I was sitting in a waiting room today and they had the news station on. One of the scrolling bars read that Muirfield male-only members have had a vote on whether to allow women membership and they have decided to stay a men-only club. Needless to say there is outrage by the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon – who called the decision “indefensible”, women’s groups and the equal rights people to the point that Muirfield will now lose its right to host the Golf Open Championship.
Now there is a lot wrong with excluding any group of people based on gender, religion, color etc, I should know I am a born South African. When I worked with the International Olympic Committee, I was very proud of the fact that the movement is based on personal performance and is not on politics. All cultures, races and peoples can come together and compete under this unifying banner. However, this was not always the case with the IOC, but over time it did change because it needed to. Perhaps the men at Muirfield is where the IOC was not so long ago and it will take time for them to realize that they too would have to change. Grocho Marx famously said, “I refuse to join any club that would have me for a member.” Ahem.
