Wednesday, August 27, 2008

LPGA's New English Only Rule


From the Immigration Prof Blog

You probably have heard about the LPGA's new English only rule for professional women golfers. In "English-only rule in LPGA goes against the grain," Mark Herrmann writes that "It is hard to say which ideal gets trampled more by the LPGA’s new speak-English-or-you’re-out policy, the spirit of golf or the spirit of America. Either way, the women’s professional golf tour has turned a no-win situation into a big loss. . . . The gist is this: The LPGA, worried about losing interest among fans and sponsors, said it will suspend players who can’t pass an English oral exam after two years on tour. This appears aimed directly at South Koreans, who represent 45 of the 121 international players on the tour and who - British Women’s Open champion Ji-Yai Shin and U.S. Women’s Open champion Inbee Park, to name two - are dominating." This gives new meaning to the concept of "
discrimination by proxy," which historically understands english only laws as a way to target and punish national origin minorities and immigrants. Is language regulation being used by the LPGA to target the most successful women golfers (who just happen to be Asian)?

WTF?? This is insulting on so many levels. First on the assumption that Americans won't be fans of Korean golfers just because they're Korean and second that golfing is a sport for strictly English speaking people. As a golfer I'm disgusted by the LPGA.

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