Masters 2012: New York Times Reporter Karen Crouse Says She'd Skip Augusta Until Women Allowed

The 16th green is seen during the first round of the 2012 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 5, 2012.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The golf writer for the New York Times told a website Thursday she wouldn't want to cover the Masters again until Augusta National invites a woman to be a member.

"If it were left to me, which it seldom is in the power structure of writer versus editor, I'd probably not come cover this event again until there is a woman member," Karen Crouse told GOLF.com. "More and more, the lack of a woman member is just a blue elephant in the room."

Contacted by The Associated Press, Times sports editor Joe Sexton said the comments were, "completely inappropriate and she has been spoken to."

Crouse declined further comment.

The subject of women members at Augusta surfaced again recently when IBM, one of the tournament sponsors, appointed Virginia Rometty, as its new CEO. The last four CEOs at IBM, all male, were invited to be members.

Questions about membership were raised at Augusta National chairman Billy Payne's annual news conference Wednesday – the day before the Masters began. Crouse, who became the Times' golf writer last year, attended the briefing, along with more than 100 reporters. Though he was asked repeatedly about women being admitted, Payne maintained it was a club matter and declined to discuss it.

Crouse asked Payne what he would say to his granddaughters about the club not having women as members. Payne said it was a question that deals with membership and declined to answer. She followed up by saying it was a "kitchen-table question, a personal question." Payne responded: "Well, my conversations with my granddaughters are also private."

In a column published Thursday in the Times, Crouse criticized Augusta National, saying the club "founded in 1933 on the bedrock of segregation is obviously not so easily rebuilt – or even touched." Crouse wrote that she was the only woman at the news conference to ask a question and that she held her hand up for 20 minutes before she was called on.

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Comments

[policy5]

09:20 PM on 04/06/2012

it's augusta

[zenwarrior13]

05:04 PM on 04/06/2012

I've played at Augusta as the guest of a member for business reasons. If they were excluding African Americans or Jewish people which they have in the past, there would be an uproar and most well known corporations would refuse to sponsor them in any way. There is a fundamental difference between a sorority or all girls school because the exclusion of men is intrinsic to their learning process. Augusta has no clear mission that will suffer with the inclusion of women. Furthermore, there is a tremendous benefit economically for those who play golf there so it affects many female executives. Any corporate executive will tell you that more deals are done and contacts made on the golf course than at restaurants. They can keep their rules but no corporation seeking to sell their products or services to women in the 21st century should support them. Since we all came from a woman and many have daughters like I do, we should progress and do the right thing. I won't be watching the masters or visiting. If enough people had some courage they would do the same.

[Suzanne Brewton]

05:01 PM on 04/06/2012

Money is king. It's bigger than women. It's bigger than golf. The only thing that will ever change this situation is if pockets start to become lighter because of this line in the sand. I am not advocating that should be the case. I am making an observation. I really don't care if they let women in or not. Obviously the real hypocrite in this stupid drama is IBM for continuing to sponser something played somewhere that their boss would not be welcomed at. As long as any woman working for the Country Club is getting the same pay for the same job as a man does then the rest of it just isn't important.

[mooncop1]

04:47 PM on 04/06/2012

All I had to see was New York times that told me all I needed to know about this reporter.

[tammyida]

04:44 PM on 04/06/2012

I think most of you are missing the point here. She's saying there's a double standard: I can report the golf but can't play it here. I think in this day and age (when a woman could very easily be President of the US) this kind of neanderthal mentality must stop. Got news for you...there are a lot of very, very rich (and powerful) women around Georgia and the US...folks call them *^%% once they take power; but in reality it's because most have had to put up with this backwards thinking as they climbed their way to the top.

[smp276dp]

04:31 PM on 04/06/2012

Good for you Karen screw them

[jfsinc1929]

03:52 PM on 04/06/2012

Karen Crouse is a trouble maker, just like women are. I mean as a man, you marry them, then you have to support them, have to pay for groceries for them to cook on the stove, make sure they have enough money to buy laundry soap to do the laundry and do dishes. Man oh man, it's a pain to take care of a woman. Ok, this WAS A JOKE so knock it off. As far as Crouse goes, if she doesn't want to be there, based on her comments I'm sure she won't be next year. It's a PRIVATE club. If they don't want women they won't admit women. I'm a man and I'm not allowed to join or belong or even visit. It's ok with me. I tried to join Curves and they wouldn't let me, it's a girls facility only. Just saying!

[tammyida]

04:41 PM on 04/06/2012

I assume you're joking or are just a joke? Let's pretend that instead of male/female we had instead blocking a certain race from joining....don't know if you've heard or not but women do have rights and hold on...here it comes: THEY'RE IN THE MAJORITY!!

[jfsinc1929]

11:23 PM on 04/06/2012

A private club is a private club. The members can make rules about who does and doesn't join. And yes, they can discriminate on the basis of race, but they don't. The fact that women are in the majority doesn't mean anything. The men keep dying because they're married to a woman. Ok, that again is a joke. My wife says I'm funny so maybe I am a joke. You need to lighten up. If you're not a veteran you can't join the American Legion or VFW. Now that's not fair either is it. Remember, a private club is just that. They make the rules. If men want to admit women to their club they can vote to do so. I doubt that it will ever happen at Augusta.

[Cg Rzy]

03:34 PM on 04/06/2012

and her presence in that tournament would be valuable because??? maybe she just lost hope that in the years she was there no player hit on her.

[bigtop1804]

03:21 PM on 04/06/2012

Thank you Karen Crouse. Good luck on your next assignment. Everybody elses coverage will do just fine.

[neelmc]

03:15 PM on 04/06/2012

Who cares about Ms. Karen Crouse's opinion much less the POTUS mouthing off as he would not be invited to join this "elite Men's Club" either. Women Sport's reporters should cover women's events in the sport's world, i.e., LPGA, gymnastics, olympics, et al. Also, only a women should be coaching a women's college basketball team to include coaching in the WNBA. Who needs or wants a woman reporter on the college/NFL football sidelines!!!!! This is political correctness examples personified! Guess I'm just a male chauvanist!

[cpe]

05:10 PM on 04/06/2012

Yes, you are.

[wodelson]

03:08 PM on 04/06/2012

Here we go again. The New York times and its people "think" they speak for America, NOT THE CASE. This reporter should either report or go to work in a bank. Shut the F up. This is a private club and they can and should do whatever they want. Screw the NY times.

[MWA1111]

02:54 PM on 04/06/2012

She's welcome to stand up to her editor and put her foot down. Nobody is physically forcing her to cover the Masters. She has choices... just like those she's trying to take away from a private entity.

[mewieboldt]

02:33 PM on 04/06/2012

watched the golf channel since 11:30am, they haven't shone any golf yet and they call the show "LIVE FROM THE MASTERS", go figure.

[tammyida]

04:45 PM on 04/06/2012

I finally found some at 3:00 on ESPN :(

[mewieboldt]

09:13 AM on 04/07/2012

tammyida, thank you, i guess the golf channel must be restricted from showing too much of the masters, but they shouldn't call it LIVE FROM THE MASTERS, it's very misleading.

[mewieboldt]

09:17 AM on 04/07/2012

tammyida, thanks again. i say again because i just replied to you in the original story. this reply is from the e-mail message i got from huffpost. thanks again.

[elskipr]

02:32 PM on 04/06/2012

I imagine they will go on without her..

[maxfax]

02:11 PM on 04/06/2012

" Times sports editor Joe Sexton said the comments were, "completely inappropriate and she has been spoken to." Big daddy has spoken, know your place woman!