LPGA to require English proficiency

[Q.Q.Quillume]

Link to story: http://www.golfweek.com/story/lpga-english-news-082508

Is this a good idea?

Is this a bad idea?

Whatever, it's almost certain to cause a good deal of controversy?

[albatross]

I didn't see a thread for this yet. Very interesting. What do people think?

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3553888

[Thrash13]

While I personally wouldn't mind them speaking English, this could definitely turn into a very controversial situation in the golf world. Any time ethnicity, language, race, etc. is involved, things seem to get a little dicey.

Edit: Also, I merged the two threads together that were started about the same time.

[Harry Longshanks]

I guess Jan Stephens was right, eh?


Hmmm, I have mixed feelings.

In theory, I have real problems with the mandate. Demanding English from athletes simply participating on the Tour seems to go against the very foundation of U.S. principles of freedom and individuality. Why should a person be forced to learn English with a specified level of proficiency if it is not a central component of their job? And while TV interviews and the like are part of the job, they are only a small part. The players' main function is to play golf, and play it well.

In practice, it addresses very real problems that the LPGA must overcome in order to grow. Right now, the LPGA faces a PR crisis with the influx of foreign (mostly Korean) players - GOOD players who are already winning at the highest level, but still remain virtually unknown to the primary audience. And that disconnect is due in large part to the players' inability to communicate.

Foreign born players need to be able to entertain their Pro-Am partners, and they can't do that if they can't communicate with them. Pro-Ams typically funnel significant money to LPGA and event charities.

On a greater scale, all players need to be able to do a television interview. It ingratiates both the player and the LPGA to the viewer, thus growing the viewership.

And on a personal scale, it benefits the player because the player's fanbase will certainly grow if the player appears more personable to the viewing public - and that means being able to communicate well. Also, as the LPGA grows, so will the prize purses, and the benefits provided to the players by the LPGA (retirement, etc.)

In the end, as a personal rights advocate, I hate it.

But as an LPGA fan, I love it.

I guess I'm going to have to kick my own ass at the bike racks after school. Dammit, before the bus gets here after class, I wanted to go to 7-11 for a Banana-Cola Slurpee in a cup that is the size of a small car. Now I have to give myself the whooping of a lifetime and make myself regret that I was ever born.

[Smallville]

I think it's great, and if you read the article on msn, Se Ri Pak doesn't have a problem with it, nor do the others they had in the story. The LPGA is a private entity , not public, and as such can, in my opinion, set up any rules it wants, period. You don't HAVE to belong if you don't like the rules. Kind of like a Country Club. I also wouldn't find any issues with an english-speaking person going onto a foreign tour and being required to speak the language. I just wish they would require it at fast food restaurants.

And it's not like they are saying you have to know NOW, they are given time to learn it, and they don't lose their card if they fail the test, they will only be suspended til they pass the test. And they say they will have tutors to help them, so I don't see anything wrong with it. Learn the freaking language of the country you are earning a living in whether it's the United States, France, Bulgaria, whatever.

[MrKadash]

I agree with Harry for the most part.

I don't have a problem with it. They spend a majority of their time over here making a majority of their money. Learn our language so they can be more personable to the fans, the media, and their playing companions.

[TexasSR]

I wonder if these "politically correct" statements by some of the Koreans such as Se Ri Pak really express their true feelings and are the same as what is being said behind closed doors. Unfortunately, the LPGA is a business and in a down economy is losing sponsors. If sponsors are saying this is part of the reason then Bivens probably had no choice but to address it somehow. It would seem to me to be the lesser of two evils, the other evil being some form of limits or quotas for foreign players.

[GaijinGolfer]

I dont agree with forcing someone to show a proficiency in English just to be a member of the LPGA.
Yes, the LPGA is a private entity that can make up whatever rules it wants, but that doesnt make it right.
I could see a lot of international players simply choosing to not be a member of the LPGA because of this rule.
I can see the reasons for it because it makes the international players more marketable to American fans, but IMO it goes too far and its only going to hurt the LPGA.

[Smallville]

You don't mind having to press "1" for English? I do.

[N.V.M.]

i'm totally 100% in favour. and i'm not even talking about the 4 dozen Koreans. man, if Lorena Ochoa could convey her thoughts better on tv it would make her so much more interesting. it would only be a win/win situation. it's painful to try to understand her in interviews. c'mon,take some ESL classes. and Lorena,take KJ Choi with you! he's got things to say, but he just can't express himself to the English speaking world.

[pjsnyc]

Certainly a touchy subject. I don't think it should be required. Honestly - most foreign born athletes eventually learn enough of the language as they play more and more in the country in question. The purpose of this new ruling appears (and I mean this lightly - still a new story to jibjab about) to try to speed up the process for the seemingly endless influx of foreign talent (esp. recently). All I can suggest to the LPGA is this - if its required, they better provide the facilities.

Edit - whoops - I read the story wrong. I could've sworn it said they'd lose their card. Suspension seems okay I guess...though Se Ri Pak's suggestion for a fine also seems like a good alternative...perhaps now that all the Korean ladies on tour will be speaking better English, the announcers will pronounce their name right? HEHHEHHH

[NM Golf]

The LPGA like any other professional sport is entertainment. If no one is entertained then no one watches, if no one watches then no one sponsors it, if no one sponsors it then there is no more cash, no more cash means all these girls go out and get real jobs.

The LPGA has always struggled to find an audience. I mean the golf just isn't as good as the men's so they have to offer something else. Men are the major audience for televised sports so getting them to watch is important. Creamer, Gulbis and company did a great job of making the LPGA popular and more marketable. Men enjoy watching those players compete.

Now with the Korean explosion they are again becoming less marketable because again no one wants to watch another korean win another tournament when she can't even give a post round interview without an interpreter. I mean who cares?

The LPGA has to be able to connect with its audience and to do so it has to have competitors that can both play good golf, look good doing it, and be able to communicate.

This is just the LPGA's only recourse to try and bring its product to the masses and have them watch. I applaud them for making this rule, the LPGA is an American company with an english speaking customer base their employees should have to speak english to be able to profit from it.

[par3forme]

The fact that this is even an issue is a very sad statement for this country. This is America, we speak English here. Why is that so hard to understand. No-one is forcing women to play in the LPGA. You want to play here, (and live here for that matter) learn the language. If you want to speak only Korean then play in Korea. People crack me up when they want to come take advantage of a country because it has more to offer but then do not want to make any effort on their part to blend in or show any appreciation for being here. Damm this country is losing it's balls more and more every day.

[Harold]

Count me as one of those who thinks it a bad idea. I'm watching for the golf (yeah, ok maybe a bit more) not the interviewing proficiency. No different than MLB and Latin American players or hockey and European players. My take on the LPGA is they need to start bending over backwards to _accomodate_ the Asian Ladies, not the other way around. Dominance is not far away. Supremacy may not be much farther behind. All it takes is some entreprenurial startup league overseas and the best walk away from the LPGA and turn it into the equivalent of the Nationwide Tour. Than maybe the few best "American" players will need to play the majority of their season overseas to make a living. Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis et al might then want to start brushing up on their language skills.

[golf_junkie27]

This is ridiculous. I'm with Harry. Their job is to play golf and play it well. When players are in Dubai, do they speak Arabic? In Ireland, do they speak Gaelic? In Spain, do they have to speak Spanish? No, no and no. Why here? Because they have to speak to the media? Find an interpreter.

As for the LPGA, does anyone really watch? How many people care? Take a poll. Ask 10 men if they watch Natalie Gulbis because of her game or her micro-mini skirts. Look at the PGA, for example. To my knowledge, they don't have an English speaking mandate. How would it help them if they did? Look at the ratings. With Tiger, they are not that great. Without him, they're abysmal. With the exception of one or two majors, they don't even come close to averaging a 5, weekly. That's pretty bad yet it has not affected the PGA's coiffers.

The sad part is that, unfortunately, players ability and diversity seems to be not enough to help the LPGA, grow. If the product, which is very good, is not attracting signficant eyes and ratings, how is speaking English going to help? Again, find me someone, anyone, that watches an LPGA event in hopes of listening to an interview?

[golf_junkie27]

The fact that this is even an issue is a very sad statement for this country. This is America, we speak English here. Why is that so hard to understand. No-one is forcing women to play in the LPGA. You want to play here, (and live here for that matter) learn the language. If you want to speak only Korean then play in Korea. People crack me up when they want to come take advantage of a country because it has more to offer but then do not want to make any effort on their part to blend in or show any appreciation for being here. Damm this country is losing it's balls more and more every day.

This is America. We speak more than English, here. If you want to bring social significance and history into the equation, then we should all learn how to speak a Native American Indian language. There is only one professional women's league. It happens to be here. Where are they supposed to play? Speaking English is not a requirement for what they do. This is SPORTS. You're not working for a Hedge Fund or a Brokerage House. As a matter of fact, a little off topic, in those industries, it actually helps to be able to speak more than one language. In fact, it's encouraged. In no other Major Sports League is English required. To say that this is our country and learn to speak English when it's not required is ignorant and rather distasteful. It's not necessary. Take a look at KJ Choi. He gave a seminar at Jack's tourney using an enterpreter. He had a huge turnout, it was informative and no one had complaints.

[Smallville]

If they are coming over to play an event here and another event there some other time, sure, they don't need to learn the language. That would be like saying all the Olympians had to learn Chinese because that's where it was held this year. But if they are going to be a member of the LPGA and make a living here in the U.S. then damn right they ought to learn the language. That goes for anyone. I get so tired of having to explain 5 times what I want to eat then they have to go get a manager who barely speaks english better than they do (OK, so it doesn't happen ALL the time, but it has, more than once).

And if by chance the LPGA goes by the wayside because of this decision, and if the American ladies have to join the tour overseas, then damn straight they better learn the language if that's where they are going to make their living. But not if they are only playing an event or two then be coming back here to continue on the LPGA.

[Smallville]

There is only one professional women's league. It happens to be here. Where are they supposed to play?

http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/ http://www.lagt.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladies_Asian_Golf_Tour