The Masters Controversy:
I think the initial knee-jerk reaction is to shout that women must be allowed to be members at Augusta National golf course. To not allow a human being to be a part of something simply because of their sex is unconstitutional. And as much as it might infuriate many in the public, Hootie Johnson has every right to make limitations on who can be a member of his club. However, there is a double standard to me when the golf course itself is public, and the most watched golf event in the world is played there. The uproar has come because of the Masters. I think the two don’t fit together. If you allow anyone who qualifies for the event to play, and allow anyone with enough money to step onto your golf course, then you can’t stop them from entering just a little bit further. Something has to change to allow any qualified human being the right to join a golf club.
When Johnson first received the letter from Dr. Martha Burk, asking for him to allow women to become members, he didn’t respond quickly. According to the date of the email sent to Johnson, Burk made the request on June 12. Johnson did not say anything publicly until July 9. Therefore, Johnson did talk to people, thought long and hard about the issue, and then came to a conclusion. The problem with the conclusion is that it is far too sexist.
“We do not intend to become a trophy in their display case,” Johnson said, referring to the National Council of Women’s Organizations efforts to get a foot in the door at Augusta. Johnson added that “there may well come a day when women will be invited to join our membership, but that timetable will be ours and not at the point of a bayonet.”
Johnson doesn’t want women at his club, and because of the society we live in, he has that right. However, I think he loses that right because his golf course is public and the most watched four days of golf are in his backyard. I think when you have that kind of publicity and that kind of power, you lose your right to be sexist, racist, or any other type of -ist that is unconstitutional. There are groups and clubs with elite membership all across this country. I believe in their right to exist, and I believe they have the unpopular right to exclude people based on their own guidelines. But when you’ve become as large an organization as the Augusta National Country, there must be limits to their power.