"Ultimately, if the LPGA didn't seek to set a standard for English literacy it would be furthering the alienation and isolation that minority and immigrant groups have historically felt in the United States."

As with any issue dealing with race, the viewpoints are getting wilder and whackier each day with regard to the proposed LPGA English-only concept. Which, by the way is at day five and not a peep from the Commissioner! Anyway...

Beth Ann Baldry follows up on her exclusive by talking to several Koreans. Included was this observation that the LPGA's full-time English instructor might actually be making the problem worse.

Hae-Won Kang takes it a step further, saying that first-generation Koreans on the LPGA (i.e. Se Ri Pak, Hee-Won Han, Mi Hyun Kim) learned English quicker because they had little help. Since the LPGA hired a full-time staffer who is fluent in Korean and can help with interviews, Kang thinks many players have become complacent.

Brian Hewitt responds to reader emails, many of which support the LPGA Tour's position.

And SI's Farrell Evans writes that "if you want to succeed in corporate America, you may have to abandon part of your cultural identity."

Ah, that makes it so right! He also writes:

Many writers and bloggers are enjoying the opportunity to throw self-righteous grenades at the LPGA, but that's because they don't understand that being a touring pro means more than putting a ball in a hole. Public relations, sponsor seduction and fan interaction are all part of the job.

Sponsor seduction? Wow, he's right. I didn't realize that pro-am work went beyond saying "I like three inches outside the left edge."

Lamar Alexander, a Republican Senator from Tennessee, has been the most vocal proponent of an amendment that would make English mandatory in the workplace. "This is America, and in America we speak English," said Sen. Alexander, a former Secretary of Education. "Since 1906, no immigrant has been able to become an American citizen without learning English."

Why shouldn't the LPGA tour adhere to this inalienable right to mutual progress? Ultimately, if the LPGA didn't seek to set a standard for English literacy it would be furthering the alienation and isolation that minority and immigrant groups have historically felt in the United States.

Yeah, but they play a whole bunch of events outside the United States now. And the way things are going, more and more in the future.

When I finish writing this essay, I will hail a cab on St. Nicholas Ave. in Upper Manhattan. Chances are, my driver will speak almost anything but English. He will only recognize the address that I give him. We won't talk about our kids or the weather. We won't talk about why we can't talk to each other. I'll pay him and wave goodbye as I leave his car. I'll probably never see him again.

Sounds about like how most player's would like their pro-am rounds to go!

The stakes are too high for the LPGA to continue these types of casual lost-in-translation encounters. For its business to thrive in a tough economy in a sport that struggles even during the best of times, it needs more. It needs to make a statement, loud and clear.