From the Alvin Lin blog, by Alvin Lin on 2008-08-26 11:10 AM (original link)
This is ridiculous. Imagine if someone made a similar demand of baseball, basketball, or tennis players around the globe. This is clearly in response to insecurity/resentment over growing numbers of talented minorities in the sport, most notably South Koreans. This reminds me of the same kind of superiority complex/arrogance from certain Anglo travelers who expect people to speak English in whatever country they travel in.
Excerpt:The LPGA will require its member golfers to learn and speak English and will suspend their membership if they don’t comply, Golfweek reported on its Web site.
According to the report, the new requirement was communicated to the tour’s growing South Korean membership in a mandatory meeting at the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 20.
…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.
…”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.”
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