[Jon Spaulding]

This was my first sighting of "who" they gave it to. I think it's a great idea, so long as it's limited to the LA Open, and they stay on target with respect to deserving candidates.

Here's wishing Johnson good luck and that he makes a nice check next week.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/johnson-golf-sifford-2308987-won-tour

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3878419

[Ronald Montesano]

Well, it has nothing to do with golf course architecture, so why wouldn't it merit a thread on this site?  Duly noted, I partly agree with you.  It should be a comer, but why not extend it to other tournaments?  It's one slot, it's an extra slot, so what's the big deal?  You want to give black kids a chance to see black adults making it.  Since you and I are in the white majority, we have no idea what it's like to look at the world (and be looked at) through black eyes and skin.

[Gib_Papazian]

Ronald,

Last time I looked, the #1. golfer on the planet has "black skin" . . . . As long as we are making a tally, where do we put Vijay? Jim Thorpe?

The whole Charlie Sifford exemption for the L.A. Open is a nice idea given he won the tournament (if memory serves, 1969?), but carrying it any further seems cloying and idiotic.

We all need to get past the idea of harping on past racism against African Americans and move forward. The richest entertainer in history is a black woman, 80% of the NBA (a meritocracy if there ever was one) is black, 40% of NBA coaches are black.

America went to the polls in a terrible time of economic upheaval and frightening crisis and elected a black man to lead us out of this mess. If bigotry were alive and well, this could never have happened.

So give Charlie Sifford some dap' for what he endured and then stop dwelling on the past. Maybe Jessie Jackson and the rest of the race hustlers have to go find a job beyond shaking down companies.

If we are going to start handing out exemptions, then why stop with Charile Cigar? How about a yearly "John Shippen Exemption" into the U.S. Open? 

I wonder what my hero Bill Cosby would have to say about this . . . .   

http://www.eightcitiesmap.com/transcript_bc.htm

[David Stamm]

Did TW need this when he played there? Or broke through for that matter?

[Ronald Montesano]

Glib,
Disagree.  The average black kid in USA has nothing in common with Vijay, little in common with Tiger, but much more in common with Jim Thorpe.  It's actually funny that the third black guy you thought of is an old dude.  Have you heard of James Kamte, Kevin Hall, Tim O'Neal, Lewis Chitengwa?

If you think that bigotry is not alive and well in this country, you are naive.  It lives on and will live on forever.  What happened was a man who was half-black, half-white and the darling of a young, techno generation, kicked the arses of first an old lady and then an old dude saddled with the baggage of prior administrations.

Continuing the exemption to other tournaments is not cloying, it's a recognition that a certain important segment of society needs a hand.  It doesn't have to be an african golfer; it could be an asian, a latino, or an eskimo.  Someone who fits the broad description of the exemption.

"We all need to get past..." played well in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile in the 1980s among a certain segment.  Not so well in a free land.

[Ronald Montesano]

David,
Did he need it there?  No.  Did he need it at the Hope?  Yes.  Didn't get it.  Guess why not?

You guys are missing the point I'm trying to make.  It's not the greatest golfer (or greatest-to-be) that needs this exemption.  As Rafiki says in The Lion King, "look harder."

[Gib_Papazian]

Last time I looked, Anthony Kim is Asian. And what exactly constitutes a "Latino?" Is "The Duck" Latino? Is Camilio Villegas Latino? Or is his skin not quite dark enough for you?

If you think bigotry will "live on forever," you are not giving much credit to Americans. And how you can dismiss Obama's election as some kind of fluke because McCain was old and saddled with Bush's mess is ridiculous.

EVERY election result can be attributed to public perception. If America was a racist nation, why did Obama win so easily? There were no discussions about "hanging chads" and disenfranchised elderly Jewish voters in South Florida. It was a wipe-out.

He won because he is charming and a good talker. A black Bill Clinton is how it looks to me. Nobody cared about the color of his skin beyond the ignorant talking heads on CNN and Fox. Even though 75% of the middle aged guys (me included) thought Sarah Palin was pretty hot, they still voted for the black guy.

Racism may not be "over" in America, but it is gasping its last breaths. Condi Rice, Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell - these people are not "token niggers," but amongst the most powerful, intelligent people on the planet.

It is not 1965 anymore. Get over yourself.

   

[Ronald Montesano]

I've never quite understood the popularity of the expression "Get over yourself."  It seems to be a cop-out when someone wants to utter something stronger or has no better way of closing.  I respect your perspective, disagree with it, and will alert you when I have gotten over myself (whatever that means.)

[Gib_Papazian]

It is an expression of exasperation when confronted by someone who clings to their dogmatic, insular views with such fervor that they appear impervious to reason or salient examples contrary to their positions.   

You may find a less didactic explanation in the Urban Dictionary.

I firmly believe that if the American collective decides to cease making race an issue, it will disappear. The media pukes are the only thing keeping the concept of racism alive in this nation.

Frankly, people have more important things to worry about these days. 

 

[Mike Benham]

...  Since you and I are in the white majority, we have no idea what it's like to look at the world (and be looked at) through black eyes and skin.

Do you know Jon Spaulding?  What makes you believe he is in the white majority?

[Anthony Gray]

   I would think that a playr would want to earn his place in a competion regardless of his color. In the past players earned their place but were not allowed because of their color. Today your performance qualifies you.

  Anthony

[Jim Nugent]

It is an expression of exasperation when confronted by someone who clings to their dogmatic, insular views with such fervor that they appear impervious to reason or salient examples contrary to their positions.   
 

i.e. someone who disagrees with you. 

[David Botimer]

This should be limited to the LA Open?  Uhhh, last I checked most tourney's have several spots available for whomever the sponsor damn well pleases.  And given who get many of these undocumented and discussed spots, that comment seems a little out of line.  Let's see, Michelle and Annika got exemptions to....GASP, sell tickets, sans adequate qualifications to get into those respective tournaments.

In my world, they could give away ALL the exemptions to blacks and other minorities, NOT document and discuss them ad nauseum and the world would keep spinning.  This is a matter left to the sponsors working with the Tour to determine who THEY find deserving.

As much as Augusta works to expand the game of golf globally by giving exemptions to foreigners (the "special foreign invitation"), they could add a "special Lee Elder invitation" to grow the game in the African American community.

For now, this gesture seems more than fitting to commemorate Sifford's historic win at LA.

[Gib_Papazian]

David,

Again, at the L.A. Open I can see the point. However, Vincent Johnson is not going to sell a single extra ticket and we both know it. In reality, he is just another rabbit trying to scratch out a living in a tough sport. Comparisons to Michelle Wie and Annika are disingenuous at best. Those two redline the turnstiles at maximum RPM whether at an LPGA or PGA event. Giving Michelle Wie an exemption in Hawaii is a no-brainer.

Personally, I cannot imagine a worse stigma than to be identified in the field of a PGA Tour event as the "token Negro," who was "judged by the color of his skin, *not* the character of his golf game" (paraphrase).

The whole thing seems even more ridiculous given the fact that the best golfer who ever lived identifies himself as African American.

Can you imagine how silly that "Hello World" ad campaign would sound coming out now?

A "Lee Elder Invitation" at the Masters? Did Tiger and Vijay need special exemptions?

I nominate you to go tap Kobe on the shoulder and tell him Lamar Odom is going to have to ride the pine against the Celtics tonight because whites are under-represented in the NBA and Luke Walton wants to room with another honkey.

The world has changed my friend. Fifty years ago, there were no black members at my rather famous golf club. 20 years ago, the (elected) Chairman of the Country Club was a prominent African American semi-conductor manufacturer. 

I think people of your ilk cling stubbornly to past grievances because it is easier than admitting that racism is finally in the rear view mirror and getting smaller by the minute . . . . .

If you want to wring your hands about *real* oppression and racism, Darfur is a better place to start than Riviera or Augusta.   

     

           

[Brad Klein]

How convenient for people in relatively privileged positions of society -- however they got there -- to declare that discrimination, racism, or class bias are things of the past.

People can point all they want to successful individuals. It does nothing to get at the central point of decades of accumulated discrimination, manifest in job exclusion, overt bias and underfunded public health care systems, schools and public transportation.

Not that an exemption to a golf tournament is anything more than a symbolic gesture -- which is all it's supposed to be, anyway. But to ridicule it as irrelevant on grounds that bias is long behind us is absurd.

[George Pazin]

How convenient for people in relatively privileged positions of society -- however they got there -- to declare that discrimination, racism, or class bias are things of the past.

How equally convenient for the anointed to rationalize their own preferences so that they can look down their noses at the rest of the us.

[Brad Klein]

Anointed? I'm just another sports writer.

[George Pazin]

Could have fooled me...

Seriously, Brad, when does it end? When is enough enough? When you say it is? Are you giving up your position for a minority candidate?

[Ian_L]

I firmly believe that if the American collective decides to cease making race an issue, it will disappear. The media pukes are the only thing keeping the concept of racism alive in this nation.

Gib, where do you live?  Most racist people I know or have heard of aren't racist because they've seen it on the news, it's because they  aren't educated enough and don't know many people of different races.  If you live in a city, this becomes much less likely.

[Gib_Papazian]

Brad,

Just out of curiosity, how many African Americans on the GolfWeek panel?

If it is less than 12.7%, you are guilty of discrimination.

Ian,

Racism goes both ways homey. I have met (and lived amongst) far more African Americans who HATE whites and Asians than the other way around.

[Ian_L]

Gib, true that racism goes both ways, although I have no idea what that has to do with my comment. I was bringing up the point that where you live makes a huge difference in your experiences with racism.

[Sean_A]

Gib

You are dreaming if you don't think racism exists.  Though I would agree that its outward manifestations have largely been cut off by a generally much more progressive society than anytime in the past.  However, this doesn't mean racism can't or won't become more of a problem in the future.  The effects of racism or so debilitating for society that fighting it should remain among the priorities of society.

Ciao

[Jim_Kennedy]

The first and only thought I had when reading about this was that it's nice to see Charlie Sifford being recognized in a similar vein as Jackie Robinson, two men who helped break the color barrier in their respective sports.
For those who don't remember, Robinson did it in 1947 and Sifford prevailed in 1961, a gap of 14 years.  

Just a week or so I also saw an old KKK'er apologizing on TV to John Lewis  for the beating he gave Lewis many years ago.

These events show us how far we've come, and where we are coming from. There is surely no harm in doing either one.  

[Charlie Goerges]

Racism goes both ways homey. I have met (and lived amongst) far more African Americans who HATE whites and Asians than the other way around.

Gib, if your experience is true, then racism exists. The previous statement and the statement that "racism doesn't exist" are contradictory.

[Gib_Papazian]

I am writing primarily about white racism against African Americans. In truth, I do not know a single white person who can be remotely described as racist.

"Racist" is a pretty strong word and to me, it means somebody who believes whites are superior to blacks in every way.

If "racism" was really prevalent in America (not in isolated pockets like Oildale, CA), Obam would not be president - and the election results would have sent KKK loonies rioting in the streets.

Yes, there are many instances of subtle prejudices manifesting themselves in society, but that goes both ways and certainly not limited to racial lines. There are clubs that will not admit Jews and Jewish clubs that will not admit Gentiles.

That is the way it is sometimes - people often prefer to be with similar people. Go look at the lunchroom at the local high school.

The point is that the more we dwell on it as a nation, the longer it will take "real" racism to go away permanently.     

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