ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—The LPGA Tour boasts players from all over the world, and it wants all of them to be able to speak English.
The LPGA will require players to speak English starting in 2009, with players who have been LPGA members for two years facing suspension if they can’t pass an oral evaluation of English skills. The rule is effective immediately for new players.
“Why now? Athletes now have more responsibilities and we want to help their professional development,” deputy commissioner Libba Galloway told The Associated Press. “There are more fans, more media and more sponsors. We want to help our athletes as best we can succeed off the golf course as well as on it.”
The tour held a mandatory meeting with South Koreans last Wednesday at the Safeway Classic to inform them of the new policy, which was first reported by Golfweek magazine.
There are 121 international players from 26 countries on the LPGA Tour, including 45 players from South Korea.
The South Koreans were informed of the rule, however LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens has not given them—or anyone—a written explanation, Galloway said.
Someone ought to sue pretty quick. "English Only" rules are only typically enforceable in a situation where an uncommon language will cause a dangerous situation for the employees, as in a factory setting where heavy machinery is used, and someone could get run over if they don't understand a warning in English.
This is a dumb thing to do. It does no good for their sport, so why bother? I couldn't care less what language they speak on the course. It would be like MLB trying to enforce English in all of their players. Kosuke Fukudome doesn't speak English. Doesn't seem to have hurt the Cubs when it comes to putting butts in seats or eyes on TV screens.
knapplc wrote:Someone ought to sue pretty quick. "English Only" rules are only typically enforceable in a situation where an uncommon language will cause a dangerous situation for the employees, as in a factory setting where heavy machinery is used, and someone could get run over if they don't understand a warning in English.
Question, since I'm not a lawyer.
Can the players really sue? From the article:
“This is an American tour,” Peters said. “It is important for sponsors to be able to interact with players and have a positive experience.”
Don't the owners have the right to make rules over the businesses they own? Just like baseball and football could do the same. If the players can sue, how is it any different than any American company requiring their employees to speak English (if one doesn't speak English, that kind of makes it hard to communicate with customers)?
Not saying it's the "smart" or "right" thing to do, but I'm unaware of anything that prevents business owners from making this decision. Including the LPGA. (You should see the rules the LPBT - Ladies Professional Bowlers Tour - had when they were around. Those people were worse than the mafia! ).
Just curious because I'm unaware of a law preventing owners from running their companies, so I can learn something if there is such a law in place.
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Madison, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended) prevents employers from making rules like this. There's a lot more answer that I don't have time to write right now, but suffice it to say that there are guidelines to how an employer can run their company.
knapplc wrote:suffice it to say that there are guidelines to how an employer can run their company.
Agreed, and I generally agree with a lot of them. I just haven't heard of one before that deals with language. We even had a grocery store chain down here (Texas) that required their employees in a few stores to learn Spanish because they had/have a lot of Spanish speaking customers at those locations. Nothing was ever made or said about that being illegal, and it's the same principal, so it just seems odd to me.
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by deerayfan072 » Tue Aug 26, 2008 4:28 pm 
Just like baseball and football could do the same. If the players can sue, how is it any different than any American company requiring their employees to speak English (if one doesn't speak English, that kind of makes it hard to communicate with customers)?
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