So much for the Olympics and all that rhetoric about athletic competition bridging cultural divides and so on... blah, blah, blah

Apparently you gotta speak English to play with us, or so says the LPGA.

Because fluency in English has something to do with how well you swing a golf club? It's not that, says LPGA folks. "This is an American tour," Peters said. "It is important for sponsors to be able to interact with players and have a positive experience."

Um, can you be more fucking sexist?

In other words, the all-mighty buck is the bottom line, and sex sells. They don't want good golfers; they want good "spokeswomen" (I'm being charitable here). So wait, I'm confused. The LPGA isn't about golfing well; it's about pleasing the sponsors. Next thing you know, there will be a prettiness requirement. Because, remember, "It is important for sponsors to be able to interact with players and have a positive experience." Then we can discuss length of golfing skirts...

I may be missing something here, but it seems to me that wouldn't the golfer who made the best shots, putts and scores draw the greatest interest and audience, regardless of her English language proficiency? And isn't golf a silent sport anyway? What really does language have to do with a player's ability to play or draw a crowd (which is what the sponsors want anyway)? Um, nothing. This is a dumb rule which objectifies the female golfers rather than seeing them as athletes.

Oh wait... there's this: There are 121 international players from 26 countries on the LPGA Tour, including 45 players from South Korea.

Ahh, I see. Not only is this a sexist rule, but it sounds like a country club version of yellow scare to me. Sexist and racist.

Appalling.