Women and the Masters, here we go again

this was going to be MY post... amazing. i swear!!

you can't make this stuff up. listen, i haven't been at the masters since '84 (a one and only experience for the shockster) and i'm sure the atmosphere has improved at least a smidge. all i can offer is back then it, felt like 1884, not 1984... in the dining areas, all the waiters, all the 'help,' were african-american. but the cashiers, anyone who handled, you know, the money, were white men.

listen, the course, the grounds, the aura, was picture-perfect. but i don't think i've ever been more uncomfortable covering any sporting event, except perhaps the days before the bengals-49ers super bowl, when i was out in the streets seeking word pictures to describe the riots in liberty city.

like i said, i'd imagine augusta has come a ways since '84. maybe not a long ways, though.

this isn't the way tara would've chosen to become 'famous.' she ain't no rosa parks; at the end of the day tara came out the winner in every respect -- this was an unfortunate incident but nowhere near the battles women had to wage in the '70s and '80s.

in a 'no blood, no foul' sort of way, tara comes out of this looking like a star. none of her columns have ever done as much for her. not a bad day's work when you've accomplished that while embarrassing the folks at the masters yet again...

by the way, tara's 'my side of the story' column sucked. simply juvenile:

'Always in search of another quote and more description and reaction to share with my readers (AARRGGHH!!), I followed McIlroy to the famous oak tree outside the clubhouse, a spot where golfers often stop to do more interviews. McIlroy kept walking, and so did the group of reporters I was with. We walked into the clubhouse and followed as McIlroy made his way to the locker room. At the final portion of the hallway, the one that ended at the locker room door, I was told by a female security officer that I was not allowed in.


That was it.

Rather than disrupt the deadline efforts of my working colleagues (AARRGGHH, AGAIN!! 'FELLOW COLLEAGUES'?!) I stopped there. I looked around for any official Masters representative, but didn’t see anyone. I asked the security woman again why they had such a policy, and she told me it was because there was an open bathroom area in the locker room. My response was, “yes, just like all of the pro locker rooms I routinely go into.”…

The issue touched a nerve for many reasons. Augusta National does not allow women members, so perhaps security personnel could be confusing club policy with Masters policy. But women journalists have every right to be allowed wherever their male colleagues go, a right already determined by law. If they want to close the locker room to interviews, then they have to do it for everyone, not just me.'


weak, no? or am i just cranky (more than usual) this morning? ??? ???

 

It's not minor?

A security guard made a regrettable mistake because she didn't understand the protocol. Apologies were delivered. It was made clear that this was not acceptable.

Enough already. There's a point where vigilance becomes over-vigilance.

 

Just saw the story on SportsCenter ... it made for the perfect segue into the Jenn Sterger piece.

 

It said a male and a female guard. As long as one was male, the quip works to the extent it works. As to the point, I don't think the guards were acting upon Masters policy, and I don't think this should send us back to putting the tournament on the same plane as Bull Conner. Of course, the past involving the Masters is something the Masters will always have to live down. But it is hardly sui generis as far as restrictive clubs go. But the incident does make clear that equal access has to be stressed by an event to all its employees.

And I think the Masters has cachet because it limits commercials and hasn't sold its soul to sponsorship. And it has done a great job of selling its iconograpy, or getting others to sell it.

 

I don't think the fact the guard was a woman makes any difference. I'm glad the masters is hiring women as security guards, but the point is that a guard, regardless of gender, should allow in a reporter, regardless of gender.

It's cool just because it's a lady-person keeping out another lady-person? Either way violates federal law. It's the Masters/PGA Tour's job to inform all security guards. Even the chicks.

 

Ever covered NCAA hoops and been improperly denied access?

I know several scribes who have. It wasn't the fault of the host institution or the NCAA.

It was the fault of a doofus security guard who clearly enjoyed the fact he could tell a bunch of us where to stand, when to move, whether to breathe.

 

You are employing human beings. You can "ensure" nothing beyond the fact that they will act like human beings (and sometimes make mistakes).

And like most so-called "horrific injustices" (ad sales woman fired by Gannett, etc.), the aggrieved will wind up better off because of the horrific injustice.

 

[/quote author=vivbernstein link=topic=83131.msg3032075#msg3032075date=1302525443]
Rufino,

First you dismiss all criticism by Liz Mullen with that napalm comment meant to discredit her as some radical. Then you dismiss the entire incident as a mere inconvenience. Think it would be a mere inconvenience if it happened to you?

It matters, because:
1. A female sports reporter wasn't allowed to do her job because of her gender.
2. It happened at a major sporting event.
3. That event was at Augusta National, which has a history of treating women as second-class citizens. As Barry Svrluga commented on twitter, "Augusta National says exclusion of female reporter from locker room interview was "mistake." Think culture of club had anything to do w/ it?"

You have something in common with that security guard (whose gender is irrelevant, by the way). Neither of you get it.
[/quote]



yes, it matters, viv. it never should've happened. but as opposed to the bad old days, this wasn't a policy being enforced by gov. wallace at the university of mississippi... this was the work of one, maybe two, inexperienced security folks not up to speed. how it slipped through the cracks is a disgrace but not every gender injustice is premeditated and an indication that an issue is about to explode again.

i'm sure it was a horrific moment in time for tara. but unless further evidence comes to light, EVERYONE is in agreement the 'rogue security woman' was both overzealous and uninformed.there is no sign of this becoming a disgraceful sexist trend yet again... sometimes you just have to accept the apologies and move on.

this certainly appears to be one of those times, no? it should not be ignored -- and it certainly hasn't been -- but neither should it be portrayed as a mountain when it was a molehill.

 

That's what I'm sayin'.

 

I'm known as one of the "racists" of the board, but Shockey is right. There is a mentality as ANGC that you get if you're not a white male, you're going to get scrutinized more.

With Rhody31's comment about being a guest and following the rules, it doesn't work that way if you're a reporter. We're not supposed just shut up and take the BS that shoveled our way.

 

No! We need to sprint, not walk, to our Twitter accounts and tell the world (or at least our followers) that a grave injustice has occurred!

Look, I feel bad for Tara, who I don't know at all, but shit happens. It's life. On deadline, she got her story and a whole lot more. She'll live to write another day, and let's hope the people at Augusta learn from this (although that's unlikely with those clueless bozos).

 

This is part of the old-man rant, too, but the idea of somebody Tweeting about this situation while on story deadline ... it makes me go yuck.

And I don't need to hear that geting out in the social media is as important as getting the story in print. I've heard it ad nauseum. But write the friggin' story, then Tweet, in this case.