Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

I rarely discuss anything outside of sports on this blog, but wanted to devote a little bit of space to Martin Luther King Jr. since it is his day today.

Obviously, we should do our best to remember him 365 days a year, and try to advance his dreams of treating everyone equally with love and respect. Without his work, the civil rights movement probably wouldn't have been what it was.

So take a moment to read up on some of his accomplishments, or watch his "I have a dream..." speech. It's a powerful reminder of where we've come from, and just how much farther we can go.

Magazine Cover Wasn't The First Noose Incident Related To Golf

By now you've probably heard about Kelly Tilghman's use of the word "lynch" in reference to stopping Tiger Woods, and the subsequent Golf Week magazine cover that featured a noose. However, as unfortunate as it may be, that's not the first noose related incident that's impacted golf in Florida over the past year. In June of 2007, an employee of Orlando's Orange County National Golf Club placed a noose in a room at the course that was visibile for all to see.

David Brice, a former African-American employee with Orange County National Golf Club in Winter Garden, filed a formal complaint to the PGA Tour after witnessing the noose in one of the club's offices in June, Brice and the Tour confirmed to the Sentinel.

The Tour held an investigation of OCN before it hosted Q-School, PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said. Votaw said OCN assured the Tour that Q-School would run smoothly after learning the man whom OCN determined had placed the noose was no longer working there. The course also promised diversity training for employees.

Bruce Gerlander, OCN General Manager, confirmed the man who hung the noose was no longer there, but he declined comment about all matters pertaining to the incident. The person, a former supervisor, could not be reached for comment.

Brice said he returned to his job as a golf-services worker on June 4 to see the noose with the sign "1-800-whiners" hanging from the right corner of the outside-services office, which was located underneath the pro shop. The office had a window on the door, Brice said, making the noose visible to the public upon a closer look.

Obviously, putting a noose up anywhere is a disgraceful action that shouldn't be taken lightly. To me, it's an example of some of the racism that I believe still exists within the sport of golf. While the sport as a whole has tried to engage people of differing ethnicities, I think that some involved with the sport have struggled with the newfound diversity. Granted, not every golfer in America is against seeing minorities playing on their course, but it seems to me that golf still has a long way to go before it reaches the level of diverseness that other major sports have reached. Hopefully, both of these incidents just serve as catalysts that keep the sport moving towards a goal of equality for individuals from contrasting heritages.

The Running Of The...Cows?

We're all familiar with the "Running Of The Bulls" in Pamplona, Spain. If you don't quite remember what it entails here's a clip to help jog your memory.



As you can see, it's a pretty crazy event, and oftentimes the participants get gored by the bulls' horns. However, that just adds to the level of danger involved with running from a herd of bulls down a narrow street. Getting trampled is one thing, but getting speared by a bull horn is something else entirely. However, a group in Spain is calling for an all-women version of the "Running Of The Bulls" using only cows.

That's right, women in Pamplona want their own bull-run, eventhough they're allowed to compete in the traditional "Running Of The Bulls", and they want to use only cows.

"Women in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona, world-famous for its ferocious bull-running festival, are demanding their own version complete with cows instead of bulls.

A student Web site, www.estudiln.net, set the ball rolling with its campaign "Cows want to run" which asks for a separate encierro, as the bull-runs are known, where only women are allowed to take part."

What the hell? What happened to the whole men and women are equals movement? Isn't this sort of a step backward, and doesn't it sort of portray women as being weaker than men? They're free to run from the bulls alongside the men, but they want their own "cow-run"?

Cows are good for a lot of things(burgers, milk, cheese), but participating in a dangerous running event isn't one of them. Someone should tell those women to stop bull-shitting, and start bull-running.