Even When They Do the Right Thing, Augusta National’s Leaders Remain Hypocrites
By Ken Reed
Hypocites.
Augusta National has long been driven by hypocrisy.
Augusta’s chairmen — from Clifford Roberts, to Hootie Johnson, to Billy Payne — have consistently said that what they do at Augusta National is a private matter.
But they’ve never had any problem completely opening up their club, via television, to the general public during the week of the Masters. Based on TV ratings, the Masters is the most public event in golf every year. I guess the millions of dollars from TV rights Augusta’s members rake in during Masters week mean more to them than their cherished privacy policy.
On another front, Augusta’s chairmen have long taken pride in boasting about their efforts to “grow the game.” But I always wondered, how can you truly be interested in growing the game when you adamantly refuse to allow membership in your golf club to one gender? Did they ever bother to think what that sexist policy communicates to potential female golfers?
Even when Augusta National does the right thing, and opens its doors to female members, hypocrisy remains the club’s calling card. For years, whenever he’s been asked about the possibility of female membership, Billy Payne has proclaimed that Augusta’s membership is a “private” issue.
So, one would’ve thought that Augusta National might’ve stuck to that “membership is a private matter” policy when they decided to add a couple female members. However, when making the decision to add Darla Moore and Condoleezza Rice to its membership roster, Augusta National’s power brokers decided to once again set aside its proud value of privacy by announcing the move to add female members from the highest mountaintop. Payne, and his green-coated colleagues, knew the decision to add Rice and Moore would have positive PR benefits, while alleviating pressure on the club, so they decided to once again toss aside their cherished privacy policy by going public with the news of its two newest members.
Augusta National has finally decided to enter the 21st century by adding a couple female members. So, praise is indeed due Augusta National’s leaders for finally doing the right thing. It just would be nice if once — just once — they did the right thing for the right thing’s sake, instead of for money or public relations reasons.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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