Social responsibility is fair way

Augusta National has said it has no exclusionary policies. In fact, women played more than 1,000 rounds last year at the course. They just refuse to admit women members. Sounds a bit contradictory to me.\nGranted, as a private club they certainly have every right to discriminate on the basis of gender. The Masters however, is not a private event.\nI feel the issue has been overblown on both sides, making politically correct feminists look like whiners who have no greater cause to tackle and put the PGA on the defensive as Hootie Johnson becomes the false, misogynistic representation of America's golf community. However, I cannot sit idly by and applaud the PGA for not taking issue with the blatant discrimination of the club. I cannot simply feel it's okay for tour players to refuse comment and ignore the social responsibility they have as public figures to do what's right and speak out against that which is wrong and unjust.\nNowhere in America do we allow or publicly justify the discrimination on the basis of gender, color, ethnicity or religious affiliation. Augusta National may be a private club, but America's quintessential golf tournament's a very public event. It's hypocritical for the Masters to be held in the public arena while submissively upholding rules that are clearly a direct affront to principles of this nation. \nFurthermore, it's public tax money that will fund the public safety measures and fire resources Augusta will need in April to accommodate the thousands of people that will be in attendance. Granted, Augusta has relented to foot the bill to CBS to air the most popular golf tournament on television instead of relying on past sponsors such as IBM, Coca-Cola and Citigroup, supposedly in an effort to shield them from pressure to come by the NCWO and Burk. But Cadillac, Titlest, Nike, Calloway and the sort will still be getting their fair share of airtime as walking endorsements shoot for the prestigious green jacket. \nWhat bothers me is that Johnson and Augusta are so willing to do whatever it takes, including paying a lot of money, to avoid simply opening membership to women. By not publicly opposing this, the PGA, LPGA, tour players and corporate sponsors (who still benefit from merchandise revenue even without commercials) are indirectly supporting the club's effort to discriminate. In 1990, ABC withdrew from airing the PGA, another of golf's four "majors", when it was discovered that the host course that year, Shoal Creek Country Club of Birmingham, Ala. barred blacks from membership. The PGA was then forced to adopt an anti-discrimination policy, which obviously must only consider racial issues, not gender-biased ones. CBS should be ashamed.\nThe club has the right to do whatever it pleases, but that doesn't mean public corporations and public institutions should condone its exclusionary policy by remaining neutral and silent.