Augusta National’s conundrum: Should the golf club purposely not invite a woman?

[Zorra]

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports 3 hours, 44 minutes ago

Historically, the sitting CEO of International Business Machines (IBM) is offered an invitation for membership. The club has never had a female member, even in the face of repeated public protests.
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The all-male policy is more of an act of defiance. It’s the one-percenters getting their chance to push back on society. They keep pretty much everybody out. Women are just one subset. They aren’t excited about taking in anyone, so adding a fabulously wealthy woman as a member changes little to nothing.
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This is no longer a choice over whether to invite a woman as a member.

It’s now a choice to purposely not invite a woman.

http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/news?slug=dw-wetzel-august-national-masters-women-032812

Is this a case of gender discrimination? What do y'all think they should do?

(Anyone from Occupy Atlanta reading this?)

[GopperStopper2680]

1. The GOP is a Boy's Club..

And while there are probably a handful of Dems and other political alignments in the mix it's going to be primarily GOPS as they represent most of the nation's wealth. They consider women little more than accessories.

[gratuitous]

2. Yes, it's sexism

But Augusta National is a private club, which can set its own rules for membership. It was hard enough on these folks to have to let Negros play on their hallowed grounds; letting a woman walk the course as a member and a peer? It would be the end of Civilization to their tiny minds.

The larger question is why the Columbia Broadcasting System feels obliged to kneel before narrow-minded fucks, and afford them top-flight, first-class coverage of their golf tournament. Dress it up however you want, in the prettiest setting you can imagine, but it's still a hard nut of ugly racism and sexism.

[truebrit71]

4. The larger question is the one that really needs an answer...

...the sexist bigots that run that club are perfectly within their rights to be that way, there's just no need for the rest of us to care...

[niyad]

3. I have had no use for augusta since they refused to allow annika sorenstam to play there. that

was also the moment that I learned to despise tiger wood, who, having broken the colour barrier at augusta, refused to support her.

[monmouth]

6. In defense of Tiger he had his own problems with augusta. Remember Fuzzy Zoeller? He was

on a thin branch there and didn't dare open his mouth. Jack Nicklaus got Tiger through a lot of barriers and was a constant adviser in the early years of Tiger's playing the PGA.

[niyad]

8. it seemed to me that it was a situation of "well, I got mine, the rest of you can go to blazes"

turned out I had his character dead on.

[KamaAina]

5. Martha Burk must be grinning from ear to ear

she's been jumping ugly with Hootie (Johnson) and the Blowhards at Augusta national over this for years.

[wilt the stilt]

7. By far my least favorite

of the majors. It is elitist to the max. I like the U.S. Open. These people make me sick. Lee Trevino never went into the clubhouse. He changed his shows in the parking lot. he knew that they thought of him as a groundskeeper. Deep down you know it killed them when tiger won.

[monmouth]

9. You bet it killed them. They remind me of the 1% of the KKK...n/t

[bluestate10]

10. Agusta should organize a Professional Women's Tournament.

The winner becomes a member, just like men winners of the Masters.

[Kingofalldems]

11. A fight over getting into an ultra-snotty club?

She would become just like the members.

[Neue Regel]

12. It should remain a men's club

From the article:

...To suggest it is outwardly hostile to women is a stretch, though. There are women everywhere. They can play as guests. They hang out as spouses.

Women can play at Augusta, but they can't be members.

[Honeycombe8]

14. Exactly. They are allowed, as long as they know their place. It should remain a bigoted

bastion of whatever they think they are. To pretend they are anything else would be ludicrous. And the female CEO should ignore the club, except to make a public comment, if asked. Much the way Obama handles the overt racism against him. He continues doing an excellent job, and handles the racism with class and makes the racists all the more petty and backward.

It's a private club, so they can refuse to allow whoever they want to as members, whether Jewish or female or Af. American. It's their club. I'm just disappointed that Buffet is a member.

[GobBluth]

13. Maybe it's me, but I like the bigots/racists/general assholes out where I can see them.

Obviously I don't ever see a day when I could even afford to be a member, but in general I really wouldn't be against certain things (like signs saying they won't serve such and such), as it just tells me where NOT to spend my money.