The LPGA's new dress code policy goes into effect this week at the Marathon Classic outside Toledo, but some tour officials and players "have downplayed the coverage" the policy has received in the media, according to Brian Buckey of the Toledo BLADE. LPGA Chief Communications & Tour Operations Officer Heather Daly-Donofrio said the negative media comments are "much to do about nothing." She added, "There was not meant to be, nor will there be, a discernible difference to what players are currently wearing out on Tour.” Golfer Stacy Lewis: "The NFL, the NBA, they have a dress code when they're playing, they have a dress code when they travel. They have a dress code at functions. I honestly don't understand the kickback we had." Fellow player Lydia Ko said that she "views the updated dress code as more of a refresher than an all-out change." Ko: "It really hasn't changed much to the original code that was there. It's just, I guess, kind of like a reminder." Buckey notes many players "receive clothing from their sponsors and say they should not have a problem with the new regulations." Player Annie Park said, "The clothes I receive from my sponsor are very stylish, but are still proper, so it didn’t really affect me" (Toledo BLADE, 7/20). Golfer Christina Kim said, "There’s very minimal change to what our previous dress code is, so I don’t know what people are making the hoopla about." Lewis: "I’ve had a title sponsor say something to me about something another girl was wearing. We’re a representation of our sponsors and if our sponsors are upset by it, then we have to do something." Lewis: "All these players are a representation of Marathon this week, so if Marathon is not happy with the way someone is dressed, we have to address it” (DETROIT NEWS, 7/20).
A FINE LINE: In California, Larry Bohannan wrote a "vast majority of LPGA players dress completely appropriately on the golf course." Bohannan: "Maybe there is a pair of shorts or a short skirt that might raise an eyebrow here or there. Maybe there is a top that might be more revealing than it needs to be. But I’m not all that aware of the 'plunging necklines' that are the target of the new dress code." It should be "pointed out that there is a difference between sex appeal and fashion appeal." Many LPGA players "love to pursue fashion, but much of that fashion would easily pass as acceptable under the new dress code" (Palm Springs DESERT SUN, 7/19). ESPNW's Sarah Spain wrote it "rarely feels as though these rules are in place to ensure professionalism or a clean-cut appearance, rather to regulate what our bodies might do to others." Dress codes in sports "are common -- even necessary." But while the PGA Tour's dress code "seems to be about style and neatness, the new additions to the LGPA code seem simultaneously unnecessarily specific and subjective." When it comes to female athletes, "we spend way too much time scrutinizing and discussing body parts and what covers them" (ESPNW.com, 7/19).
