Word: burk
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...golfing terms, Hootie Johnson used too much club. When the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club--host of the prestigious Masters tournament--responded to a letter from Martha Burk, chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO), who was inquiring whether the all-male bastion would consider women for membership, his response wasn't a polite "Thank you for your interest, but this is a private club." Nope. Johnson swung from the heels. Gripped it and ripped...
...sent a terse get-lost note to Burk and then issued an incendiary press release asserting that Augusta would not be "bullied, threatened or intimidated" by the NCWO, which represents such groups as the American Nurses Association and the League of Women Voters. "We do not intend to become a trophy in their display case," Johnson declaimed. Then, in an unprecedented move, he booted the Masters' sponsors--Citigroup, Coca-Cola and IBM--so the companies wouldn't face criticism by association. The commercial-free move will cost the club some $7 million in forgone revenues...
Rather than snuffing the dispute, Johnson inflamed it, threatening the holy grail of corporate perks--membership at Augusta. Says Burk, taking the next shot: "We'd like to look at the corporations the members represent and how memberships can be reconciled with corporate policies against discrimination and marketing practices to women. And I would also be interested as to who is paying for the memberships...
...represented on his or her board of directors. Coca-Cola, which settled a high-profile racial-discrimination case in 2000, tried to intervene with Augusta, but CEO Douglas Daft got nowhere. "We enjoyed our one-year sponsorship of the Masters," the company said in a statement. Citigroup told Burk in a letter that "we have communicated our views privately to the management of the [Masters] tournament. We believe that such a dialogue is the most constructive approach." The company also cited its selection by Working Mother as a top mom-friendly employer...
...sponsors emphasize that their agreements are with the Masters tournament, not the club. (Never mind that the club runs the event.) IBM, in a letter to Burk, cited its support for women's groups and added, "We do not view our sponsorship of the Masters tournament as contradictory to this commitment." But in 1990 IBM pulled its sponsorship from the PGA Championship after learning that host club Shoal Creek, in Birmingham, Ala., had no black members. The club quickly integrated, and the PGA passed a rule that tour events can be held only at clubs open to all. The Masters...