The following ABC News sports video is about the Augusta National Golf Club’s decision to finally admit female members. For years, the club, which is home of the Masters golf championship, has faced criticism for continuing to deny membership to all women. Augusta is finally changing its tune by admitting two women. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is one of the first female members of Augusta. The other is Darla Moore, who is a financier from South Carolina.
Augusta was allowed to deny female membership because it is a private club. There is no statutory or constitutional right that forbids them from having a male-only club since they are not affiliated with any government.
But the refusal to deny women seemed to be nothing but a peacock showing off its colorful feathers just because it can. It looks like they are finally joining the modern world with this move to admit Rice and Moore as the first women with Augusta membership.
Now, here’s the sad part. Like it or not, celebrities have major pull in our society and probably just about any society. So what have the golf pros who play the Masters every year done to speed up this progress toward equality in Augusta membership? Lip service. That’s it. Nothing else. Not a single high-profile pro said they would boycott the Masters until change was affected. I’m not saying they should have done it in 1980 or even 1990. But all these years, they offered nothing but lip service. Ungrateful rich guys doing nothing with the power that society gave them. Lots of these guys have more money than they will ever need the rest of their lives. And they still wouldn’t stick their necks out for society.