Augusta National says Masters will be without commercials - rather than invite women into club

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 8/30/02 | Glenn Sheeley

[GeneD]

Augusta National Golf Club is putting its money where its mouth is in its fight with a women's group pressuring the club to admit a female member.

Club chairman Hootie Johnson announced Friday that because corporate sponsors of the Masters' telecast are being pressured by the National Council of Women's Organizations, the 2003 tournament will be shown without sponsors or commercials.

At least golf fans will benefit from the fight. The 2003 telecast would have contained its normal four commerical minutes per hour. With 12 1/2 hours of live programming, that's 50 minutes of commericials that will not take golf fans away from the action.

"Augusta National is NCWO's true target," Johnson said in a statement. "It is therefore unfair to put the Masters media sponsors in the position of having to deal with this pressure. Accordingly, we have told our media sponsors that we will not request their participation for the 2003 Masters."

Rather than put its sponsors in a position where boycotts or their products or services would be threatened, Johnson said the Masters will absorb the advertising fees that would have been paid by IBM, Coca-Cola and Citigroup.

Johnson said, "We are sorry, but not surprised, to see those corporations drawn into this matter, but contunue to insist that our private club should not be 'managed' by an outside group. . . There may come a day when women will be invited to join our club, but that decision must be ours. We also believe that the Masters and the club are different, and that one should not affect the other."

[hangin' chad]

Hootie...you thah man!

[michigander]

"Augusta National is NCWO's true target," Johnson said in a statement. "It is therefore unfair to put the Masters media sponsors in the position of having to deal with this pressure. Accordingly, we have told our media sponsors that we will not request their participation for the 2003 Masters."

This development is slicker than their bikini-waxed greens.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

NCWO TAKES ON AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB

On June 12, NCWO sent a letter to Augusta National Golf Club, an all-male membership organization that is home to the Masters, asking the club to review its membership policies to allow women members.

On July 8, William W. "Hootie" Johnson responded, stating "[the club] is a distinctviely private club and . . . cannot talk about its membership and practices with those outside the organization. . . . any further communication betwee us would not be productive." The next day he released a two-page press release.

NCWO's Letter of June 12

Hootie Johnson's Letter of July 8

Hootie Johnson's Release to the Press of July 9

 

MARTHA BURK, CHAIR

Dr. Martha Burk is a political psychologist and women's equity expert who is co-founder and President of the Center for Advancement of Public Policy, a research and policy analysis organization in Washington, D.C. Dr. Burk is currently serving as Chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations, a network of over 100 national women's groups collectively representing six million women.

 

National Council of Women's Organizations
733 15th Street. NW,
Suite 1011
Washington, DC 20005

202-393-7122
Fax 202-387-7915

E-mail: info@womensorganizations.org

[TRY ONE]

...Well that't tit for tat.....I mean tat for tit.

[SouthernFreebird]

I'm a woman and I say good for them! I hope this starts a trend.

[AUgrad]

Private enterprise bump.

[mhking]

Cadillac just lost a big prize.

Watch Cadillac say "Screw 'em," and sponsor the whole ball of wax as a commercial-free, single-sponsor deal. That's too big a marketing elephant to let get away, even for General Motors...

[Republic of Texas]

If Cadillac, or CITI or any sponsor was smart, they'd volunteer to sponsor the tournament anyway. You can't BUY that kind of publicity.

[Sgt_Schultze]

Here's betting Hootie angered the bags. Their next target will be the players. Watch for the pressure application to Nike to gently ask Tiger to withdrawl. Watch for the effort to get Acushnet (Titleist) to ask its tournament pros to boycott. The bags will attack the other advertisers of (ABC?) because they are sponsoring the offending network.

[Jim Scott]

This is great but it's kind of sad that a rich man's golf club is the group that turns out to have enough guts to take a real stand against the forced admission of women. Who would've thought that middle aged guys in golf outfits would be able to stare down the nannies at NCWO?

Exempting sponsors was brilliant (and probably quite expensive). Good for the Augusta National Golf Club. Private is private. Freedom of association is still a right to be honored.

Besides, they wouldn't admit me, either.

[Greeklawyer]

wow.

[Pompah]

You go Hootie.!! Up the Nazi's.
If you need a little help with those Advertising fees next year. Just put out the word. I got a couple of bucks that would love to help keep The Masters a beautiful spring event for this "Golf Nut".

[agarrett]

  Hold on a sec, Guillermo. Disagree with them or not, in this case, and so far, the women's organizations have been doing exactly what conservatives usually promote. They are taking private action, not invoking the government. They're threatening private corporations with private actions (boycotts and bad press) without trying to make new laws.

  In return, the Masters is going to take a financial hit by forgoing advertising. They think the principle is more important than the money. So be it. But both sides are acting as private entities, and not getting in the government, and that's all to the good, as far as I'm concerned.

Drew Garrett

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Gee, I haven't heard Hillary speak out on this issue. Could it be because she is an alumni of Wellesley, which doesn't merely have a tradition of excluding men, but a written rule to that effect.

Why is it that the feminists "celebrate" women's colleges but condemn all-male clubs?

[wi jd]

Anyways, which Network will air the Masters if they can't make any $$ off of it?

Sounds like the Tournament or Augusta National will pay CBS: "Johnson said the Masters will absorb the advertising fees that would have been paid by IBM, Coca-Cola and Citigroup."

[mhking]

Their next target will be the players. Watch for the pressure application to Nike to gently ask Tiger to withdrawl. Watch for the effort to get Acushnet (Titleist) to ask its tournament pros to boycott. The bags will attack the other advertisers of (ABC?) because they are sponsoring the offending network.

They may try, but you don't get a player to sit out the "Super Bowl" equivalent just to make a political stand like this; Tiger ain't gonna bite, and I can't think of single player that would.

The only hope the nags have is to attack CBS/USA since they are the two networks that carry coverage. And again, there's no way that either of the two will drop it; most of the others would kill each other to grab up whatever piece was dropped.

This is simply hilarious to watch...

[lasereye]

This doesn't make total sense to me. CBS is contractually bound to pay the money to Augusta National for the right to broadcast, isn't it? It's CBS that sells the air time, not Augusta. Why is Augusta National telling the sponsors to get lost? If they don't buy any air time, it's CBS's problem, not theirs. When the contract with CBS expires, the rights will presumably be worth a lot less and then Augusta would take their hit.

[johnb838]

I hope this starts a trend

I'd like to think that this continues the trend started by the Boy Scouts of not giving in to the PC pressure and doing the right thing even if it costs money. That is what we ALL have to be prepared to do RIGHT NOW if we are going to be able to beat the socialists.

[zoyd]

Hootie Johnson is quickly becoming one of my favorite people.

[Maigrey]

This serves Ms. Burke right, trying to affect how a private organization runs their private club. If she's p'ed cause she wasn't admitted, then I have crocodile tears for her cause. Whining about letting women into ANGC won't make them any more accepted, just ridiculed and tormented.
When ANGC wants to admit women as full members, good for them. I for one am not going to boycot everything under the sun 'cause they don't.
Frankly, letting men congregate in peace and quiet and privacy does wonders for their ego. Letting them do this and acting like me keeps me from having to accept it when I whip them out on the course. They tend to whine too much.....

-Maigrey-