Tour pros next in Augusta lobbying effort (Hootie Responds)

AP ^ | Sept. 3, 2002 | AP

[jern]

Tuesday, September 3, 2002 Burk says players 'need to take a moral stand'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESPN.com news services

The fight between the Augusta National Golf Club and Martha Burk, the chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO), grew even a bit more testy on Tuesday.

Appearing on the Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, Burk said that her organization will begin targeting PGA Tour players in a bid to force Augusta National to allow women members.

The players "need to take a moral stand," Burk told Patrick.

"I think Augusta will eventually see that it will be in the best interests of their club ... to do the right thing and allow women members," she later said in the interview.

Through a club spokesman, Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson issued a written response to Burk. It said:

"1. This is not a legal issue. The Masters has a constitutional right to its private membership.

"2. Martha Burk tries to equate this to the Shoal Creek racial issue in 1990, but they are totally different. In America, there are women's colleges, the Girl Scouts of America and women's health clubs throughout the country. In Canada and overseas, there are women-only golf clubs.

"3. The Club possibly will have a woman member in the future, but it should be the Club's decision, not the decision of an outside group that knows little about the Club or Tournament. In Ms. Burk's initial letter, she placed a deadline on the Club to have a woman member (2003), and discussed the sponsors of the Tournament.

"4. The winner in this sponsorship issue is the viewer. There will now be 12 ½ hours of commercial free golf coverage.

"5. What is presently happening is a corporate campaign. The National Council of Women's Organizations is targeting anyone associated with the Masters.

"6. The reason we chose not to ask the sponsors to participate in 2003 was to spare them the inevitability of a continued corporate campaign that could have included protests and boycotts.

"7. Dr. Burk is now telling individuals what to watch on television. In three online polls conducted this weekend, nearly 90 percent of respondents said they would continue to watch the Masters on CBS. Over 4.3 million women watched the Masters last year.

"8. The Masters and Augusta National are different. One is a private club, and the other is a world-class sporting event that is completely inclusive.

"9. The Masters is being used as a symbol. Several other Clubs do not allow women to play or even to enter the grounds. Women play at Augusta National regularly, and there are no restrictions on tee times. Women played over 1,000 rounds at the Club last year."

Last week, Burk said that she will talk with CBS about its televising of The Masters, which will be commercial-free next year. Johnson announced that The Masters will drop its sponsors -- IBM, Coca-Cola and Citigroup -- to shield them from any controversy over the club's all-male membership.

Augusta National has not had a woman member in its 69-year history. It has had black members since 1990.

[Guillermo]

Freedom hating B*$%@&^s. They should all go to Hell.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Martha Burk is doing for feminists what Jim Traficant did for hairpieces.

[mewzilla]

Can I ask a silly question? Allowing women to be members of a golf club does NOT mean that guys have to golf with them. I guess I just don't understand the He-Man Women Hater's Club aspect to this.

[Thebaddog]

The answers to the challenges will probably be a great disappointment to the gyrlzz.

And when will the gyrlzz attempt to force Grambling to integrate?

[Bikers4Bush]

Great, now this arrogant whore is telling a private club how to conduct its private business.

[3k9pm]

On the good side though, we now get to see tons of quality golf without the usual 58 minutes of commercials every hour. That, IMHO, is a good thing.

[michigander]

To: Martha Burk

I'm sure you were something before electricity. Hey, you wanna make $14 the hard way?

[jbstrick]

I guess that is why you are not a member.....

[Texaggie79]

I was hoping you meant Hootie as in "and the Blowfish".

[mewzilla]

I agree that since it's a private club, what's-her-name doesn't have a legal leg to stand on. But come on, just out of curiosity, how does a woman being a member instead of a guest affect your enjoyment of your golf outing?

[Thebaddog]

This isn't woman hating. This is privacy and the facts spelled out in the written response are right on the mark. When will Grambling be forced to integrate? Those good people work with federal funding.

[Corin Stormhands]

I guess I just don't understand the He-Man Women Hater's Club aspect to this.

Well, if you understood, you certainly wouldn't call it that...

[RossA]

A good analogy for requiring mixed-sex golf courses would be requiring mixed-sex rest rooms. In both activities, women take longer and require different facilities (e.g., shorter tees).

I have no horse in this race except hoping someone will win a fight with NOW. This may be the one!

[mewzilla]

See my reply #11.

[isthisnickcool]

Pot calling the kettle black.

This "womens" organization has no more right to demand that Augusta admit women as it does to demand to use my guest room in my home.

[mewzilla]

Considering the quality of the golf I've seen a lot of guys play, you don't want to got there, pard. There's got to be something else at work here. A wee bit of misogyny perhaps?

[Mr. Mojo]

I hope HJ doesn't give in to these bitter, disgusting, freedom-hating, estrogen-challenged hags. Give 'em hell, Hootie!

[Oldeconomybuyer]

This isn't about golf or the PGA tour, it's about radical feminists exploiting Augusta National to get media attention.

It's the same as PETA putting up billboards with anti-religion hate messages.