Sen. Leland Yee: Golfer Policy Out of Bounds

In a recent decision, the Ladies Professional Golf Association announced a policy requiring all of its member athletes be required to speak English as of 2009. As someone who was not born into an English-speaking family, I was disappointed by this decision, and raised my voice in opposition on the grounds that the LPGA's actions were discriminatory, the result of backwards thinking that needed to be condemned and abandoned. And I'm proud to say that they have listened and announced the reversal of the policy.

First and foremost, one's language has no effect whatsoever on one's ability to play golf. An athletic organization should concern itself with its participants' athleticism, not an arbitrarily chosen piece of knowledge. No other sporting league in the United States has gone down this road. The NBA welcomed Yao Ming into its ranks, and he's gone on to be a popular addition to the sport. Major League Baseball has been recruiting players abroad for years, and has never turned anyone back because they needed a translator. The LPGA does a disservice to its fans, its sponsors and its sport by depriving the tour of talent for a trivial reason.

In addition to being pointless, this regulation was discriminatory. Of the 121 athletes on this year's LPGA Tour, 26 are from different countries, and not all of them speak English. They have excelled in their field - why should they be deprived of the opportunity to compete because of something completely unrelated to the sport? If one of those athletes was deaf, would they be removed from the tour because they could only communicate through sign language? Are there any requirements that athletes speak any of the languages of the other nine countries that host the tour? These are questions that had no legitimate answer.

I must extend my thanks to the many civil rights organizations that joined us in this fight. We had a long list of allies, such as Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Filipino American Coalition, Filipino American Organization of San Jose State University, Filipino National History Society, Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality, and many more. These groups formed a powerful coalition of dedicated fighters for our rights that stood up against this wrong-headed policy.

I am pleased that the LPGA heard our outrage and did the right thing, and hope this is the last we will hear about using language to separate us from one another.

Leland Yee is the president pro tem at the California Senate.