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LPGA to demand English proficiency
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Lance Ringler View Drop Down
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Posts: 1826 		  Quote Lance Ringler Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: LPGA to demand English proficiency
    Posted: Aug/25/2008 at 9:47pm
 
 
Thoughts?


Edited by Lance Ringler - Aug/25/2008 at 9:48pm
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MrTourInsider View Drop Down
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Posts: 87 		  Quote MrTourInsider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/25/2008 at 10:07pm
It is kind of sad that this rule needs to be put into place but the tour is failing badly with loss of sponsors, fans and a TV audience.  The Korean ladies have made a nice living on this tour but take more than they give by not even learning the language so they are partly at fault.  They could have been better accepted like Ms. Pak has by at least trying to smile and thank the tour for her success.  Most of them who come over are children of the very rich and are pampered little princesses who don't feel they need to " fit in".  If this keeps up there won't be a tour based in the US within 5 years and they can all go back home and try and find a place to play. 
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gonegolfin View Drop Down
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Posts: 108 		  Quote gonegolfin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/26/2008 at 9:05am

I agree that it is sad and it has come to this new rule, but when these girls come over here and win, I would at least like to understand their acceptance speech.  If these players want to play in America and play against the best, then they need to learn to speak English...clearly.  If this was the Olympics, then I would be a little more understanding...but this is an American tour that needs all the help it can get to be saved.

I was suprised when I saw this article in the first place.  I didn't really know that you could legally put something like this in place, but hey...whatever works.
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flop shot View Drop Down
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Posts: 10 		  Quote flop shot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/26/2008 at 11:35am
Wait and see if the commissioner is vilified over this policy.  The tour is an entertainment industry and an issue has been identified and addressed that affects the bottom line.  America is still a melting pot, gracious to those who attempt to assimilate into our society.  Would an American player on the Asian Tour be surprised to learn that pro-am partners and interviewers would appreciate a conversation in their language?
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Steve Tucker View Drop Down
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Posts: 1 		  Quote Steve Tucker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/26/2008 at 11:48am
Let's get those pretty white girls from the good ol USA to brush up on all the foreign languages they will need!! Better build a wall around the LPGA to keep those hooligans coming over here and winning out!! God bless the USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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golfdoc1 View Drop Down
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Posts: 84 		  Quote golfdoc1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/26/2008 at 12:12pm

There are going to some problems with this ruling. To begin with, "entertaining" pro-am partners obviously requires more than a beginner's knowledge of English. Even with a working knowledge, part of being entertaining is a personality issue. For example, many white American pros have no trouble with the English language but have little or no personality when it comes to "entertaining" sponsors and pro-am partners. So, the Korean women may simply not have the level of comfort, cultural knowledge,  nor the personality such that they will ever be very "entertaining" to their playing partners as sponsors would like them to be. 

Also, let's be honest: it is not really "proficiency" in any meaningful sense that the tour is looking for but a simple fundamental level of "Where is the store?" English comprehension and speaking ability.
 
Third, if a Korean tour player is ever suspended, despite her best efforts to learn English, don't be surprised if she files a discrimination suit, where her English-speaking attorneys will point out that she qualified to play the tour but is now being discriminated against because she is not "proficient" in understanding or speaking English and cannot reasonable be expected to learn such a demanding language while she is trying to earn a living playing golf.
 
Fourth, although it would be blatantly disriminatory, why should the LPGA not simply put a quota on the number of Korean players allowed to earn tour cards? If the issue is that the tour is being over-run with non-English speaking personality-devoid robots of a different culture and language and that is not what sponsors want, why not just limit the number?  There must be a legal way to do this if that is their objective.
 
Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that it would not ultimatley be discriminatory against Korean women players, only that the Korean issue is apparently fundamental  to the future of the LPGA tour and this language requirement may not necessarily solve the problem.
 
And finally, my thread on "Don't Be a Fool: Don't Quit School" for the college kids now has another international rationale:  Enrolling Korean girls in high school/college BEFORE being allowed to qualify for the LPGA--they would all take English comprehension and speaking classes as part of their curriculum. If they did, this issue would be nipped in the bud before the girls ever come over--and the LPGA wouldn't have to resort to "proficiency" exams.
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bamaguy View Drop Down
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Posts: 370 		  Quote bamaguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/26/2008 at 12:39pm

This really is not a discriminatory measure if it is handled correctly.  It is simply an additional job requirement that addresses a legitimate concern for the tour.  It appears that the requirement applies to all players and that the first exam would be about a year away.  As long as they are requiring the same thing of everyone and giving adequate time to get there, where is the discrimination?

Quotas, on the other hand, would be discriminatory and will never happen.  Keeping the LPGA from being anything other than a tour of the best players in the world cannot be a good policy.
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Carolinagirl View Drop Down
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Posts: 1 		  Quote Carolinagirl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/26/2008 at 1:05pm
I hope they haven't waited until it's too late. It's really disappointing for the sponsors and fans when someone wins the tournament that can't even go through an interview or express their excitement. It also takes away a lot of marketing opprtunities for the tour and sponsors. The perfect example was when Birdie Kim won the US Open. They should have addressed this back then or before.
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TheBrain View Drop Down
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Posts: 37 		  Quote TheBrain Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/26/2008 at 1:35pm

5 years ago Jan Stephenson said that the asians were killing the tour with their refusal to speak English.  She mentioned the pro-am issue. 

At that time the LPGA commissioner and players (including Annika) got on their high horses and vehemently opposed her comments.  Jan was called a racist and her comments were called "pathetic". 

Either a lot of players need to publicly oppose this policy, or they need to publicly apologize to Jan Stephenson.
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Posts: 370 		  Quote bamaguy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Aug/26/2008 at 1:55pm
Be careful about equating the tour's new policy with Stephenson's statements.  She placed the blame squarely on a particular group of people (which she chose to define on the basis of origin) and advocated quotas for US vs. International players.  The tour's policy does not do those things.  Therefore, I can see how one can support this policy and not Jan Stephenson's comments.
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