Paper Summary:

This paper discusses why the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club excludes women from its membership roles. It discusses whether it is legal and, moreover, ethical, for a private club to exclude an American citizen based on gender. The paper focuses on the public relations battle which took place between the club's chairman, Hootie Johnson, and chairperson of the National Council of Women's Organizations, Martha Burk, over the club's exclusion of women from the club and the Masters Tournament which takes place each year. The paper explores Augusta National's public image following the confrontation and looks at how Burk threatened to turn one of America's most esteemed sporting events into a public relations nightmare for its sponsors. The paper looks at how successful her very public made-for-media strategy to challenge corporate America's commercial support of The Masters Tournament really was.

From the Paper:

"Meanwhile, in the past few months, everyone of any stature in golf (Tiger Woods was most prominent among opinions expressed; he declined to take sides), in civil rights (Jesse Jackson announced he would lead the charge against the discrimination of women), and it seems, in the media, had an opinion on Augusta's refusal to admit women. Sandy Grady, writing in USA Today, noted that Augusta's power elite were so petrified that feminists will infiltrate their boys club, they announced this rule, according to the Augusta Chronicle: "Patrons will be asked to return to their cars and remove buttons, hats, or T-shirts that express any opinion, pro or con, on a social or political basis?." That would appear to be unconstitutional at the worst, and, at the least, blatant paranoia."

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