Posted on 07/09/2002 3:19:28 PM PDT by jern
In a defiant statement about the privacy of Augusta National, chairman Hootie Johnson lashed out at a national women's group Tuesday for urging the club to have female members before next year's Masters.
"Our membership alone decides our membership -- not any outside group with its own agenda,'' Johnson said in a surprisingly long and angry statement.
The National Council of Women's Organizations, which has about 6 million members from 160 groups, sent a letter to Johnson on June 12 after chairwoman Martha Burk read reports about Augusta National not having women among its 300 members.
Lloyd Ward, the first black CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee and an Augusta member, said during the Masters that he would lobby to broaden the membership to include women.
"We know that Augusta National and the sponsors of the Masters do not want to be viewed as entities that tolerate discrimination against any group, including women,'' Burk said in the letter.
In a three-sentence reply that Burk received via overnight mail Wednesday, Johnson said he found the letter to be "offensive and coercive,'' and that there would be no more discussion with NCWO because Augusta membership matters are private.
"The response is insensitive at best and confrontational at worst,'' Burk said. "I and my groups are making a good-faith effort to urge the club to be fair, to not discriminate against women and basically to come into the 21st century.
"We were trying the olive-branch approach, but he's unwilling to talk.''
Johnson had plenty to say in a three-page statement.
"The message delivered to us was clearly coercive,'' he said. "We will not be bullied, threatened or intimidated. We do not intend to become a trophy in their display case.''
Burk said NCWO's next step would be to contact the sponsors of the Masters -- Coca-Cola, IBM and Citigroup -- to ask them not to do business with a club that has no female members.
"I hope they'll respond positively,'' she said. "I find it interesting to think that if the club barred blacks, whether any sponsor would come near it in this day and age. Why should it be different for barring half of the population?''
Augusta National, built on a former nursery in northeastern Georgia, opened in 1932. The Masters was created in 1934 and has become the most famous golf tournament in the world. It usually gets the highest television ratings, too.
Tiger Woods won the Masters this year for the third time.
Johnson said in April that Augusta does not have exclusionary membership policies, although it did not have a black member until 1990 and, as Burk points out, has not had a female member in its 70-year history.
"There may well come a day when women will be invited to join our membership, but that timetable will be ours, and not at the point of a bayonet,'' Johnson said.
While there are no female members, several women have played Augusta. Johnson recently invited the University of South Carolina women's golf team to play as his guest, and Karrie Webb and Kelly Robbins from the LPGA Tour played the course in May.
Johnson tried to draw a line between the privacy of the club and the public nature of the Masters tournament, attended by some 40,000 people.
Augusta National operates the Masters independent from any other golf organization, such as the PGA Tour. The club gets most of its money from an annual TV contract with CBS Sports and sales from its souvenir store at the course. Weekly tickets cost $125, half the cost of other major golf championships.
"Augusta National and the Masters -- while happily entwined -- are quite different,'' Johnson said. "One is a private golf club. The other is a world-class sports event of great public interest. It is insidious to attempt to use one to alter the essence of the other.''
Burk suggested that if Augusta National does not have female members, the Masters should move to a club that does.
"The Masters, in my mind, is not tied at the hip to this club,'' she said. "An event of this profile could be held somewhere else.''
The next major golf championship is the British Open, where Woods will try to win the third leg of the Grand Slam. It will be played at Muirfield in Scotland, a club that also does not have female members.
"I'm going to leave that for the British feminists,'' Burk said.
She obviously knows nothing about the history of "The Masters" or Bobby Jones.
Someone should tell her:
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool,than to speak and remove all doubt;)
It's a private club and a private tournament. Last I heard, we lived in a Country where our Right to freely associate with anyone, or any group, is guranteed.
Msssssss. Burk, are you anti-First Amendment? Do you hate this country that much? Do a bunch of old men getting together to golf and bitch about nazis like you scare you that much?
We'll let the free market decide - and you can bet your heterosexual-male phobic, wide-body @ss that when the sponsors look at the ratings share the Masters enjoys they will not back out. That leaves you with only one option if you hate the First Amendment's guarantee that I won't have to associate with the likes of you:
Emmigrate, you ho.
Augusta National addresses membership policy Chairman responds to letter from the National Council of Women's Organizations
AUGUSTA, Ga. (July 9) -- The following is a statement from Augusta National Chairman Hootie Johnson:
"We have been contacted by Martha Burk, Chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO), and strongly urged to radically change our membership. Dr. Burk said this change should take place before the Masters Tournament next spring in order to avoid it becoming "an issue." She suggested that NCWO's leadership "discuss this matter" with us.
We want the American public to be aware of this action right from the beginning. We have advised Dr. Burk that we do not intend to participate in such backroom discussions.
We take our membership very seriously. It is the very fabric of our club. Our members are people who enjoy each other's company and the game of golf. Our membership alone decides our membership -- not any outside group with its own agenda.
We are not unmindful of the good work undertaken by Dr. Burk's organization in global human rights, Social Security reform, reproductive health, education, spousal abuse and workplace equity, among others. We are therefore puzzled as to why they have targeted our private golf club. Dr. Burk's letter incorporates a deadline tied to the Masters and refers to sponsors of the tournament's telecast. These references make it abundantly clear that Augusta National Golf Club is being threatened with a public campaign designed to use economic pressure to achieve a goal of NCWO.
Augusta National and the Masters -- while happily entwined -- are quite different. One is a private golf club. The other is a world-class sports event of great public interest.
It is insidious to attempt to use one to alter the essence of the other. The essence of a private club is privacy. Nevertheless, the threatening tone of Dr. Burk's letter signals the probability of a full-scale effort to force Augusta National to yield to NCWO's will.
We expect such a campaign would attempt to depict the members of our club as insensitive bigots and coerce the sponsors of the Masters to disassociate themselves under threat -- real or implied -- of boycotts and other economic pressures.
We might see "celebrity" interviews and talk show guests discussing the "morality" of private clubs. We could also anticipate op-ed articles and editorials.
There could be attempts at direct contact with board members of sponsoring corporations and inflammatory mailings to stockholders and investment institutions. We might see everything from picketing and boycotts to t-shirts and bumper stickers. On the internet, there could be active chat rooms and email messaging. These are all elements of such campaigns. We certainly hope none of that happens. However, the message delivered to us was clearly coercive.
We will not be bullied, threatened or intimidated.
Obviously, Dr. Burk and her colleagues view themselves as agents of change and feel any organization that has stood the test of time and has strong roots in tradition -- and does not fit their profile -- needs to be changed.
We do not intend to become a trophy in their display case.
There may well come a day when women will be invited to join our membership but that timetable will be ours and not at the point of a bayonet. We do not intend to be further distracted by this matter. We will not make additional comments or respond to the taunts and gripes artificially generated by a corporate campaign.
We shall continue our traditions and prepare Augusta National Golf Club to host the Masters as we have since 1934.
With all due respect, we hope Dr. Burk and her colleagues recognize the sanctity of our privacy and continue their good work in a more appropriate arena."
"The message delivered to us was clearly coercive,'' he said. "We will not be bullied, threatened or intimidated. We do not intend to become a trophy in their display case.''
I applaud you, Mr. Johnson. Stand tall sir.
"There may well come a day when women will be invited to join our membership, but that timetable will be ours, and not at the point of a bayonet,'' Johnson said.
I applaud you again, Mr. Johnson. Stand tall sir.
"Augusta National and the Masters -- while happily entwined -- are quite different,'' Johnson said. "One is a private golf club. The other is a world-class sports event of great public interest. It is insidious to attempt to use one to alter the essence of the other.''
Again sir, I applaud you. Stand tall Mr. Johnson.
BaddaBOOM! BaddaBING! This display of 'nads deserves a hearty round of applause and a resounding: YOU GO, BOY!!!!
YOU GO, BOY!!!!
Beautifully done and said. Personally, I would have told the rhymes-with-punt to go poop in her hat (or in her sensible shoes, at least)--and in those exact words!
Finally, the alpha males are coming back!!!!!!
Cordially,
RepoGirl
"We were trying the olive-branch approach, but he's unwilling to talk.''
Debbie has left Dallas and there's an opening so we were thinking that perhaps you'd like to join the good-ol' boys club so that we can shoot a Martha Does Dallas video.
"The white male roar was in response to something much more basic: fear of the future. For the first time since World War II men are facing long-term systemic job insecurity. When people are fearful, they look for scapegoats and saviors. Republicans produced scapegoats - welfare (blacks), affirmative action (women), and immigrants (all the rest) - while pointing to themselves as saviors. Desperate white guys went for it. --
Talk about convenient explanations. Maybe conservative white males are just smart.
Nonsense. My wife can ride in the cart with me anytime, as long as she does not disrupt my game.
A paper doctor once again knocks at the wrong door. Go Hootie! Don't let this over achieving-wannabe-in-everything female activist get in the way of Augusta National's traditional and honorable way of doing things.
Good Lord, she is even a member of the dreaded NEA, that alone should exclude her from polite company!
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