LPGA Revises Proposed “English-Only” Policy
The LPGA announced on Friday that it had reconsidered a portion of its proposed requirement that two members demonstrate English proficiency within two years of joining the tour or face suspension. The meat of the proposal hasn’t really changed, but the tour vows to find other ways to communicate with its members without the threat of suspension. Said LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens in a statement on Friday:
“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 Tour includes members from more than 120 nations and many of the Tour’s top players are not native English-speakers, including Lorena Ochoa of Mexico and South Korea’s Se Ri Pak. The proposed suspensions drew criticism from LPGA Tour members, including Ochoa, as well as players on the PGA Tour.
Tags: lorena-ochoa
2 opinions for LPGA Revises Proposed “English-Only” Policy
Rogbog4299
Sep 7, 2008 at 6:17 pm
The LPGA did a great thing in removing this stupid requirement. Don’t know why it took them so long but may be things are starting to sink in that English is well, just another language among many. Communicate with its members without the threat of suspension that is a fine thing.
Andy Brown
Sep 9, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Finally, Good sense prevails. Whether it be the pressure tactics put by the California senators or for that matter some Asia Pacific Legal schibang threatening a press conference, we are just glad that Ms Bivens has decided to back off. Of course even now she is trying to hold on to her stand but whatever she does will be better than the suicidal steps that she had planned if the policy had gone ahead as she had planned.
Obviously the best thing to do would be to give these players English lessons, but suspension never made any sense from the very beginning. It even left the sponsors of the tour red faced even though this move was supposedly for the benefit of the sponsors. Whatever the “better alternative” maybe, I sure as hell hope it isn’t close to what they had planned with this policy.
At least the good thing is that the LPGA did not continue to be obstinate and stick by their stand and chose to buckle under the pressure. It could have turned really ugly if they decided to back their policy and had headed for a showdown with the rest of the world (or so it seemed).
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