said her association recently gave the British Columbia Golf Association funding to translate golf rules into a number of different languages.

Murray Mollard, of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, said private clubs' ability to limit membership falls under the constitutionally protected right to freedom of association.

Still, Mollard suggested there are more than simply legal issues at play.
"There isn't a legal remedy to this problem, but I think that everyone has to acknowledge this is exclusionary ... and, on its face, discriminatory," said Mollard.

"One thing to recognize in Canada's traditions now, we recognize people come from all over the place and some people don't have the same kind of language skills as others, and we try to accommodate people."

[jrobie79]

if you own a business you should have the right to refuse service to anyone

[Pigeon]

Good, if they can't speak English they shouldn't even be in the country.

[skippy]

Originally Posted by Pigeon

Good, if they can't speak English they shouldn't even be in the country.

Then who would drive the cabs???

[Patriots Game]

Saw this coming as soon as they tried to implement it...

Under increasing criticism, the LPGA Tour on Friday backed off a proposed policy that would have suspended players who could not efficiently speak English.

LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens said she would announce a revised plan by the end of the year, although it would not include penalties.

Bivens disclosed the tour's original plan in a meeting with South Korean players at the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., two weeks ago, which was reported by Golfweek magazine. The policy, which had not been completed, was widely criticized as discriminatory, particularly against Asian players, who won three majors this year.

"We have decided to rescind those penalty provisions," Bivens said in a statement. "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."

The announcement came two hours before the Asian Pacific American Legal Center planned a news conference in Los Angeles, where it was to be joined by civil rights groups and elected officials demanding the LPGA overturn its policy.

A California state senator was seeking a legal opinion to determine whether the tour's language requirement for players violated state or federal law.

Leland Yee, a Democrat for San Francisco, hoped for an answer before the LPGA Tour returned to California in October for the Samsung World Championship.

And one of the tour's title sponsor, State Farm, said it was "dumbfounded" by the initiative.

"We don't understand this and we don't know why they have done it," State Farm spokesman Kip Diggs told Advertising Age on its Web site. "And we have strongly encouraged them to take another look at this."

Bivens said the tour will continue to help international players through a cultural program that has been in place for three years and offers tutors and translators.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

[pretz2000]

If they would be the only ones that dont speak English why in the hell would they want to be a member? Sounds like they are just trying to make waves..

[captaincapper]

I have to agree, it's just so confusing when your walking across a golf course and you hear someone yell, "QUATRO!!!!!"

[skippy]

Originally Posted by captaincapper

I have to agree, it's just so confusing when your walking across a golf course and you hear someone yell, "QUATRO!!!!!"

Get Suzi's autograph!!!!!

[upinya83]

good to see skippy still posting..

[The Judge]

Originally Posted by upinya83

good to see skippy still posting..

Yeah, it's like a dream come true, ain't it Ups?

[revnecro1273]

why is implementing a language policy deemed as racist? if i am not mistaken there are many whities that do not speak english as a native language...have you ever been to france? most white frogs can't speak more than a few words, whereas their fellow black country mates can speak quite well

[revnecro1273]

Originally Posted by pretz2000

If they would be the only ones that dont speak English why in the hell would they want to be a member? Sounds like they are just trying to make waves..

why? maybe they like the course...i go to chinese only places here in china and i don't speak more than 20 words of chinese...you don't have to communicate with people to enjoy a venue