English on the LPGA Tour

In class we talked about how the LPGA is “encouraging” women on the LPGA tour to learn and exclusively speak English. Players who fail to pass an oral evaluation of their English skills will be suspended from the tour. According to an article that can be found HERE on ESPN.com, the rule was instated to break down communication barriers between players and sponsors, fans and teammates. The article states the following:

“’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.’”

This new rule, created in 2008, was put into effect immediately for new players on the tour. The LPGA held a mandatory meeting with the international golfers and explained to all 121 players from all 26 countries that they would be suspended if they failed their oral evaluation. The organizations claims that it does not intend to leave the players who cannot pass stranded, but they plan on providing help with the language problems by hiring tutors and specialists.

While I understand that language barriers can be difficult, I think that the LPGA is being more than a little bit disrespectful to international players on the tour. If US players in an international tour that played in another country were required to speak another language or face suspension, I believe that there would be a cry of outrage and foul play. So why is it fair for the LPGA to enforce a rule that jeopardizes the chance that an international player will be able to compete on the tour? I think that it is a good idea for all players to speak a common language, but I don’t think that it should be mandatory for all players to speak English or face suspension. It seems a bit harsh to me.