This is such wild situation to watch and I don’t have any clear opinion on it, but I actually understand the LPGA’s wanting it’s players to be able to communicate with the media. From a marketing perspective. If the LPGA were classified as a business I’d say they have the right to request whatever they want of their employees, but that’s not really how this works. I think if they hadn’t backed down this would have eventually turned into a public relations disaster.

From the LA Times:

But what began as an internal marketing move quickly devolved into a raucous debate over culture, ethnicity and language. Partisans on both sides weighed in, with some saying the golf brouhaha underscored how foreigners refusing to learn English are endangering the nation’s core traditions, a charge commonly made against Spanish-speaking Latinos. Others accused golf officials of using English to keep out foreigners, particularly Koreans.

This is where it all broke down. Once it became a debate about “core traditions” and becomes an attack on other foreigners that speak or don’t speak English this idea was destined to die.

Keep in mind I’m looking at this as someone living in Korea, where there is some effort to accommodate speakers of other languages within the realm of business, but very little in the administrative sectors. I sincerely doubt a professional sports organization in Korea would go very far to accommodate non-Korean speakers outside of a copy of the contract in English. And as far as I know contracts in English aren’t even valid in Korea. They must be written in Korean.

I guess I’m trying to see both sides here. Obviously Korea is a very different country from America in it’s view on immigrants and discrimination.

State Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, had asked the Legislature’s legal office to determine whether the English policy violated state or federal anti-discrimination laws. If it was deemed legal, Yee said he would have pushed for legislation banning such policies in California.

The LPGA Tour plays three events in California, including its first major championship.

“I’m very pleased that the LPGA saw the wisdom of the concerns that we raised,” Yee said. “It’s a no-brainer for those of us who have been the recipient of these kinds of discriminatory acts.”

State Assemblyman Ted Lieu, a Democrat from the Los Angeles area, said he would target corporate sponsors if the LPGA Tour persisted with its English requirement.

“I’m pleased they have come to their senses,” he said.

Bivens’ announcement came two hours before the Asian Pacific American Legal Center planned a news conference in Los Angeles to demand the LPGA overturn its policy.

“Until they completely retract it, issue an apology to the players and the fans, I think we’ll remain very concerned and interested in what happens,” said Gerald D. Kim, a senior staff attorney for the center. “The LPGA has gone about this totally the wrong way.”

My guess is the LPGA will try to find a workaround here.

I haven’t seen it mentioned in any of the articles I’ve read, but I wonder what the backstory was on Michelle Wie getting disqualified from the State Farm Classic in July was and whether it contributed to the LPGA attempting to enforce English, or if it was symptomatic a contentious relationship between the two. Check out this quote from Sue Witters, the LPGA’s director of tournament competitions, when Wie was disqualified for not signing her scorecard.

“She was like looking at a little kid after you tell them there’s no Santa Claus.”

Eh? Sounds like Witters was enjoying the moment. Here’s another quote from Helen Alfredsson, who won the masters this year.

“I kind of feel sad for her. I kind of feel sad for the guidance that she seems to not have in the right direction. If she wants to be a golfer, she should really concentrate on being on the women’s tour and dealing with them and learning to win.”

Again, clearly no sympathy there. Granted, Wie, despite being ranked somewhere in the 300s is the 2nd highest paid female athlete in the world.

I think this is all directly or indirectly related, but it’s doubtful we’ll get much of the story.